Endurance comes by the time, like in sports. In the case of horn playing, it is not muscle strength like in sports, but being resistant against the mouthpiece pressure against the lips - or better said, getting used.
If you need too much muscle strength to get up to the higher notes, something is wrong with the embouchure. Practising in the high register hours & hours - in a silly manner - will build up NOTHING. Get your high notes from practising in the LOW register & benefit double, for the highh & a consistency in the low register. The worst thing is it, to grip to the stars when not prepared (same in politics !). Why practising Mozart no.4 in the 2nd year, when the embouchure is not prepared to it. And, what is so taxiing in Mozart no.4 ? The first movement until the recapitulation ? You are joking ? Or the second page ? My dear young fellow, howq will you get through Meistersinger Ouverture or Flying Dutchman Ouverture with really fff and upper middle range & sudden pp, etc. No way, my dear, no way. Go back & practise some nice etudes & some nice 5 min. solo pieces & leave the Mozart no.4 first mov. For a while until your embouchure is grown stronger. As you are not prepared - perhaps fooling around too much while practising - Mozart is too early. Try meanwhile to prepare 2nd & 3rd mov. Instead & make it perfect. Itr seems, that a lot of the young fellows complaining about endurance, do abuse their unprepared or not enough prepared embouchure by forcing things & forcing again instead of climbing up smoothly & slowly. Hornplaying is not a thing of "buy & run", it is a longer process step by step. Be patient. Prepare easier things better. As soon as you can do them perfectly, go to the next step. But do not stick to a piece longer than a week, - well, besides your etudes work & chamber music & ensemble playing. For the Mozart instructions see my special page at www.pizka.de/Sitemap.htm And scroll to the instructions. Also, see the study plan from Vienna, experienced by Roland Berger & myself & many other successful players www.pizka.de/Vienna.htm ============================================================ =========================================== -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Martin Bender Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 8:53 AM To: The Horn List Subject: Re: [Hornlist] Endurance Hi Tyler, It's true that endurance does come with practice. Having said this, however, intelligent practice helps even more. I'll assume you already have a solid embouchure set up. With this in mind, I suggest you secure a copy of Joseph Singer's fine book of studies entitled "Embouchure Building" and work some of the long tone routines found therein, especially the "Heavy Routine". Also, in Barry Tuckwell's book "Playing the Horn" he advocates long tones played on every note of the horn over the full range. This is not something you want to start off with, as it can be extremely tiring; it's a goal to work towards. Like a long distance runner, you have to learn to pace yourself. Try increasing your playing time by five minutes every second day; after eight days, you will have gained an additional 20 minutes, and so on with the eventual goal of 30-35 hours per week. Saturdays and Sundays included. With time and patience, you will eventually gain the stamina you need and more! Also, try not to play past the point of control; this will only lead to bad habits. Think "quality" as well as "quantity." Best regards, Martin Bender On 22-Mar-06, at 11:35 PM, Tyler Holt wrote: > Dear List, > > I am hoping you more experienced players out there can give me > some advice and perhaps some perspective. Two years ago I came back > from a two year hiatus away from the horn, and it has been a very hard > road to travel back to proficiency. I am currently in my second > semester of university and am having a difficult time building any > endurance (esp high range endurance). Specifically getting through > the first movement of Mozart 4. > For the last year I have been very consistent about practicing 3 > hrs/day. I warm up, break up my sessions throughout the day, etc. > > For the last few months I've been really working at the 1st > movement of the Mozart and feel it's near perfect....except I can't > manage to make it through all the way. And things seem to be > deteriorating instead of improving as of late. > > Any thoughts on practicing/endurance/years required to build a > solid face would be appreciated. > > Thanks. > > Tyler Holt > _______________________________________________ > post: horn@music.memphis.edu > unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/ > options/horn/embee%40magma.ca > _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/hans%40pizka. de _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
