Technique

Jazz and the Horn Series • Part 3

Jazz and the Horn

Getting started

For the classically trained horn player, jazz replaces the security of the printed page with listening, swing and improvisation—and a different kind of discipline.

By Jeffrey Agrell

Part 3

The art of chamber music

By Christoph Müller

Part 6

DSA - Digital analysis of intonation and sound

Subjective perception of the wind player

By Robert Meissner

Tonguing

A tiny shift in tongue movement changes speed, endurance and clarity, turning articulation from a mechanical attack into one of the trumpet player’s subtlest tools.

By Louis Davidson

James Stamp, subtle teaching

Intonation, held notes and mouthpiece work shape James Stamp's subtle approach to trumpet playing, where listening and physical economy guide technique.

By Alfred Willener

Basics in breathing

An Outline to a Better Sound

From breathing awareness to sound production, practical exercises link physical relaxation, air control and rhythmic precision in everyday brass playing.

By Joel Elias

Phonetics in the articulation and expression of the language of music

Rethinking articulation: Francis Orval challenges traditional teaching—revealing how phonetics, language, and psychology shape sound, phrasing, and musical expression.

By Francis Orval

Natural trumpets, basic techniques

Natural trumpet playing demands more than historical equipment: Friedemann Immer sets modern technique against Baroque sound, articulation, style and authenticity.

By Friedemann Immer

ASA-Method, ASA-Technic

Virtuosity grows from disciplined work on scales, articulation and reading, arguing that consistent fundamentals matter more than chasing the upper register.

By Rolf Quinque

Indeterminate instrumentation

A Way of Extending Instrumental Technic

Can technique go beyond notation? James Fulkerson explores new instrumental possibilities and argues that improvisation is key to expanding both technique and musical thinking.

By James Fulkerson

Advices from an expert brass clinician: Robert Pichaureau, Paris

What if everything you control is wrong? This radical approach to brass playing shifts focus away from the embouchure — back to the true origin of breath and sound.

By Alfred Willener

The tuba in the brass quintet

By Mel Culbertson

Maurice Ravel and the new trombone

Dance-band trombonists reshaped orchestral expectations in the 1920s and 30s, leaving their mark on Ravel’s Boléro and a generation of players.

By Michel Laplace

My teeth

A dentist visit that changed everything: René Périnelli reveals how his teeth directly shaped his trumpet playing.

By René Périnelli

Sophrology and Music

For brass players, physical tension and concert anxiety can become habitual obstacles, while sophrology offers a different approach to posture, memory and performance.

By Robert Ischer

Lip vibration characteristics

of the trombone embouchure in performance

Study of lip vibration in trombone performance, analyzing embouchure behavior and its impact on sound production and control.

By Leno Lloyd

Symphonic tuba playing

A warning from the orchestra: Lewis Waldeck challenges modern tuba playing—calling for a return from solo brilliance to the dark, blended power of true symphonic sound.

By Lewis Waldeck

The inner acoustics of the horn

Study of the horn’s inner acoustics, explaining how its structure and air column influence tone production and intonation.

By Willi Aebi

Early music: A new approach with Bruce Dickey

By Robert Ischer

Part 6

Practical Hints

A progressive adaptation of Clarke’s No. 91 uses slurs, accents and dynamic shaping to build speed while preserving tone stability and control.

By James Stamp

Stopping technique in the Mozart horn concertos

By Thomas Müller

General remarks on the role of the teeth for wind instrument players

Your teeth are part of your instrument: a dental expert explains how they shape sound, technique and long-term health.

By Jean-Paul Rocca

Part 1

Practical Hints

Built around Herbert L. Clarke’s Technical Studies, these practice routines refine flexibility, intonation and note placement through structured brass exercises.

By James Stamp

Oscillatory Mechanism of the Glotis in Horn Playing

A horn note may begin before it is heard, as subtle vocal-fold oscillations appear to prepare the airflow that the lips will ultimately shape.

By Philippe-Henri Dejonker, Francis Orval, R. Miller, R. Sneppe