Posted by Well, I'll be... on March 21, 2003 at 10:12:21:
In Reply to: Re: Rapid Passages on Rotaries posted by Roger Lewis on March 19, 2003 at 07:45:05:
...amazed. You have explained why so many amateur french horn players sound like they are playing some kind of valved air compressor when they try to slur. Even some of the higher level amatuers, who can play articulated passages extremely well, have this problem. So it really is air!! I always wondered what the problem was, and why horn players tend to "woo" on each note of a slurred passage, when all they have to do is, ah, slur it like a string player. It does require that you 1) keep your air going and 2) change the valve at exactly the right time. I had to work on this a lot when I started playing, and also when I bought a new horn, because the timing changed of when I had to activate the valve to get a smooth slur. But I still don't understand why pistons would make it easier.
MA