Horn Technique: A New Approach to an Old Instrument, Paperback

The horn (AKA the French horn) is a captivating concatenation of curving copper that is renowned for being perhaps the most beautiful of musical instruments in its shape and sound, but also the scariest and most unpredictable to play. This book (fifteen years in the making) is a new look at how this beautiful beast really works.
Horn players are blessed for the quantity and quality of repertoire and pedagogical materials in their tradition, but cursed at the same time for letting that tradition mute curiosity about what is still missing and what should be part of horn study in this new millennium. Horn Technique is a detailed, thoughtful (and occasionally tongue-in-cheek) look at ways old and new to get from one note to another, plus many musical examples and exercises detailing the most efficient ways to teach the instrument to students at any level.
It is a comprehensive resource for teachers, and a combination road map and gold mine of information for serious students. Above all, it encourages the reader/player to combine the book's approach with what they already do, and, fueled by curiosity and imagination, to use the book as a springboard to make new discoveries about the best ways to master this ancient and amazing instrument.

About the Author:

Jeffrey Agrell has been horn professor at The University of Iowa School of Music since 2000 after a first career as professional symphony musician. He has won awards as both a composer and writer, with dozens of published compositions and over one hundred articles as well as seven books on nonjazz improvisation, including Improvisation Games for Classical Musicians Vol. I (2008) & Vol. II (2016), all published by GIA. Besides standard horn repertoire and technique, he also teaches (nonjazz) Improvisation for Classical Musicians and frequently gives lectures, concerts, and workshops in this type of improvisation nationally and internationally.