UA Horn Studio

General Information

Business Matters

So that we can get down to the matter of making music as quickly and smoothly as possible, I'd like to clear the air about the mechanics of horn lessons.

• 1. Cancellation
  Any lesson you cannot attend must be canceled in advance. IN ALL CASES OTHER THAN EMERGENCY you should be able to call me 24 hours ahead of the scheduled time. My cell phone has a 24-hour machine on it so you can call literally anytime to leave a message When possible, I will call you with prior notice if I am unable to make a lesson.
  
  If I need to cancel a lesson I will try to make it up, but if you cancel, FOR WHATEVER REASON, do not assume I will make it up. It will depend on whether we can find another time. I will decide on a per-case basis.
  
  If you sign up for a lesson on the same day as the lesson, you must call my cell to confirm it.



• 2. Punctuality
  Be on time and show up warmed up and ready to play. You are paying for these lessons in one way or another, so use your opportunity wisely. You may safely assume that if I am not on time something unavoidable has come up. Keep your cell phone on and wait for me for as long as you can--any of your time I miss I will try to make up, usually by a longer lesson. IN ALL OTHER CASES, HOWEVER, your lesson ends one hour after its scheduled beginning--do not assume that if you are late we will go overtime.



• 3. Appointment
  I aim to give the required amount of lesson time per semester. Feel free to monitor this and bring up any discrepancies you may find.

Horn Lessons

• 1. Preparation
  You are responsible for bringing me a prepared lesson. This is the only way I can monitor your playing and help you improve. It is your job to adequately practice what I have assigned you (or, in some cases, a reasonable substitute). It is my job to be here, to listen and comment on your playing and to give you advice regarding your development as a horn player. I cannot prepare your work for you, and I do not want you to sight-read a lesson--that wastes both your time and mine.



• 2. Warm-Up
  Be warmed up! Don't use lesson playing as your first notes of the day. Lessons are somewhere between practice and performance. You should have warmed up already that day, and again more recently before the start of the lesson, especially if it is cold outside. Come early--we can usually find you some warm-up space. Assume the lesson begins when scheduled, so you should be ready to play at that time.

Philosophy

• 1. Definitions
  Be conscious of the definition among the different kinds of playing you regularly have to do. Harvey Phillips, the tuba soloist and professor at Indiana University, breaks it down like this:



• • WARM-UP: When you are waking up your muscles and stretching in preparation for work. BE CAREFUL!
• • PRACTICE: When you are working out difficulties in your playing that you cannot do, or doing general exercises to further your development. Since it is a workshop, and not a performance, YOU OFTEN SOUND BAD WHILE PRACTICING (which is the whole idea!)
• • LESSON: A coaching session where you display different aspects of your playing, and receive an outside opinion on your development. Come prepared to show an accurate example of your best playing so it can be assessed accordingly. USE THIS TIME WISELY!
• • LESSON: A coaching session where you display different aspects of your playing, and receive an outside opinion on your development. Come prepared to show an accurate example of your best playing so it can be assessed accordingly. USE THIS TIME WISELY!
• • REHEARSAL: When you and others try to put together your different parts to figure out how to make a musical whole. You chould show up with your part prepared. DON'T WASTE OTHERS' TIME BY PRACTICING OR WARMING UP HERE!
• • PERFORMANCE: When you leave all preparation attitudes behind, and try to make a musical, artistic statement. All your energy goes towards this end. UTILIZE ALL YOUR KNOWLEDGE HERE--SING!!

The point of this breakdown is that you should recognize these different needs and never confuse one with another. For instance, never use your warm-up time to practice--warms-ups should be thoughtful and gently increasing in difficulty. My warm-up hour is sacred! For our purposes, be very clear as to what lessons are for. You show me your playing and I react to it and try to help you improve it. You aren't here to practice or warm up, but something in between workshop (practice) and statement (performance). It takes me minutes to explain or suggest something to you, but it will take hours for you to learn to implement it. Don't expect to be able to do it in our lesson, just to understand how to do it for later.


• 2. Outlook
  A lesson is a microcosm of an entire practice week. That's why we try to do different kinds of things during a lesson--technical studies, melodic etudes, excerpts, solos, duets, etc.--things you should be practicing on a daily basis. The best way you can help us accomplish this is to be prepared to perform for me in lessons, not to try (sight-read) something, then stop and apologize that it didn't go the way you wanted it. Make your best attempt and let me react to it. This helps us analyze your playing. (BTW, don't bother apologizing when you mess up; YOU'RE the one who is going to have to play it over!)



• 3. Use of Time
  Remember: you are buying my time in order to hear my opinions as to what will help you become a better horn player. Our time together is limited. I am setting aside an hour for your use and benefit--how do you want to use that time? Do you want to come 10 minutes late and shorten an already limited amount of special time? Do you want to talk about our current activities or visit with me? I try to present to you a balanced program of a variety of aids for your use, including your playing, our talking, our analyzing your playing, my playing as an illustration of what I'm trying to say, our playing together, etc. You can help me use your time (as well as mine) wisely by being clear as to exactly what lessons are to accomplish. I'd like you to absorb as much of what we do while together as possible. Later on you can decide how much of it works for you and what to keep or discard. Don't argue or debate my ideas in class. Think them over during the week and bring me back ideas and questions next time. Then you are invited to argue or debate. This is a professional consultation.



• 4. Finity
  Never assume that there is an endless amount of time for us to look forward to. Many things make our relationship very limited. For instance, either of our plans can change--you may leave, or I may need to cut back on the amount of students I teach, or any of a hundred things can come up to shorten our time together. So PAY ATTENTION. And remember--our time together is limited.