Let’s face it: we’re all adrenaline junkies. We do too much, can’t sit still, check our email/Facebook too much, have forgotten how to de-stress, relax, shut down even momentarily the shrill blah blah radio in our heads (this becomes especially important when we’re trying to perform on the horn). This web site shows a lovely photo of the ocean at sunset and challenges you to simply listen to the sound of waves and watch the sunset for 2 minutes without interruption. If you can’t (even moving the cursor), you “fail.” But you can try again. It’s harder to do than it looks. Give it a try.
Groove Based Practice
As far as the rhythmic aspect is concerned, traditional horn etudes use mostly simple (duple and triple) meter and rhythms. Contemporary etudes may use more complex rhythms or meter, but often aperiodically or irregularly. What’s missing? Groove!
