Here is a great video with clear instructions and video that you can use if you need to restring your horn. I recommend the yellow Yamaha string, a small screwdriver (1/8 in.), and very sharp, sewing kit scissors ..read more

The tongue position is an often overlooked but critical aspect of good horn playing, and goes well beyond just tonguing the notes.  I encourage all horn players to incorporate lip slurs into their daily routine, as smooth lip slurs require good tongue arching. For a smooth upward slur, from a 3rd space C to a 5th line F, the tongue will arch from a "taah" position to an "ee" position in the mouth.  Check out this great MRI footage of how the tongue functions in a variety of horn playing settings (rapid tonguing, double tonguing, scales, slurring, etc) that Sarah Willis of the Berli ..read more

I have neglected the studio blog for some time now; it somehow has been incredibly busy! The studio is strong and healthy, and we have presented three online studio recitals for the last few years, beginning in 2020 if I remember right!  Many of my middle and high school students auditioned for and were accepted into their respective All-State Honor Bands the last few years, and a few of my high school students have gone on to study music at the university level. Some high students have also performed in Carnegie Hall this year, namely Clare and Julian (congratulations!). Students are al ..read more

Please follow these steps so you have the best settings for horn lessons.  1. Open Audio Settings A. If you are starting from the Zoom home screen, click on the Tools symbol at the top right. A new screen will appear with several options. Click on Audio.  B. If you are adjusting audio settings when you are on a call already: 1. Click on the ^ symbol between your Mute and Stop Video buttons, on the bottom left of your Zoom screen. This upward arrow will open a menu of options. Click on Audio Settings. 3. You will see Speaker and Microphone options. You may want to adjust t ..read more

Well, this post was gong to be about best Zoom audio settings, but that's not how it came out! The times we are living in have been so difficult and challenging, for so many, many reasons. I have been reminding myself that we are all doing the best we can, and that everyone's circumstances are different and often unknown. While some challenges may be obvious to those around us, others may not. Now, more than ever, it is hard "to see" what others are dealing with, given the distancing we are observing. I am grateful that I have a community of wonderful, online students that constantly bring m ..read more

Like so many other important, wonderful events, the IHS scheduled for August 2020 has been cancelled. Although this cancellation is a huge loss for so many, it is a small sacrifice in the big picture of the pandemic. Here in the greater LA area we have been sheltering in place since March 12th. I read somewhere last week advice about personal outlook during this challenging time. As hard as it is, the advice suggested, try to focus on what we have gained through this experience, rather than what we have lost. I am trying to remember this idea every day, sometimes with more success than other t ..read more

Yikes! Everyone-- I want to wish you good luck staying safe, healthy, and sane over the next few weeks! With all the uncertainty and stress, community members need each other's support more than ever. I also want to share some good news--I am excited to be a contributing artist for the 52nd Annual International Horn Symposium in Eugene, Oregon in August 2020! I will present "Preparing and Performing Unaccompanied Horn Solos." Specifically, I will discuss notation interpretation, extended techniques, phrasing decisions, and presentation issues such as audience connection, embodying emotions ..read more

I am excited to share the news of Alan Schlessinger's performance of the third movement of Concerto No. 1 by Richard Strauss. My high school student Alan won a solo spot at the Samohi's Senior Gala, performing the concerto's final movement with orchestra. The year has been full of many exciting and newsworthy moments; so busy, in fact, that I haven't had a chance to keep the studio news online up to date! Between my own performances and teaching and my students' performances, the blog has taken a back seat. But fortunately Alan's performance was recorded and you can check out the recording on ..read more

The fabulous 50th international horn symposium took place last week in Muncie, Indiana, thanks to the host, Gene Berger, professor of horn at Ball State University. It was a wonderful week of all things horn! Events began at 8:00 AM and lasted all day, including "night horn choirs" that started at 10:00 PM, for those with energy left after full days of recitals, lectures, master classes, perusing sheet music for horn, and trying out dozens of horns on exhibit. Professional players, professors, students, horn makers, and enthusiasts from around the world came. Somewhere along the way it was p ..read more

Currently, as of summer 2018, my preferred platform for teaching online lessons is FaceTime. Skype and Google Hangouts also work well, but FaceTime seems to be most reliable, with the fewest connectivity, audio, or visual issues. Most importantly, the audio is consistent and in my experience FaceTime has less delay between the two sides of the call. It's probably only a few hundredths of a second different, but I notice the difference. Skype's biggest issue is that it will sometimes "mute" one side of the call, when it incorrectly perceives that there is too much background noise. This happen ..read more