I am a very new player-began lessons in August- and it seems I have hit a wall already. I have been working on playing 4th line D for weeks now and have not gained control yet. I can usually play it as an isolated note or in a scale and sometimes in a slur. The problem is that I can't get past this point and my frustration level is sky-high right now.

Sometimes, not a majority of the time, the note sounds clear and full. More often than not it sounds strained. I have tried slurs, regular song playing, scales, focused air, and playing E above it (which sometimes works) and I still can't count on that note. I am stuck and don't know how to proceed.

My teacher says not to worry or let my frustration level get too high- I'll get it eventually. It has been weeks and I am stuck.

Does anyone have any tips for getting past this?

Also, when I tire, my lower lip rolls in- when this happens, I stop and reset, or rest.

Thanks,
Alice

Your teacher is correct, relax. For playing only playing a few months you are doing just fine. In Horn playing you will hit walls(plateaus) and not see any immediate improvement for awhile. But rest assured your body is doing things you are not aware of.

You can improve you progress by changing your practice habits. Instead of practicing once a day for a certain period of time, try practicing once in the morning for half that time and once in the evening for the other half of that time.

Things you can do;
1) Get adn use the Walter Moeck French Horn Warm-ups. If your local store doesn't have it you can get it online.
2) Chromatic scales. What is your lowest note? Try playing a one octave chromatic scale up and then down. Then move up a half step and do another chomatic scale; up and then down. Move another 1/2 step up and do the one octave chromatic scale , up and down. When you get to a scale you can't go all the way up on- then stop. Ty it again at your next practice session. This will slowly, but effectively increase your range.

3)be careful about playing when you are tired. If you are tired and you have to reset your chops, then you aren't playing correctly.

Actually, I practice 45-60 min in the morning, again in the early afternoon, later in the afternoon and once more after dinner for a total of 2 1/2-3 1/2 hrs a day. Sometimes I only manage 2 hrs, but as a rule, I try to stay in the 3hr range.

I will go back to chromatic scales starting tomorrow and talk to my teacher about the lip-rolling problem.



Thank you the help.

Alice, In the first six months or year, it's normal to have range restrictions and fluctuations in your embouchure. Developing the embouchure and range takes time. Even though I promote an embouchure development system and you're welcome to read my blog, I don't recommend you try what I or anyone else promotes until you've played long enough to established a relatively stable stable, natural embouchure. It didn't say, great embouchure or super chops, but something that suits you and feels natural and normal for YOU. I strongly advise against trying to emulate any prescribed embouchure, or letting a teacher tell you what you should or shouldn't "look like" when you play. Be yourself and let your natural embouchure develop. (When you read my blog, you'll see what I mean!)

The reason I can say this and promote The Balanced Embouchure (BE) is because BE is NOT a prescribed embouchure or a particular "set up." It's simply a set of highly targeted exercises that serve to gently guide your embouchure to be more efficient. BE didn't give me a new embouchure, it restored what was mine naturally, the one that worked for me before the horn professors tried to "fix" me.

Valerie Wells
"The Balanced Embouchure" for French Horn
http://www.beforhorn.blogspot.com/