In the Beginning

Lately, I've been working on an article for the horn call about working with beginning hornists. My first experiences of the horn were anything but average. I was a flute player, part time bass clarinetist, and wanting to be well rounded I decided to take up a brass instrument. Low brass, for whatever reason, didn't cross my mind, and I was dead-set against the trumpet. My dad says, "Well you could play the french horn. I have your aunt's old one in the attic." I had no idea what it was, but it wasn't a trumpet. He brought down an incredibly old, green single F, and I actually tried playing that gross thing. I knew it was the one for me though, and my parents said OK with one stipulation: I was having private lessons. I had a wonderful teacher from day one on the horn, which most students don't get until college. I also had the very good fortune that an affordable double horn went up for sale after I'd been playing only 3 months. With the admonition "You'd better stick with this" my parents bought it, and needless to say, I've stuck with it.

Practically speaking, then, I began on a double horn and with a private instructor, which are luxuries few students have. In working on this article, I'm beginning to notice that I don't really know what it's like for the average person to begin on the horn in a normal band setting. It takes a lot of imagination for me. If anyone has things they feel they wish they'd learned earlier, they thought were frustrating about how they learned horn, or they thought were helpful in how they learned horn, please let me know. I'd love to hear other people's stories so I can get a better idea of what starting on the horn is like for others.