I found this really helpful on my second day of playing the horn.

Beautiful!

Man, I hope you don't have university level students playing with such pathetic timbre. They've no business in a university-level school of music.

Gorgeous piece of Music! Well performed! Bravi.

Bravo!

Whenever I play, I have the right fingerings but I think my embouchure is off because when I try to play notes it kind of sounds like it’s in between notes and sounds weird

Marvelous performance!!!

Very pretty piece! As a horn player myself im glad to see people that play the horn :)

Thanks I can relate

Just starting horn a month ago. These thoughts echo my experience. Seems french horn needs a self taught talented player to arise to show the institutionalism there's another way.

my notes are super airy and/or ugly sounding but i think im applying enough pressure. what else am i doing wrong? its especially bad on my low notes (ex really bad on my low F, G and A) and my high notes sound ugly for some reason, like super forced and not elegant

Thank you! This really hit the spot with me. My fundamentals are surely lacking. I played well over many years, never really playing lip slurs well. When I retired from my job, I practiced every day, took lessons from people you know, and just got so fatigued, I couldn't play anymore. Now, nearing 70, I don't want to give up! I still play in a community band, 4th part. That's a long way from playing 1st in the Air Force field bands. Thank you for your help!

1) Buzzing is NOT the answer for everyone. 2) Play according to sound, not feel (Dale Clevenger) 3) If you blow, you suck (Jim Pandolfi) - No singer with a beautiful sound blows air, but rather lets the air produce the sound. If you're blowing, your forcing and therefore sucking. 4) Ignore those who insist that a shift/pivot (whatever you want to call it) is good or bad. Some people need to do this, others don't. 5) (Especially true on bass trombone) - if your low register is solid, your high register will come, but see points 1-4 above.

I’m just starting to play the horn. I’m noticing it’s easy for me to hit higher notes but I can’t play anything below a first space f without in sounding just terrible and with no volume? What am I doing wrong?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Matthew, but the lips don't buzz. They undulate with the air-column. They don't physically touch or hit. If you would like to learn the underlying science involved, I would suggest a book or three of brasswind physics. At the top of the list is The Science of Brass Instruments by Campbell, Gilbert, & Myers. Lip-buzzing is a myth that a good many educators have bought into that stands squarely in the way of an accurate understanding of the mechanism(s) involved. Secondly, when I was a kid with chop problems, the top educators moved problem students to instruments with a larger mouthpiece, or recommended a larger mouthpiece. I switched to trombone and euphonium for a time, used a 6 1/2 AL, and all was well in the world. Today I use a custom mouthpiece (on Horn) having a 20.5 mm cup diameter and can dislodge the conductor's cheap toupe from a distance of 50 yards. Chase Sanborn, who teaches trumpet here on YooToob, is one of the best brasswind teacher going, and unlike legions of self-appointed "experts", knows what he's talking about. He understands the underlying physics better than most on this site.

BEAUTIFUL :D

As a new horn player at my mid 30s (😁) I have some of those problems but thing is that its either an overlapping issue or something similar so the diagnosis seems .... .hard at the best

This helps because I'm learning the French horn coming from trumpet for 3 years. The pinky ring came off the first time I grabed it. And I can't get a stable note out. I think it's because I can't add enough pressure to my lips without the ring

Something my teacher has been after me for awhile is letting the air do all the work. He says I’m super tight and I’m letting my embouchure do too much. I’ve done everything he’s asked me to do, but I still can’t figure it out. Do you have any tips?

I’m having some of these problems but on trombone. I’ve only been learning since December. I am seeing some progress but this video definitely helped me to see some of the things I’m doing wrong.

Lip function IS primary, air is only the energy source. The problem is not lip "consciousness" . The problem is the approaches to playing that teach ineffective embouchure skill. Like mouthpiece buzzing, free buzzing, etc. These put students on a bad trajectory of excessive embouchure effort with inefficient results. In my experience, air is RARELY the problem. "Air speed" has nothing to do with a particular pitch. The lips absolutely control the pitch played. Air speed is just something players hear and repeat. Its just "trumpet-psychobabble",

Good playing! I played this as the opener of the 2nd half of my senior recital (cough cough) 22 years ago. Fun interplay between the 2 instruments.

This video got me second seat in my SECOND WEEK playing the horn. Earned my sub

Thank you for these lessons. And thank you for playing with our little symphony in Corinth this past Christmas. It was an honor to get to play with you.

Awesome playing, Matthew! -Gregg

Beautiful. Thank you, maestro.

Thank you it was very helpful!

Thanks Matthew. -6th grade French horn player

Beautiful playing. ❤️❤️

I think the last notes in the phrases are not enouhg large

Hi Matthew. I pretty much do up all my practice, etudes duets etc. in Sibelius so I can play along and work on intonation. It's a lot of work but worth it. Please tell me your Dueling Fundamentals has mp3s or a DVD associated to save me the hassle? Thanks.

Thank you so much Matthew, you nailed my issues!!! Although I probably have a decade or two on you, you reaffirmed a lot of my issues. Constantly trying to "muscle" the notes, forgetting support with air BUT trying to achieve that "horn sound". So getting to G on top of staff nothing but fast air comes out, no sound 🤨🤨🤨😕😕. I used to be able to trill on any note in my younger days when playing trumpet. Now after maxillofacial surgery, and certain muscle degrading meds (another unrelated issue) trills are nothing more than tone/fuzzy air/tone. Even hitting C4 (third space C) is a chore and embouchure is quite weak. 😲😱😭😭. Will likely be looking for rehab help. Your video really helped believe it or not. Please feel free to comment should you be so inclined. Thanks.

This is a really interesting video! I've been playing the horn for about 10/11 years. For as long as I remember I've had the problem of resting my mouthpiece in the inside of my bottom lip, for which someone recommended that I switch to a larger mouthpiece to solve. However I still have this issue and I struggle to reach the higher notes which is something I would like to try and remedy. I would be super grateful for any advice you might have on this problem

REALLY awesome playing, Matthew! -Gregg (I changed my channel name from Organist1982)

Mind blowing. Thank you.

Great video for teaching, thanks Matthew! Many familiar sounds and great solutions for those that work with younger students.

This was really helpful!

Thanks for the advices!

Thanks, very insightful!

Beautiful. Makes me want to play again. ❤️

I’m playing this for my senior recital

Sounds amazing

Sweet

This is horn playing I like!

What's your horn, if I may ask? Sounds very good to me.

This is very nicely done. Tempo is perfect, IMHO. Bravo! I'm playing this at church next month.

Extraordinary playing... Very soulful and ethereal! The music suits you!