The Holistic Horn - A New Paradigm of Brass Playing & Musical Mastery

This episode is sponsored by High Range Magic, an innovative online program for horn players. Find out more at https://www.highrangemagic.com --- In this episode of the Holistic Horn with trombonist Paul Tarussov, we discuss: * Brass pedagogy, thoughtful brass playing * Why “Song and Wind” may not be enough * “We do ourselves a disservice by assuming we all play the same way” * Audition mindset * Modacity, Virtual Reality, Chakra Long Tones * “No one’s free until everyone’s free” * Empowering musicians to add value to the world in their unique way * Difference between “making a product and having a business” * How idea for “High Range Magic” came to be * "What are the greats doing?" Joe Alessi, Tom Hooten * Why is it rare to find great players who are also great educators * "Practice doesn’t always make progress" * Somatics and Martial Arts, body-based intelligence * Mind force/conceptual forces - stop forcing on the instrument * Just imagining movement still gave pain, relates to energy body/energy horn * Equivalent of breaking boards in brass playing - you need to believe it first, same with high horn playing * Process cues * How much air support is needed for high range? * Jaw position, compression, clamp, tongue position #frenchhorn #trombone #musicpodcast #practice #martialarts #auditions #mindfulness #pedagogy

This episode is sponsored by High Range Magic, an innovative online program for horn players. Find out more at  https://www.highrangemagic.com --- ☯️ Holistic Horn Ep. 4 - Jen Montone of Philadelphia Orchestra, on Musical Resilience This episode goes deep into Jen’s path with the horn, including mindfulness & trauma release work, and recovering from injuries. She leads us on a powerful guided meditation to build resilience for high pressure performances, and talks about the role of self-love in musical risk-taking. We unpack a jaw-dropping moment from when I played Firebird with her in Philly, dive into Jen’s equipment choices over the years, and you’ll hear why her latest recording project is so special.  Listen to the end to discover Jen’s solution to hesitant attacks, and find out how many hand positions she uses! In this episode of the Holistic Horn Jen’s history with the horn Guided meditation: Preparing for a performance Dealing with injuries and negative mental chatter Warming up mindfully Foundations practice routine later in day Jen’s equipment choices, and the two horns she started in Phillly with Jen’s cure for hesitant attacks Therapists, trauma release, healing Some of Jen’s most meaningful collaborations Bridging visual art & musical inspiration Jen’s newest project for musicianship, instinct, AND planning. Risk taking as a professional. Protective visualizations and musicianship as a self-loving art. Jen’s vision for the future of horn playing. How many hand positions Jen uses. How to know when you’re ready to take an audition RESOURCES: https://www.youtube.com/@montonej https://jenmontone.com https://www.rubenfeldsynergy.com/ https://windsongpress.com/product-category/breathing-devices/ https://patricksheridan.com/products/the-breathing-gym-daily-workouts-dvd https://www.highrangemagic.com/ ----- About the podcast Hosted by hornist, educator, and entrepreneur Mars Gelfo, The Holistic Horn podcast features incredible personalities from the horn & music world, to provide actionable insights, inspiration, and thought-provoking ideas to help you live your best life as a musician & whole human. If you like this episode, show some love by hitting the like & subscribe buttons!

☯️ Holistic Horn Ep. 3 - Shanyse Strickland, multi-genre hornist, thinking & playing outside the box Shanyse Strickland is a multi-instrumentalist, arranger & composer, educator, and overall musical innovator. Listen to the end of the podcast to hear us trade improvised licks and discover the one improvisation trick Shanyse feels can add color to any line. Points we cover (among many others!): - High vs. low playing - being okay with where you excel - How Shanyse got started - Mars' journey w/ 4 embouchures - Shanyse’s on spirituality and the horn - Anxiety may related to not operating in your zone of genius - Meditating with the horn - how, why, and effects - finding your purpose - what it was like being the only black horn player in high school - shining light on hidden norms in the horn world - finding your own primary path as a musician - experiences as a black, queer, woman horn player - be a great musician first, horn player second - hesitant attacks (valsalva) & trauma resolution - listen to shanyse improvise a little - mars serenades shanyse! LINKS: Shanyse’s website: https://www.shanysestrickland.com/ Releasing anger with a french horn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FKA3nGh-bM

This episode is sponsored by High Range Magic, a 3 month bootcamp for horn players. Find out more at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOG58cB9AU8 --- Holistic Horn, Episode 2- Jeff Lang on Success, Accuracy, Chops, Sound & Virtuosity Jeffrey Lang (https://www.jeffrey-lang.com/) is Associate Principal Horn in Philadelphia Orchestra, and French horn faculty at Temple, Curtis Institute, and Bard. Check out his beautiful Brahms Trio Recording here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE-RwOHxk0k You can listen to his album on Spotify here https://open.spotify.com/album/2SXQdpFoerw104WtM8MCaX On this podcast we cover SO MANY TOPICS, here is a short list: - Post-pandemic insights, the function of music in society - How to avoid being a jaded professional - What makes a student successful - It’s never good to be down on your playing - “Choke”, the book: why athletes and musicians screw up and how to fix your place of focus to avoid choking - When jeff DOESN’T feel bad about missing notes, and when he does (great wisdom!) - You can probably forgive yourself a little more if you’re a horn player - Two simple secrets to building accuracy on the horn - How to get around the the paradox that attachment to accuracy leads to less accuracy - How jeff approaches endurance, high range, recovery - The difference between working out & warming up - The number one way you can screw up your chops - Can ibuprofen be helpful as a prophylactic? - The player who wins auditions - Making a good sound - If Jeff could wave a magic wand in the horn world… - Postage stamps to murals - Fixing scarcity mentality in the horn world - The 3 players that most inspired Jeff, and how he attempted to merge their qualities into his own sound. - What Jeff would put on a billboard for all horn players --- Other links from the conversation: ChopSaver - great recovery lip balm! https://www.chopsaver.com/ "Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To": https://a.co/d/8lvTcGn James Chambers Plays the French Horn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEsvZ3KCsLQ