Articulation on the Horn

by: Wayne Lu

Introduction:

This is a simple and basic guide to improving the clarity of articulation on the horn. Many of
the ideas presented here are not original ideas but exercises or approaches that I have learned over the
years from several different teachers. The biggest influences in helping me in playing with clear
articulation on the horn are Kazimierz Machala, Kendall Betts, and Ted Thayer. These concepts and
exercises have been used by me with all my horn students over the years.

Concepts:

1. The first concept that I use in teaching articulation is tongue placement. If you allow your
tongue to touch the roof of your mouth, imagine what is happening to your air stream. It is
completely blocked off. By doing this, the release of the tongue become the creating of the air
stream. I believe that this is wrong. It seems to be much more efficient for the tongue to be
placed between the teeth to articulate.

2. The second concept for articulation is the idea of putting a playing card in the back wheel of a
bike. When you were a child, did you do this? By placing a playing card in the back wheel of
your bike, the spokes on the wheel create a sound each time the wheel moves. The wheel's
continuous circular motion is your air stream. The spokes on the wheel are notes. The playing
card is your tongue. Please notice that the air stream does not stop with each sound created by
the playing card hitting the spokes on the wheel. The playing card simply defines each spoke
like the tongue defines each note.

3. The third concept for articulation is something I heard from a fellow staffer at KBHC (Allen
Fogle). In a class he was teaching, he turned on a faucet. He took his hand and chopped at the
water horizontally. Each chop was like a tonguing on the horn. He made sure that everyone
noticed that the water stream never stopped but that there was a definition of a new water
interval each time he chopped the water. The water is your air stream. The hand chop is your
tongue defining a note.

4. Another important point in allowing for tongue efficiency is the amount of the tongue that is
actually used to articulate. Kendall often tells students to take their pencil and touch the tip of
their tongue. After doing this, he then states that that is all the tongue that you need to articulate
any note.

5. The last concept for articulation is a group of syllables to use for articulation on the horn. If
you sound the syllable “TEE”, you will find that your tongue rises to the roof of your mouth to
create this syllable. In fact, any syllable that uses any form of a “T” sound will make your
tongue rise to the roof of your mouth. When you try to lower your tongue to the crack between
your upper and lower teeth and make a “TEE” syllable, it does not work. It ends up being more
 of a weak “THEE” sound. Instead of this, I recommend using the following syllables from the
longest and most connected to the lightest syllable:

“DOO” - “DUH” - “DAH” - “DEH” - “DIH”

“DOO” is your legato tongue where the tongue is barely noticeable. Think of Tchaikovsky's
Symphony No. 5, 2nd movement solo. “DUH” is a slightly more firm syllable but is still
considered relatively legato-sounding. Think of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, low tutti.
“DAH” is your middle articulation syllable. Think of Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 3, 1st
movement for all notes that are not defined with any articulation markings. “DEH” is a normal,
everyday staccato. Think of Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 2, 1st movement's 16th note runs.
“DIH” is your ultra-staccato that you use only in extreme cases where either a conductor is
yelling repeatedly at the horn section to play shorter or you are in a Kopprasch class with
Kendall Betts. A good example of using this syllable would be the stopped horn passage in
Mahler's Symphony No. 5, 1st horn.

Exercises:

1. Simple scales are the best way to practice clarity of articulation. One of the biggest challenges
in playing with clear articulation on the horn is the fact that we need to do this throughout our
wide range. Scales played throughout the entire range of the horn address this and force you to
keep your syllable consistent. Hearing Kaz Machala rip through scales from low to high with
supreme clarity in articulation when I was a freshman at the University of Illinois is still a
memory I hold dear to my heart.

2. The second set of exercises I recommend are Kopprasch etudes, particularly Book 1. The
arduous process of studying Kopprasch etudes and articulation with Kendall Betts was a life-
altering event in my musical development, a testament that many other horn players can claim
as well after attending KBHC. Kendall's idea that Kopprasch is the best way to create clarity of
articulation while forcing one to think musically is completely right. The progression of mixed
articulation is a great challenge and also a wonderful way to keep one grounded in the
fundamentals. A few years ago, I posted the following joking message on my facebook wall, “I
hate that Kendall was right when he told me that you never graduate from Kopprasch.” I got an
immediate response from Randy Gardner who said, “Guess what I just got done playing an hour
ago?”

Summary:

There are so many challenges to playing with clear articulation on the horn. The bell is pointed
the wrong way. The range of the instrument is larger than any other wind instrument. The resistance
on each note is different. All of these factors make playing with a truly clear articulation consistently
one of the biggest challenges to playing the horn. It is not a surprise that after clear tone and clear
phrasing, Kendall's focus in his fundamental approach to horn playing is articulation. I hope that this
guide can be a beginning point for each horn player to start addressing the issue of improving clarity of
articulation in all registers of the horn.