For any musician, finding and keeping your accuracy and consistency is challenging. From practice to rehearsals to performance, you’re always looking for excellent accuracy. This can frustrate beginner and intermediate players a lot, but even professionals must work diligently to maintain and improve. The following tips can serve as a starting point to improving your accuracy in practice and performance settings. Remember, if you need help, your music educator or lessons instructor is a great resource you can turn to!
Ways to Improve Accuracy on the Horn
Ensure you have the correct hand position
The wrong hand position can negatively affect many aspects of playing, including tone quality, articulations, intonation and accuracy. It can also affect the stability of your horn, especially in the high range. Beginning students should be taught the correct hand position by their school music educator. Or, if you’re taking private lessons, or even learning from videos, proper hand position is something that should be mastered very early on.
Find the right tongue position and/or vowel sound
Many brass players and educators are big fans of using different vowel sounds to achieve better accuracy. Here are some basic rules for the horn you can follow: for a low register, try “toh” or “thoh”; for the middle register, work on “tah” or “dah”; and for the high register, go for “teh” or “tee.” This may take some practice to find the right position, but it’s definitely worth it.
Warm up!
It’s easy to skip warming up and practicing the basics, but getting yourself ready to play (think about your lungs and the muscles in your diaphragm, your lips, your fingers) is an important part of your practice and playing routine.
Practice with a drone
A drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect where a chord or note is played continuously throughout a piece. Practicing with a drone is a way to help you develop your inner ear.
Buzz the mouthpiece
You’re looking for a buzzy, in-tune sound, with a controlled but relaxed stream of air. Perhaps listen to a recording of the part on the horn while you buzz along. And, when you realize you missed something, buzz it on mouthpiece right away, and chances are, you will quickly see why you missed it.
Sing the part
Playing the horn is not easy, and sometimes trying to keep track of all the physical parts of playing makes you lose track of the music! Singing a part out loud is another way to help you develop your inner ear to the point where you can sing along inside your head while playing.
Use a good mouthpiece – upgrade if you need to
A high-quality mouthpiece can make a significant difference, especially for intermediate to advanced players. Most beginners will start on a student mouthpiece, which is made so they can get the most immediate results. But if you’re an advancing player, stepping up to a better brass mouthpiece can provide a huge improvement in sound and tone.
Practice getting in the “zone”
Incorporate meditation or mindfulness into your routine. This can help you focus and be present in the moment, which can really benefit your practice routine and help you find your sound and accuracy.
Have confidence in yourself
Of course, you’re going to make mistakes. No one is perfect. But approach your playing with confidence and have fun – that will shine through in your music.
Shopping for horns at Woodwind & Brasswind
Woodwind & Brasswind offers a huge selection of brass instruments and accessories. Plus, we have experts on hand who can help you select from the absolute best brands based on your needs, budget and playing level. Call us at 800.348.5003 or browse our full selection of brass instruments and brass accessories.
