This is a list of must-reads for every person who aspires to greatness in horn playing and life. Click on the titles to find out more or to purchase them.
| The Inner Game of Tennis, by W. Timothy Gallwey. |
This is the classic on the mental side of performance. There are many spin-offs, like The Inner Game of Music, but I prefer to make my own applications to music from the original. |
| Effortless Mastery, by Kenny Werner |
Werner is a jazz pianist, and this book comes with a CD of guided meditations - nothing religious, just helpful ways to quiet your mind and calm your body before a performance. |
| Thinking Body, Dancing Mind, by Chungliang Al Huang and Jerry Lynch |
This book contains some awesome ideas on improving performance in every area of life, drawing from Eastern philosophies in what they call "TaoSports." |
| Audition Success, by Don Greene |
This book follows 2 musicians as they prepare for professional orchestra auditions (one is a horn player!). It contains some great techniques and tips on preparation. Be sure to check out Don Geene's site, and his other book below. |
| Performance Success, by Don Greene |
From Amazon: "Performance Success teaches a set of skills so that a musician can be ready to go out and sing or play at his or her highest level, working with energies that might otherwise be wasted in unproductive ways. This is a book of skills and exercises, prepared by a master teacher." |
| The Business, compiled and edited by Paul Pritchard |
I think this is only available through Paxman. Subtitled "The essential guide to starting and surviving as a professional horn player," each chapter covers a different aspect of "the business" and is written by a professional horn player. While some topics are unique to the London scene, there is TONS of great practical advice and "inside info" here. Well worth the read. |
| The Practice Revolution, by Philip Johnston |
This is a great book for teachers (and we all have to teach ourselves, right?). It categorizes many different poor practice techniques, and many more good, effective techniques. They all have catchy names, too! Good practicing is the key to acheiving any goals we have on the horn, so this is good stuff! Highly recommended! |
| Practiceopedia, by Philip Johnston |
This contains a lot of the same information as The Practice Revolution (see above), but it's laid out in an encyclopedic format. This book is intended to be used by the student and is cross-referenced to help them identify their weaknesses and learn effective techniques for practicing to overcome those weaknesses. Also highly recommended! |
| |
|
| |
|