The Italian Horn Website
| Il Club del Corno is promoting an opinion survey among professional horn players, based on a list of questions. The answers will be published on the site in English and in Italian. |
| Answers by Roberto Riccio* |
1) What where the turning points in your development as a horn player? List any factor that was important to your progression as a musician (e.g. which conservatory/music school attended, influential teacher/s, particular events). My unique teacher was Pasqualino Rossi. I think I was a careful observer of different techniques of colleagues from different schools, Italian and not, and I treasured what what I found best for me. I don't think mere imitation to be a winning method. I think that each player should exploit his own resources, understand his limits and always try and improve. In my opinion, this idea is a valid life rule: exploit what you have, rather than regretting about what you don't have. 2) Do you think that your professional success could have been essentially different (either greater or lesser) if you had had other teachers? I don't think so, but nobody can say that with certainty. Even if you found improvement after changing teacher, you should not be so convinced that you could have done better if you studied with the new teacher from the beginning: many teachers do better with advanced students but have not enough patience with beginners. 3) How much does the possibility of becoming a competent horn player depend on a) Facial structure, b) Inborn talent, c) Application/study? I think that with study and perseverance you can arrive averywhere. It's certain that there is no remedy if you have sever physical limits (unproportioned lips, very irregular teeth), or if you have big problems in the perception of rythm and sound. On the other hand, physical size is irrilevant in my opinion. 4) Should a student who is having serious problems in the fundamentals, after studying the horn for some years, abandon the idea of becoming a professional at all, or could he/she be still brought to a level of competency by appropriate teaching metods (that is, by finding a new teacher)? Usually, you can foresee the future development from the beginning: an early drastic decision is better than a lot of distress later. It's difficult to believe that, after a teacher advised quitting, another teacher - even much better - is happy to take the student by the hand and bring him to success!! 5) What is, in your opinion, the importance and use of a) Mouthpiece buzzing, b) Handled rim (rim on a stick) buzzing, c) Free lip buzzing ? I make my students use the handled rim in the first months, so that they can understand the lip-rim contact and the tongue's movement when playing marked staccato. Mouthpiece buzzing is useful for mastering the homogeneity of air flow. Free lip buzzing (I call it a "raspberry") has no utility. 6) Do you know, use, recommend the "inspiron" and/or other breathing devices? They can be useful for the player who, after years of study, still can't breath naturally, namely for correcting breathing mistakes which limit efficiency. I don't see any utility for the player who can properly control the air column, unless one wishes to strenghten air "thrust" for achieving a bigger sound; even when such results are obtained, I'm not completely convinced that they can be ascribed to these devices. 7) Do you think that progresses in one's playing happens steadily, by constant application, or by leaps? If application is modest, progress is slow; if application is constant, progress is faster. But all happens steadily. 8) Should a teacher give precise embouchure directions? And how precise? In my opinion, the teacher should decidedly act and modify the previous embouchure, spontaneously created from the beginning, ONLY if the student has severe problems or limits (for example, weak or non-existing high range, unsufficiently fluent legato). Otherwise, it's preferable to leave everything as it stands and never speak about the problem, as the student could develop a kind of complex which harms the serenity of the study. 9) Are there special directions/techniques for mastering the low and high registers? I often see some students with a good middle and low range, but encountering problems in the high range even if there are no embouchure and breathing mistakes: the student becomes rigid because he fears the high note, and this determines an unconscious effect of restraint to air thrust; in fact, the sound becomes smaller. In this case, the problem is related to our subconscious, which "pulls back". I've seen good results obtained by playing an exercise based on the natural notes in C major (concert F), not going above g2 (just above the stave) but insisting on that note; this exercise should be played with consistent sonority, recommending attention on constant loudness and correcting whenever the higher sound is smaller than the others. After some days, the same exercise should be transposed up half-tone in Gb by using the V position on the Bb-horn, always paying the same attention to constant loudness; then, without rushing, pass to G and, gradually, to Bb in Ist position. The secret consists in not allowing the student to think about the real notes he is playing; as the brain sees G as the highest note and sends a "green signal" to the subconscious, which doen't interfere. When the exercise comes out perfectly in Bb, it can be rewritten in the F horn notation, and alternatively played by looking at the two versions. 10) How was your experience in auditioning and what advice on this matter can you give to aspiring professionals?
I auditioned for professional jobs only when I felt sure I was
not going to cut a bad figure;
as I was strict with myself, I only auditioned 3 times.
|
* Roberto Riccio, horn teacher at Florence Conservatory and president of Organizzazione EUR - impresa lirica.. |