Finding Repertoire for the Horn:
If you're looking for new repertoire to perform, it is often helpful to browse the Music Library's shelves. The following call number ranges are for horn music; individual works within these numbers are arranged alphabetically by composer or arranger:
- M80-M84, Horn alone
- M255-M259, Horn and piano
- M357.2, Brass trios
- M557.4, Brass quintets
- M1028, Horn with orchestra (full score)
- M1029, Horn with orchestra (piano reduction)
- M1128, Horn with string orchestra (full score)
- M1129, Horn with string orchestra (piano reduction)
- M1366, Jazz ensembles
Etudes, excerpts, and instructional materials are located in the MT range:
- MT420, General works
- MT422, Systems and methods
- MT425, Studies and exercises
- MT426, Orchestral studies (excerpts)
Looking for Something Specific? Use Library Search!
- Library Search This link opens in a new window
Check out the Library Search which finds print and electronic items, including journal and newspaper articles, book chapters, books, reviews, legal documents, and much more. Note: Due to licensing restrictions, some content is only available to current students, faculty, and staff.
Selected Books on the Horn, Horn Players, and Pedagogy
A Singing Approach to Horn Playing by
In A Singing Approach to Horn Playing, author and renowned teacher-musician Natalie Douglass Grana develops the fundamental sense of pitch that is essential to play the horn. The book begins with simple songs to sing on solfège, buzz on the mouthpiece, and play on the horn, followed by inner hearing, transposition, and polyphonic exercises. Readers learn to fluidly hear the notes on the page before playing them, through sequential exercises with songs, improvisation, stick notation, and duets. Training continues with progressively challenging melodies, including canons as well as vocal etudes (solfeggi) like those of Giuseppe Concone. Finally, hornists apply their musicianship skills to standard etude, solo, and orchestral horn repertoire. Horn parts are provided with important lines from the orchestra or accompaniment, transposed to also be sung and played on the horn. Accompanying rhythmic and harmonic exercises enable performers to learn to hear the parts together as they play. Through a wide-ranging synthesis of theory, practical advice, and exercises, Douglass Grana puts forth a crucial guide for a new generation of horn players and burgeoning musicians seeking to improve and perfect their sense of pitch.
Call Number: E-book or MT420 .G74 2022
The Horn Handbook by Call Number: E-book, Online Access
Blow Your OWN Horn! by
Blow your OWN Horn is Fergus McWilliams 'take' on horn playing and more generally on music education.Written in a very spirited style, the book covers all aspects of playing and the profession, including, practical elements such as: auditions, embouchure, breathing, exercises. In addition, McWilliam explores topics such as: mind games, attitude, strategies, relativity, under pressure, why do we need teachers and much more!
Call Number: MT420 .M479 2011
Horn Technique by
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.
Call Number: MT420 .A37 2017
The Black Horn by
The Black Horn: The Story of Classical French Hornist Robert Lee Watt tells the story of the first African American French Hornist hired by a major symphony in the United States. Today, few African Americans hold chairs in major American symphony orchestras, and Watt is the first in many years to write about this uniquely exhilarating--and at times painful--experience. The Black Horn chronicles the upbringing of a young boy fascinated by the sound of the French horn. Watt walks readers through the many obstacles of the racial climate in the United States, both on and off stage, and his efforts to learn and eventually master an instrument little considered in the African American community. Even the author's own father, who played trumpet, sought to dissuade the young classical musician in the making. He faced opposition from within the community--where the instrument was deemed by Watt's father a "middle instrument suited only for thin-lipped white boys"--and from without. Watt also documented his struggles as a student at a nearly all-white major music conservatory, as well as his first job in a major symphony orchestra after the conservatory canceled his scholarship. Watt subsequently chronicles his triumphs and travails as a musician when confronting the realities of race in America and the world of classical music. This book will surely interest any classical musician and student, particularly those of color, seeking to grasp the sometimes troubled history of being the only "black horn."
Call Number: ML419 .W38 A3 2014
Horn and Conductor by
The former first horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra writes about playing under Klemperer, Koussevitzky, Munch etc, the french horn, and specific horn passages. In this volume, Harold Meek, former first horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, shares anecdotes and insights about the joys and travails of playing under Klemperer, Koussevitzky, Munch, and others. He also brings together some important information about changes in the instrument itself, including a little-known letter from the great British horn virtuoso, Dennis Brain, about the virtues of different makes of horn. A valuable appendix prints interpretively challenging horn passages from three dozen masterpieces, and evaluates the solutions offered in recordings by various prominent conductors.
Call Number: ML419 .M44 A3 1997
Wellness Resources
A Soprano on Her Head by Call Number: MT2 .R57
The Performer's Voice by Call Number: Wilson Music Library RF511 .S55 P47 2016
The Voice by
ALL professional voice users—whether teachers, lawyers, sports coaches, television hosts, salesmen, business executives, or singers and actors—depend on their voices in their profession. Often, the circumstances are not ideal, and voice difficulties can develop. This book is an informational source for professional voice users on how to care for and maintain the longevity of their voice. The authors are doctors and nurses whose medical practice specializes in the care for voice professionals. This is not a book on vocal pedagogy or training, but rather a guide to common medical problems that can affect the voice and to common vocal difficulties that can develop from ineffective voice use.
Call Number: MT821 .H46 2013
The Owner's Manual to the Voice by
Singers must equip themselves with enough knowledge to clearly convey specific sensations and difficulties with their instrument. Understanding of potential dangers and disorders, familiarity with a variety of medical procedures, and comprehension in various facets of diagnosis and treatments empower singers to "own," just like other musicians, their instrument. The Owner's Manual to the Voice provides singers with the knowledge necessary to communicate effectively and in intelligent terms about their instrument, especially when conversing with medical professionals. Beginning with an overview of the vocal anatomy, lead author Rachel Gates, and co-authors L. Arrick Forest, M.D. and Kerri Obert, M.A., C.C.C/S.L.P, proceed through detailed discussions of caring for the voice and common causes of vocal changes and problems before guiding the reader through the process of choosing, talking to, and working with an ENT. In so doing, they give insights that any professional voice user - whether singer, actor, broadcaster, politician, teacher, preacher, lawyer, salesperson or telemarketer - will find helpful if not essential.
Call Number: Online Access
Trauma and the Voice by
In the present era, statistics for emotional trauma are astonishing: over half of American seventeen-year-olds have experienced or witnessed it firsthand, and the next person you meet is more likely to carry nervous system trauma than to be left-handed. This carries over into the applied music studio where the world of emotions and feelings undoubtedly play a crucial role. An indispensable resource for the modern voice teacher, Trauma and the Voice: A Guide for Singers, Teachers, and Other Practitioners explores the body's response to trauma and practical ways that singing teachers can adapt the principles of trauma-informed care while maintaining ethical boundaries. Emily Jaworski Koriath gathers perspectives and research from across the fields of psychology, speech pathology, and vocal music education, andcontributors investigate a myriad of concepts including the physiology of trauma, the impact of trauma on learning, polyvagal theory, human attachment theory, and other relevant psychological concepts. The book provides not only the scientific underpinnings but also numerous tools and practical applications for daily studio interactions.
Call Number: MT821 .T73 2023
Power Performance for Singers by
To perform well in today's highly competitive world where technical skills have been advanced to an unprecedented degree, a singer must be able to handle incredible pressure within the performing arena; his or her ability to deal with this stress will often determine whether he or she will succeed. Why, then, do singers with less technical skill sometimes out-perform stars? Why do some stars suddenly stop performing? What is that mysterious factor that makes an electric performance? Consistent, competent performances do not depend solely upon superior vocal skills, nor are they a matter of luck. On the contrary, the best performances result from a combination of mental attitude, concrete performing skills, and excellent technical skills in that order. Yet most singers have never had the opportunity to acquire the essential skills that make for a successful career. Written as a self-help manual for singers at all levels of expertise, Power Performance for Singers is designed to teach performing artists, and especially singers, how to experience elite performance at their level. The skills outlined in this book will help singers use what they have, to enjoy their voices during performance, and to perform consistently to the best of their present ability.
Call Number: Online Access
Yoga for Singing by
The 19th-century Italian singing teacher Giovanni Battista Lamperti wrote the following about the primary requirement for the singer: "'Know thyself' applies to [the] singer more than to other professions, because to sing well, body, soul and mind are tuned together." This tuning together of body, mind, and soul is the essence of yoga. The practices of yoga can be used as tools to develop, maintain, and greatly enhance the art of singing in all its facets - physical technique, breath control, mental focus, musical flow, expressive communication, and radiant performance. Yoga for Singing: A Developmental Tool for Technique and Performance outlines the many and intimate connections between yoga and singing and presents a detailed approach to using the practices of yoga to support the developmental of singing technique, as well as to lay a foundation for confident performance and a lifetime of good health for a long singing career. Author Judith Carman presents a systematic approach to the yoga practices that are directly related to the art of singing and demonstrates how closely these practices match the needs of singers. The yoga practices and their connections to specific singing needs are presented as: physical postures (Asana), breathing practices (pranayama), concentration/meditation practices, and deep relaxation techniques. The copious illustrations and specific practices are designed to be used by singers and voice teachers, regardless of their level of acquaintance with yoga. The book also makes a persuasive case for the inclusion of ongoing yoga classes especially designed for singers in the university voice curriculum. Yoga for Singing presents vocal students and professionals, voice teachers, and movement instructors (many of whom include a significant amount of yoga in stage movement and dance courses required in conservatory vocal/opera programs as well as in pre-professional apprentice programs) with a unique approach to technique and performance improvement that fits the increasing interest in and prevalence of yoga practices.
Call Number: Wilson Music Library RA781.7 .C3595 2012
The Singer's Guide to Complete Health by
Anthony F. Jahn, MD, internationally acclaimed otolaryngologist and Director of Medical Services at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, offers a comprehensive guidebook on a wide range of health and disorders that affect the voice. A vital tool for singers, voice teachers, and choral directors, The Singer's Guide to Complete Health empowers vocal performers to take charge of their own minds and bodies, providing advice about a variety of health issues that affect professional well-being as well as remedies to the most important and common health problems that singers face in their careers. Dr. Jahn has invited a diverse group of health care specialists and music professionals to share their expertise and tips with singers and their teachers. The chapters cover a broad spectrum of topics, including not only vocal issues, but also general physical and psychological well-being, diet, and exercise, accompanied by easy-to-follow illustrations, diagrams and charts. Each chapter provides a clear explanation of an aspect of health of practical relevance to vocalists. The book enables singers to make informed decisions about their own health, and gives guidance on seeking appropriate professional help and self-remedies. It includes numerous suggestions on ways to prevent illness and maintain a healthy vocal lifestyle, not only with traditional methods such as diet, exercise, and Alexander technique, but also holistic approaches such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, acupuncture, and Chinese herbs.A comprehensive blend of professional voice expertise and medical science, The Singer's Guide to Complete Health is an essential addition to bookshelves and medicine cabinets of both singers and those who care for them.
Call Number: Online Access
