I was rereading the chapter closely again this fall and actually was also wondering if I had understood that element correctly when I wrote this article. Bottom line though is this chapter should have been rewritten. It is a shame that Farkas never could produce a new edition of this book, there are flaws that should be corrected, elements of it have confused horn students for generations.

Nancy Schick wrote: "Ummm - isn't a marching natural horn a bugle... as in "dumb and bungle corps"? Seriously, that's very creative."

Perhaps I was not clear. At the peak moments in particular the effect was muted to my perspective in the hall I was in. Maybe this is in part because I have experienced this score in the pit so many times. In no way was I suggesting amplification of the orchestra.

George Lloyd wrote: "I have an objection with asking for more sound. That request results in electronic amplification, and then it becomes unbearably loud like in the movies. I don't like sound or amplification of any kind in live music and I will not buy a ticket to anything if I know that electronic sound will be occurring, organ rectals being an exception. If it sounds muted, then the acoustics need to be fixed because the place wasn't built properly in the beginning, in which case I won't buy a ticket no matter what. They didn't need to increase the volume when Tchaikovsky wrote it, and you shouldn't need to do so now."

From George Lloyd: "OMG, does that apply during the Super Bowl? - LOL (I recall way back in high school when the teacher suspended our class and all of us listened to the World Series on radio right there in class. So I never saw Bill Mazeroski hit that famous home run, but I heard it in class in high school on the radio. So maybe I can interpret that as the teacher teaching us that it's OK to do that! - Just kidding!)"

Not notable enough to be there, no worries on that.

Three comments related to this comment thread, directed mainly at Wendell. 1) Suggesting “I don't think there have to be embouchure breaks” borders on dangerous advice. We have been down this road in pervious comment threads; I think part of where this starts is you and I must have different personal definitions of what a break actually is. I am very skeptical that anyone can play the French horn well in all registers with the same embouchure setup, which is the implication some could read into your comment. Take G on the second line, play a great one, then try to play an octave lower without shifting at least subtly jaw and tongue and lip position. Then try to play another octave lower. It can’t be done well without something that resembles a break as I would define it. 2) While everyone is for a “natural” approach, tell that to the player with serious playing problems such as an embouchure dystonia. The way they are playing seems totally natural to them even if it is not working well at all. This is why working one-on-one with experienced teachers is extremely valuable; they can actually tell what seems to be a natural and relaxed approach compared to what seems normal to the player struggling with problems. Or turning back to the low range example, one could play the lowest notes with a “fish lips” rolling out, it seems natural, but the sound will be poor with no power. 3) For an article that really is only focused on making and using an embouchure visualizer the rest of this thread is beginning to veer badly off topic. Don’t take me wrong, we are happy to see thoughtful comments and these are all thoughtful comments, but take this also as a gentle reminder of why people make their own websites or use the horn list or discussion boards.

The visualizer I use in the photo in this article: http://hornmatters.com/2010/08/hornmasters-on-mou...
is a great one. I bought it off a table at a horn workshop from either Ken Pope or Brass Arts or?? You have inspired me to get it out again and use it in my pre-warm-up again.

From Molly White: "I play as much pit music theater gigs as I can (amateur). I love pit gigs! But I am so inattentive as a general rule, I have devised a drastic system for keeping up with the key changes in modern musicals. I will actually photocopy (sorry!) my entire book and color code the key changes with highlighter pen! In my system, B-natural is the loudest flourescent lime green highlighter I can find. (Why are singers perpetually in the key of concert E? Have they no consideration for us French and English horn players???) (The photocopy also makes cuts and re-arrangements much easier to manager. I don't worry about clips and page turns and sticky notes. I just move the page as needed!)."

The idea is that the DM is more academic than the DMA but in practice the difference is small, the big picture being both are 90 credit hours beyond the bachelors degree.