This episode is sponsored by @HighRangeMagic, a comprehensive & innovative online program for horn players. Find out more at https://www.highrangemagic.com/ 📯 What do YOU actually want to sound like? Momo Seko is a horn player, composer, arranger, educator, and musical experimenter whose work moves through orchestral playing, pop music, improvisation, chamber music, loop pedals, and her horn-and-guitar duo Momo & Alvin. At the center of this conversation is a simple idea: What you like matters. Momo describes sheet music as a recipe rather than the cake. The notation gives us something to work with, and then our ears, taste, imagination, and musical intentions bring it to life. That idea runs through almost everything we explore in this episode. We experiment with different colors and “porosities” of horn sound. Momo explains why she deliberately practices multiple kinds of pianissimo, brightness, warmth, intensity, and note endings. She walks through her process for learning music entirely by ear and explains why treating a technical challenge as an ear challenge can sometimes transform the way you approach the horn. We also talk about improvisation, arranging pop music, loop pedals, negative space, the relationship between artistry and professional reliability, and the parts of music that classical training does not always teach us how to name. This is a conversation about developing enough technique to have choices, then developing enough taste to know which choice you actually want. TOPICS Why sheet music is a “recipe, not the cake”Developing your own musical tasteHow Momo & Alvin began making music togetherTreating the horn as a vocal instrumentCreating different colors and “porosities” in your soundPracticing multiple kinds of pianissimo, loud, bright, warm, and gentleBuilding a bigger artistic toolboxLearning music by earTurning technical challenges into ear-training challengesImprovisation and learning to create in real timeLoop pedals and arranging pop music for hornThe tension between professional reliability and artistic individualityWhy classical training only captures some dimensions of musicNegative space, decay, silence, and how notes endTechnique driven by artistic intentionNonviolent Communication for musicians and teachersGiving yourself permission to make music you actually likeMomo’s message to horn players: “What you like matters.” 🌐 Links High Range Magic for French Hornists: https://highrangemagic.com Momo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/momo.s.corno/ Momo & Alvin: https://momoandalvin.com/
