I'm auditioning for honor band next friday! I play french horn, and I think i'm pretty darn good. However, I'm just so unprepared. For some reason, I just can't get the scales right. And my solo piece just isn't coming together! Please Help! 1. Review all of your scale fingerings so that you can review
the patterns correctly. Although the French horn requires only four fingers for tones, you still need to memorize still some of the basic patterns.
2. Try to take care of your horn (e.g., cleaning it) so that it sounds the way that you want to sound.
3. For your solo piece, play with the music and practice it with the music as much as you can until you get it memorized. It will take time but it will be worth it. Then try to play the piece without music. Only a week. Well, without knowing what scales and how many, it's a little tough to answer. It would be difficult to master all the major scales in that time, but keep at it. I would concentrate on the solo. And keep a positive attitude. Nothing messes up horn players worse than thinking they will fail before they even try Work, work, work. Every minute you spend practicing the basics will make you a better player. I would eat, breathe and sleep those scales and your solo until then. I'm an opera singer but the concept is still the same. My coach says that nothing like this comes easy and that good things are always worth the effort. That is why so few people attain a higher level. It's hard. Keep at it. | 