Descriptors of Acoustical Energy

Hello, my name is Jason. Welcome to Serve the Horn — thank you for joining me. The purpose of today's video is to talk about the basic concepts of intonation and droning. I'm going to introduce you to various tools you can use to better yourself as a musician, especially on the French horn. There will be a time later in the video where I'll ask you to play along.

Some of the most common intonation issues we run into as horn players actually have a lot to do with the body — not the ear. Here are three mechanics worth addressing before anything else.

Right hand. Your band director won't always notice, because the instrument hides your hand — but how you place it matters. Take your right hand with fingers together and a natural curve. Not cupped — a natural curve. Bring your thumb down parallel to the fingers, perpendicular to the ground. Put your hand in the bell with your knuckles against the far wall. This supports the instrument and places your hand far enough in to allow correct intonation.

Breathing. Most students take too small a breath, which causes them to play flat and pinched. Here is a simple method: say the words how to. Now say how backwards. It is a natural, uninterrupted cycle of air — no stopping. Take that breath every time you play.

Embouchure. Keep your chin flat and your corners firm, with a slight downward angle. Say the letter M — that firm but pliable lip position is your starting point.

On the Tonal Energy app: there are two types of temperaments we're going to use — equal and just. Most of these exercises are designed for just temperament, but let's first hear the difference.

[Demonstration: drone set to horn transposition, equal temperament. A C and a G — a perfect fifth. Now add the third, an E. Now switch to just temperament and listen.]

To set up Tonal Energy for this introduction: set the temperament to just, the key to C, the transposition to F+5, and hit the sustain button. Click on C3. Play against that drone. Notice what sharp looks like on the display. Notice what flat looks like. The app represents your pitch tendencies in real time, clearly and without mercy.

Enter the practice room. Focus on the tools and mechanics we've covered. You will have a greater chance of success in recognizing — and correcting — your intonation tendencies.

Set your drone to concert pitch, matched to your instrument's transposition. Start on a comfortable mid-range pitch. Play slowly — 60 bpm or slower. Rest after each note. Lower the drone one half step and repeat chromatically downward. Listen for beats and work to reduce them to zero.

The auto-generated transcript for this video was unrecoverable. The video examines how physical vibrations in the air translate into the specific tonal colors that allow us to distinguish between different instruments — and how the shape of a waveform is the physical blueprint for what the ear perceives as timbre.

[Full transcript to be added when a clean version of the auto-captions becomes available.]

1. Set the temperament to just.
2. Set the transposition to C (zero) — do this before anything else.
3. Confirm the drone note is set to C.
4. Set the metronome to 60 bpm.
5. Click the sustain button.

Move through the chromatic scale at your own pace. Double-click the next half step on the keyboard when you're ready. Take your time between pitches. Listen. Adjust. Keep the airstream moving steadily — consistent air produces consistent frequency.

Hello, my name is Jason. Welcome to Serve the Horn. This video continues our discussion on the descriptors of acoustical energy. Today's topic is frequency and pitch.

From the previous video, you'll remember the sine wave. A sine wave can be represented as a frequency by counting the peaks and valleys that occur over a given period of time. More peaks and valleys per second means a higher pitch. Fewer means a lower pitch. That's what determines which note you're playing.

The exercise for this video is called Simple Perfect 5th Droning. Most beginning horn students have a tendency to play flat, simply due to a lack of proper airflow. Intermediate and above players have a real tendency to play sharp. This exercise is designed to address sharp playing.

Setting up Tonal Energy:

1. Change the temperament to just.
2. Change the transposition to C (zero). Do this first — it's important.
3. Make sure the drone note is set to C. If it isn't, go to the keyboard and double-click C.
4. Set the metronome to 60 beats per minute.
5. Click the sustain button.

Here's how the exercise works: the drone holds a C. You play your horn C — which sounds a concert F, a perfect fifth below. A perfect fifth is a wide interval, and that means you need to play lower. Not dramatically lower, but noticeably so. Stay aware of this throughout the entire exercise.

Move through the chromatic scale at your own pace. When you're ready to move to the next pitch, double-click up one half step on the keyboard. In just temperament, C# will display as D-flat — the enharmonic equivalent. Continue upward chromatically.

A note on transposition: when you click C and play your horn C, the app confirms you're producing a concert F — a perfect fifth below. As you move through the exercise, each written note on your part will sound a perfect fifth below the drone. That relationship is exactly what we're training.

Take your time between each pitch. Listen. Adjust. Keep the airstream moving steadily. Consistent air produces consistent frequency.

1. Set the temperament to just.
2. Set the transposition to F (F+5 for horn; adjust for your instrument).
3. Set the metronome to 60 bpm.
4. Set the drone to a major sixth below your starting pitch. For a starting pitch of C, the drone note is E-flat. Double-click E-flat on the keyboard.
5. Click the sustain button, then the tuner button.

The exercise moves from pianissimo to triple forte. If some notes are out of your comfortable range, skip them.

Hello, my name is Jason. Welcome to Serve the Horn. This video continues our discussion on the descriptors of acoustical energy. Today's topic is amplitude and loudness.

Most young students have a difficult time playing in tune when playing loudly. This is because of a natural tendency to play very sharp without realizing it. The problem occurs because the student is throwing a lot of air through the aperture in a way that's out of control. In order to combat this, we have to practice bringing the pitch down when we play loudly.

I've borrowed an exercise from Doug Hill and adapted it for use with a drone. Doug Hill is one of our country's great horn pedagogues.

Before setting up the exercise, let me show you what sharp playing looks like in the Tonal Energy app. Click the tuner button — this gives a clean representation of the color wheel.

When you press down hard on the airstream and muscle the note out — pinching, biting — the circle wheel goes very high. That's sharp. What you actually need is airspeed, not pressure. Let the air go faster. Your aperture can easily get overloaded, so you have to be careful how you manipulate the air. Generally: jaw slightly lower, corners firmer, oral cavity slightly larger. Stop pinching. Stop biting so hard. Rely on a fast airstream.

Amplitude is the measurement of how much energy is contained within a sound wave, usually expressed using the decibel scale. We perceive that as loudness. Notice in the image: two waves with the same peaks and valleys occurring at the same time, but very different heights and depths. Same frequency. Very different amplitude.

Setting up Tonal Energy:

1. Set the temperament to just.
2. Set the transposition to F.
3. Set the metronome to 60 beats per minute.
4. Set the drone to E-flat — a major sixth below the C you'll be playing. Double-click E-flat on the keyboard.
5. Click the sustain button, then the tuner button.

The major sixth is one of the more demanding intervals for brass players. It naturally leans sharp, which means playing it loudly while keeping the pitch down requires active management of both the interval and the dynamic simultaneously.

The exercise moves from pianissimo to triple forte. I've made a small adjustment to Doug's original: I've added quarter notes to keep the air moving forward. Breathe a lot. Keep the air moving. When you finish, there are many more variations below — set the drone to a major sixth below each starting pitch as you move through them. If some notes are out of your comfortable range, skip them. You're growing.

1. Set the temperament to just.
2. Set the key to F and the transposition to F+5 (adjust for your instrument).
3. Click the sustain button.
4. Click the Analysis button. Start with Wave mode. Once comfortable, switch to Both — this adds an orange pitch line so you can monitor pitch and envelope simultaneously.

The exercise is arpeggiated within the key of F — F major and F minor. Four versions are provided: half note, dotted quarter, quarter note, and staccato eighth note. Start with Version 2 (dotted quarter). Sing every pitch before you play it. Play slowly. Interact with the drone. There will be notes that are not where they are supposed to be — that is the exercise.

Hello, my name is Jason. Welcome to Serve the Horn. This video finishes our discussion on the descriptors of acoustical energy. Today's topic is time and the sound envelope.

The sound envelope is a graphic representation of what a sound looks like over its duration. There are four parts:

1. Attack — the front of the note; the onset.
2. Decay — where the timbre develops and the center of the note is defined.
3. Sustain — the length and core of the note, fully developed.
4. Release — the ending of the note.

We're going to use the Tonal Energy app's Analysis feature to see what your sound envelope looks like when you play.

Setting up Tonal Energy:

1. Set the temperament to just.
2. Set the key to F — double-click F on the keyboard or wheel.
3. Set the transposition to F+5.
4. Click the sustain button.
5. Click the Analysis button. You'll see three options: Wave, Tuning, or Both. Start with Wave.

[Demonstration: two versions of a note — one with an abrupt cutoff, and one with a tapered release. The abrupt cutoff leaves a flat, hard back edge in the analysis display. We want the taper.]

A lot of students cut their notes off too quickly. The Analysis display shows this clearly — the back of the envelope looks like a wall. What we want is a taper. The release should be gradual and controlled, carried all the way to silence by the air.

Tapered Droning was inspired by Philip Farkas's Pre Warm-Up from The Art of French Horn Playing. The exercise is arpeggiated and built within the key of F — F major and F minor — which leaves out the flat second (G-flat) and the tritone (B-natural). There are four versions: half note, dotted quarter, quarter note, and staccato eighth note. We'll use the dotted quarter version — Version 2 on your sheet music.

Once your drone is set and Analysis is running, switch to Both mode. This displays the sound envelope along with an orange pitch line. The goal: keep the orange line as close to center as possible while maintaining a clean envelope shape. There is a lot to look at — that is the point.

Note: when you reach the fifth or sixth line of the exercise, the triad shifts to G — B-flat — D-flat. That triad is not F major, but all of those notes are within the key of F. Keep tuning everything to F throughout.

Set the metronome to 60 beats per minute when you're comfortable. My suggestion: play this very slowly and let the drone do its work. There will be notes that aren't where they're supposed to be. I'm going to be doing some practicing too.