The aim of this video is to "make a difference in how musicians learn the finer aspects of playing that could enable them to compete more favorably in the audition process." James Decker, who teaches at USC and has been principal horn at Columbia and 20th Century Fox studios, among others, developed this new approach to practicing with a video, a cassette tape, and a 120-page booklet. The idea is to play the exercises and excerpts in the workbook along with the young professional and/or the conductor and listen to helpful hints from Decker on the cassette tape.
The video, like Gaul, is divided into three parts. The first, and longest, is numerous excellent and varied drills that the horn world will appreciate Decker sharing. Some of the aspects of horn playing addressed include long tones, pitch, scales, transposition, stopped and echo horn, legato, trills, and concentration. Decker gives explanations and hints for the exercises on the audio tape. This section is perhaps the most beneficial because the exercises and advice can be used as printed or altered slightly to suit one's changing needs.
The second part is 61 excerpts commonly requested at auditions. The instructions are to listen to the young professional play with the orchestra, then play along while following the conductor on the screen, and finally, turn off the sound and follow the conductor, remembering the orchestra accompaniment. This is the most interactive part, and certainly helpful to students without much orchestral experience. Nevertheless, it is challenging to coordinate with the conductor when the sound is turned off. This is more realistic than our imaginations, but still perhaps a bit distorted from reality.
The last part, which Decker calls "supplementary", is a series of group exercises, wonderful for a master class, group lesson, or group of friends. The exercises include intonation, single and double-tonguing, rhythmical precision, technical precision, and natural horn. There are also sections on Wagner tuben and descant horn.
If you have the money (about $90), this video set is a welcome addition to any hornist's library. Playing with the video is fun, although difficult to tailor to one's specific needs because of the rewinding and forwarding one must do, not to mention intonation troubles playing with the TV. However, if the video itself doesn't thrill you, the contents of the booklet will. The exercises and excerpts are joined by diagrams, translations of musical terms, a graded repertoire list, and a wealth of inspiration.
Hilary studied at Ithaca College and NEC. She is a free-lancer and now lives in southern Massachusetts and teaches in Rhode Island. The video is available at Osmun Music
Review of Decker's IVASI orchestral repertoire