My 2017-2018 Quick Recap - French Horn Group Lessons

This past school year, I had the pleasure of working with a great bunch of horn students. A friend of mine saw a video I posted of me playing Frippery 21. He sampled it and turned it into a track. I took that track and made this short video of some of my students from the school year. 

I had a great bunch of horn students over the 2017-2018 school year. Here is a quick little video I put together of my middle school and high school students. There are a few more that I either didn't get to capture on video, or they were a little camera shy and didn't want to be on camera.

Hand Position on the French Horn

One of the most common issues I find with horn players is hand position. Hand position is one of the most important aspects of playing the horn, yet it's one of the last things young horn players think about. 

Here's a quick video that shows where the hand should go and why it's so important. There's a few cameos from my students, too. This was a fun one to shoot. 

Right behind embouchure, hand position is one of the most important aspects of playing the french horn. In my years of visiting schools and working with horn sections, hand positions always varied. And they shouldn't! I made this video to show the proper hand position for horn players.

Let it Snow by Boyz II Men and Brian McKnight (French Horn Cover)

Cover of Let it Snow by Boyz II Men and Brian McKnight. Arrangement by Julian Luke Instagram: @jsquaredhorn Twitter: @jsquaredhorn Facebook: facebook.com/jsquaredmpc

It's snowing on the east coast today. I'm from Virginia Beach, VA. Growing up, we would get a dusting of snow every few years. Some years, more snow than others. Most of the time, our DOT would be on their job and the major roads would be salted in preparation for the snow. 

Currently, I live in Georgia. I actually moved here during a snow storm in 2011. It's snowed maybe every other year since then. It snowed a few weeks ago. It was beautiful. Good thing I didn't have anywhere to go because they do not know how to deal with the roads here. Everything is so spread out, it's almost impossible to try and salt everything anyway. 

In celebration of the snow, I recorded "Let it Snow" by Boyz II Men and Brian McKnight. One of my favorite groups and my favorite singer come together for the perfect holiday song that I play all year long. Thanks for listening!

Why I Like Playing the Horn

I asked my 8th grade horn players why they like playing the horn. They have so much personality, I knew I had to get their answers on video. I also asked them to give some advice to new horn players. 

I asked my 8th grade horn players why they like playing the horn and what advice they would give to horn players just starting out. These kids have so much personality. Interested in lessons? jsquaredmpc.com/lessons Questions? jaime@jsquaredmpc.com

#MOOD

Video: Dress Rehearsal with the ACSO

I've always considered myself to be an amateur filmmaker. In my head. In my mind, I rewrite scenes from my favorite movies, I guess the next lines in all of my favorite tv shows. As a professional musician and teacher, I'm a huge proponent of do-it-yourself. If you have a song you want people to hear, put it out there yourself. So, if I have a movie in my head that I want people to see, I need to put it out there myself. 

I challenged myself to shoot and edit a short film using only my iPhone and iMovie. Below is the result.