Method Books and Etudes
What are they for?
Let’s introduce an analogy - playing music is like cooking. Say you are making French onion soup. Your recipe may begin with the instruction ‘sautée onions’. Working on an etude is like learning to sauté onions - you will be much more successful at making French onion soup if you practiced sautéing onions ahead of time. One etude may be sautéing onions; another might be making a roux. Taking the time to build those base skills will make cooking soup easier and tastier! In my opinion, the best way to use method books is to select etudes/studies that focus on a skill that you are trying to develop, e.g. tonging or intervals of fourths for 80% of your etude time and spent 20% working a skill you have and want to reinforce.
Which one(s) should I own?
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An Illustrated Method for French Horn (link) This is a great first book for a horn player. The pictures are helpful and the exercises are straightforward and targeted. When I take a break from playing, this is the first book I pull off the shelf to help me reacquaint myself with my horn.
Practical Studies for French Horn, Book I, by Robert W. Getchell (link) Learning by doing is critical in the development of horn playing technique. This book is a great basic book for an early student looking to become proficient in clear, accurate approaches to melodic phrasing.
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Sixty Selected Studies for Horn by Kopprasch (link) A student looking for technical challenges for mid-to-high horn playing will find exactly this in the Kopprasch book. This is a studio standard - every horn teacher I have studied with has referenced Kopprasch. Here (link) is an interesting article about the history of the valved horn and the development of this method book in particular:
Grand Theoretical and Practical Method for the Valve Horn (link) This book is fantastic for drilling scales, arpeggios, and intervals. Ot cover scales patterns and intervals for all major and minor keys. This book has a methodical approach to rhythms and phrasing. It’s great to start with this book early - it will last your whole career.
200 New Melodic and Gradual Studies for Horn by Maxime Alphonse, book 1 (link) aka Deux cents Etudes Nouvelles Melodiques et Progressives pour Cor. These studies are more musical and less mechanical than Kopprasch - an excellent complement. This book is more commonly used to train European horn players. I find the etudes to be fun and challenging - I have developed a real relationship with this music over the years! Book 1 is appropriate for the Early Intermediate player; Books 2-3 for a more advanced player, working up to book 6 at the ‘virtuoso’ level. This link will bring you to a thorough self-guided study of these books, published in The Horn Call by Robert Thistle.
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Legato Etudes for French Horn by John R. Shoemaker (link) This book does a great job of helping the student make musical choices and develop air and technique to execute them.
200 New Melodic and Gradual Studies for Horn by Maxime Alphonse, books 2-4 (link) aka Deux cents Etudes Nouvelles Melodiques et Progressives pour Cor. Books 2 - 4 of the Maxime Alphonse series are appropriate for intermediate proficient horn players. These books have a mature, complex approach to mastering technical challenges on the horn.
12 Studies, Op. 57 Gallay - Twelve great works that treat the horn player to fun all over the staff. A classic method book for your stand.
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200 New Melodic and Gradual Studies for Horn by Maxime Alphonse, books 4-6 (link) aka Deux cents Etudes Nouvelles Melodiques et Progressives pour Cor. Books 4-6 of the Maxime Alphonse series are appropriate for advanced players. These later books in the series ramp the horn player to mastery through the use of novel musical ideas.
Some resources that I have referenced over the years:
I do not receive any commissions from the linked products. I have worked with Houghton Horns and Pope Repair for over a decade and have had absolutely wonderful experiences with them. It’s great to support these shops! My horn and mouthpiece are both from Houghton Horns.
