Hey. I am getting ready to audition for colleges this Friday and next Monday. I am having a little trouble in a specific part of my audition piece. It's "Reveries" by Glazonuv and it covers 4 octaves (sigh!) and I am having a little difficulty hitting the high Ab at the climax. Playing like G's and F's are easy, and like B's are failry easier than the A....
Any tips before I break a leg?
The auditions can determine if I go to a relativley cheap state school or a nationally famous private university. (because of the $$$)

Let me know ASAP! Thanks!
Becca

Becca,

Don't worry so much abou the Ab. Auditions will show them what you have, not everyone needs to be a principal player, there are 4th horns players needed. That said, let's talk about that Ab. Are we talking about that Ab around measure 46?

I would suggest trying to play the note with an alternate fingering perhaps T2. It will come out very nicely on a Kruspe or similar wrap horn. Also, try not to breathe through your mouth or reset your lips. If you must breathe, breathe through your nose enough to get what you need. I would also try to keep the air going. If you can play the C and then let the sound stop but let your air keep going, so you are sort of doing a slur or glissando up to the Ab. But that 8th rest will have no sound.



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Another thing you can do is in the previous measure take a breath between the F and G. I know it doesn't look like you should breathe there but you can actually do it and still have a nice sounding musical phrase.

A couple of things....

(1) Try different fingerings: T23 or T2 See if one responds better.
(2) Say "how" as you inhale. This will help you relax & breath more deeply, get better alignment of your head & neck prep your lips for the upper range with slight rolling in of the lips (putting more lip into the mouthpiece).

(I'm surprised John didn't mention #2. I learned it from him!)

Valerie Wells
The Balanced Embouchure Method
http://BEbabe.wordpress.com
http://www.BEforHorn.blogspot.com
http://ComfyHornStrap.blogspot.com

Thanks for the tips! I'll try them in practice before the audition. I auditioned Friday at a, less is a harsh word, but not as prestigious school and it went wonderfully. I like the horn professor and they held me after so that I could see their way of teachings and it suited me very welll. And she spent a good portion of the lesson on upper register stuff to help me with the next audition The audition Monday is making me a nervous wreck...It's at DePauw University and the horn professor is the Principal Horn for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra! YIKES! lol But the cool thing is that I will be able to see him perform on Wednesday at the ISO's Chirstmas Spectacular!
Thanks for your tips!

I've found that on my Holton the T2 is a must. The T23 works on my Conn. They're both Kruspe wraps. Past E or F I've found that "standard" fingering starts to fall apart. Probably something to do with how each alloy, wrap, and bore reacts to the notes. T12 for A is much weaker than T3 on my Holton.

Interesting. I'm a Holton player, too. I currently own two Holton Merkers & have owned two other Holtons previously. I have found T23 & T12 the best for intonation on all my Holtons. "Shows to go ya," how different horns & hornists can be.

Valerie Wells

And my Holton is a custom 181 that I got second-hand from the original owner. From what I understand it is a slightly different gold-brass alloy than was offered on that model, redundant braces never installed, and a slightly lighter bell than normal (I can rub my finger along it and see a slight impression through it) with almost no bead along the edge. I plays like crazy but needs its bearings dealt with.

Sounds a lot like the brass alloy Holton used on the Tuckwell Holtons. I have a friend with one. The bell is very thin like you describe. And, wow, does that horn play. It's so responsive, it's almost spooky!

The Merker 176/276 is quite similar in appearance, but is quite different. This rosey brass, actually "rose bronze" as the makers described it, is thicker & very tough more like nickle silver horns. It's a super player & very responsive, too, but in a very different way. Can't describe it. I used to own one, but I'm sensitive to copper & sold it to Steve Park, who loves it. I now own the nickle silver Holton Merker with the larger bell throat. It plays quite well, but not as good as the 276.

Valerie Wells
The Balanced Embouchure Method
http://BEbabe.wordpress.com
http://www.BEforHorn.blogspot.com
http://ComfyHornStrap.blogspot.com

Apples and Oranges.
Be careful when describing alloys and hardness. Each metal has it's own hardness. But as you can see some bells are thicker, some thinner, than others. My nickle bell is very thin and soft, not hard at all.

Good point, John. I've seen some 8D's with those thin more fragile bells, others with the harder bells. Someone who's been around forever & knows American made horns quite well, told me that Holton actually made a lot of the bells that were put on the Elkhardt 8D's. Interesting, huh?

Val

I knew a player who had a pre-WW1 Kruspe that he called German silver. That bell was just slightly thicker than tissue paper. The thing is, the corpus seemed to have two different formulations, to my eye, some had a grainy look, while others were much more "silver." It was probably the most responsive full double horn I ever tried. I had a mid-century Reynolds compensator at the time (didn't have a lot of money to buy a horn)and the Kruspe was probably 25% lighter than that. That bell was pretty soft. My 8D on the other hand, has a bell that is extremely rigid. Alloying is so crazy, the temp that metals are introduced, how quickly they cool, minute mineral additions can completely change characteristics.

Val,
I know there was a time when King bells were swapped for Conn bells and vice versa depending on who had some already made. I didn't think Holton supplied any French Horn bells. I do know Holton made some sax bodys for Conn for a bit. And that being said, sometimes the parts "HOLTON" makes for someone else are actually made by someone else for Holton, for the company Holton is alledgly makingi them for.

I believe my source of information for this is reliable. He's a gentleman with a long term relationship with the Holton company that started while you & I were in diapers!

Val