Playing or Using an Assistant by Bob Dickow, Cornucopia, May 2000

Playing assistant principal horn is not an easy job, as I can attest from experience. Mainly your job is to serve as the 'right hand man' (left hand?) for the first chair player, playing primarily in non-prominent passages while the section leader takes a momentary rest.

You often have to sit out for many measures, then enter on some touchy high note. Chances are this will be required of you just when your horn and your chops have become cold.

You may need to cultivate special skills, such as matching the tone quality and playing style of your section leader in order to make a seamless line when taking over the part. You will need to learn to feather an entrance with a breath attack, such as when picking up the tail end of that long tone between phrases in the Firebird so the solo player can catch a much-needed breath.

Assistant horn players need to be accurate players as well as musical ones. Some principals may ask you to keep track of measures rest, to turn pages, or perform other tasks. There were times when I have had to cover spots in parts other than the first horn part.

Another important but seldom-mentioned skill is knowing how to play the politics of this sometimes lonely position. You need to know how to be a supportive player emotionally as well as musically. Never be competitive and never complain. You need to stay alert and prepared even when it seems that you have little to play for extended periods. Moments of glory are rare for an assistant.

An assistant player should normally not double the first chair player unless clearly directed to do so. Only oc- casionally should you play along with the principal, and that would most likely be reserved for really powerful passages in which the entire section is playing a unison line. Doubling can produce balance problems in the section and create the "chorus effect" -- a subtle difference in sound that is probably not what the composer intended.

There are responsibilities for principal players if they are to use an assistant to the best advantage. First, use the resources of the assistant. Ask your assistant to play as much as is practical given the part at hand. Don't try to be an Arnold Schwarzenegger of the horn when you can relax a bit by delegating some notes to your assistant. Some first horns give minor solos or more exposed passages to the assistant.

Another important issue concerns the marking of the part. Send the parts in advance of the first rehearsal, clearly marked to indicate those passages the assistant is to play. Your assistant will be grateful.

Bob is on the faculty of the Hampton School of Music at the University of Idaho and principal horn of the Idaho/Washington Symphony. This article is extracted from the March 2000 issue of Northwest Horn News, of which Bob is editor. Email Bob Dickow

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