Well said that man! Of a certain age, naturally Dennis was a hero of mine (and still is) and my professor turned the concert down that resulted in Dennis driving from Edinburgh to London - and we all know what happened. I've always thought that Dennis was a better musician than horn player, and he was a great horn player! But he did have his idiosyncracies and foibles and these showed in his playing. If you listen carefully, he hardly ever slurs - he soft tongues, a very common thing with British horn players in those days.
I left unsaid the fact that in staccato of course the tongue ends the note; but in reality this is the tongue getting in position to start the NEXT note, especially in quick passages. Valerie; slagging off professionals is jolly good fun but there is usually a reason for them being where they are and others being where they are. Some professionals are not good teachers and some are such 'naturals' that they can't accommodate any analysis that might help those in need. When you choose a dentist, hopefully you go to one who is recommended and certainly one who is a 'professional'. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing and it behoves good teachers to research every aspect of playing - especially the physiological. There were two players in the Royal Philharmonic when Phil Farkas came to photograph some of London's best brass players for his book(s) who played as you described, with the mouthpiece inset in the top lip - an upside down embouchure in fact. Using the rim only, Farkas was amazed when the lock of hair at the front flicked up. With players like this it is horses for courses. I've played alongside both and the first could play the solo in Ravel's G major piano concerto all day long, and frequently played along with the first fiddles in Mozart symphonies at actual pitch. Til? Ha! The second became twice the player after he drove his car into Admiralty Arch and had to have his teeth screwed back in. The recovery time enabled him to convert to a conventional embouchure and all of a sudden he could play over 4 octaves, slur beautifully and develop a big, all embracing sound. Ralph R. Hall On 28 Jun 2011, at 21:17, Aleks Ozolins wrote: > > On Jun 28, 2011, at 3:08 PM, valerie wells wrote: >> >> At the Dennis Brain session at IHS in San Francisco, it was stated >> that DB >> stopped his notes with the tongue. I will now duck from the >> crossfire. >> > > He did! You can hear it on his recordings... and..... it doesn't > sound good. Great musicians will be great musicians, in spite of > their quirky technique and ridiculous sized mouthpieces.... not > because of them... > > Aleks Ozolins > > > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/ralph%40brasshausmusic.com Ralph R. Hall [email protected] Ralph R. Hall http://www.brasshausmusic.com _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
