Hans, you are the better musician between the two of us. But when did you last play in 2/5?
I never encountered that rhythm. But then I also have done my share of typos. I also have attended my share of Schützenfeste in Germany, even if I am a born Dane. The only marksmans shots were those fired with a hammer, when the tap was placed in the beer barrel. The local fire fighters bands were an offence to everybodys ears. But then I have heard a huge band of retired US-Postal officers playing even worse (I have been a postman myself to finance my studies). The large hunting horns were not common in Northern Germany during my boyhood right after WWII. In Denmark and GDR the Bb Fürst Pless and parforce horns were more common. They have a lot of-out-of-the-hunting-seasons competitions. I never have heard, in vivo or via media, any European hunting horn ensemble being even remotely close to being in tune. I had access to GDR TV during 1986 through 1989. I had accepted Walter Ulbricht, because he was a perfect idiot and couldnt help being a USSR puppet. I never accepted Erich Honecker because he was perfectly corrupt. The GDR nomenclatura under EH behaved like royals with huge hunting parties with lots of brass playing. After the wall-fall a collection of alive brown bears was found in a small cage. They were kept to be released in a restricted area to end up as huntsmans trophies for the nomenclatura. I have killed and skinned a lot of rabbits myself, but those not meeting exposition standards had to end up as food. However I never accepted artificial hunting with all of its brass surrounded ceremonials. As a horseman, brass player, and the keeper of a Border Terrier I actually found the British foxhunting fair and rightful from some veterinary aspects. Rabies is a true threat, and it was a logistic pest, when I showed dogs in Germany and Belgium 30 years ago. I never have had a dog put down for any reason but mercy on its aging health. My smallest brass instrument is a British hunting horn in G. A 6th above the Bb piccolo trumpet. Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre --- hans <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Basic musical training is part of the curriculum in the > schools of many Europaean countries. The players learn > unter the guide of some hornmasters they have in every horn > club or group. There is not much to learn as a bit of rhytm > (2/5, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8) The rhythm of the hunting tunes is > rather simple. And syncopated things ? Dont many players > have a problem with it or with 6/8 ? Tonalities ? All the > same written in C-major & sounding E-flat or D-major > depending of the horns. Third horn e.g. has to play written > g1 mostly. Fourth horn has to master a compass from low C to > c2. 2nd horn is a bit busier than both others combined & > goes to g2 occasionally - all written. First horn is the one > who plays from low c to high c, but just going up > occasionally, within fanfares only, if the souvereign (head > of state or even the king of sharpshooters) is present or > the inviting "Herr of the hunt". > > But they play by heart mostly. So it keeps them busy to > hammer all the tunes & fanfares into their brain & lips. But > much musical training ??? But wait, some of them know things > much better than professional brass players - they say so at > least. But never force them to play a solo alone, even they > are tremendously ambitious, special the female players. And > once they have played the first voice even for a short > while, they never step back, never, until death. > > Some of these clubs have made their defects (the bibbering > vibrato - because of the nerves -) to a real cult. Would > they do a bit of long notes & some arpeggio exercises, they > would not be that crazy. Some even play the wrong step of > the available natural pitches but insist they were not > wrong. Speaking out from 25 years of experience with several > groups I coach(ed). But it is great cameradery - great > rivalry included - great fun; sometimes getting invited to a > hunting event (more to take pictures than to kill - hunting > does not necessarily mean killing; it means also caring for > the free animals in the nature. > ============================================================ > ================================================== > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Daniel B. Hrdy > Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2006 8:33 PM > To: horn@music.memphis.edu > Subject: Re: [Hornlist] St. Hubert's Day > > Fascinating description. Who are the trompe players in a > typical hunt? I have heard that they typically have no > musical training, but just love the ambiance. On the other > hand, it certainly would seem to take some amount of musical > training to play those calls. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Cheap Talk? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates (http://voice.yahoo.com) _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
