Techniques From a French Horn Masterclass

Earlier in the semester I had the opportunity to attend a French horn masterclass taught by David Wakefield, a member of the American Brass Quintet. The class was open to all French horn players and three students were able to play for him. He gave the students advice on improvements they could make in the songs that they were playing. He also had the rest of us bring our French horns so he could work with all of us. It was a very interesting and educational experience. He gave advice that all of us could apply to our playing. Throughout my college career, the only instruction that I had received was from my French horn Professor, which has been great advice. It was very helpful to receive some suggestions from another professional horn player. He had some very interesting ideas for us, to help us increase our range and to get a better sound. There are so many teaching methods that people use and everyone comes up with different ideas about how to play better, especially when they have had a lot of experience trying different things out. After the masterclass, I went to practice the music I was working on and I tried out some of the techniques that he had taught us to see what would work for me and what would be the most beneficial. It was interesting for me to get ideas from someone other than my professor. I think this idea can be applied to all kinds of teachers. When you are able to get advice and ideas from multiple people, you can put it all together to figure out what works best for you.

 http://www.americanbrassquintet.org/