sounds that get under your skin
With the latest release of Ableton Live 12, it is now possible to load tunings programmed in Scala directly and apply them to a variety of samplers and synthesizers. You can download tuning files for alphorns and Büchel here.
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Alphorn music is subject to copyright. Alphorn players should familiarize themselves with the basics. This is not primarily about legal problems, but about the question of respect and appreciation towards the composers.
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Play-Alongs are very popular with alphorn players. Many scores are now available in electronic formats, and with the free software Musescore, rendering to audio is no problem. Here is a step-by-step guide for the technically inexperienced.
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The opportunity for this portrait arose on the occasion of a performance of Frapepi at Uhuru Festival 2023. Unexpectedly, things got a bit chaotic: A storm on the Weissenstein shredded the tents of the festival visitors, and during the concert the area had to be evacuated. At least we found a reasonably quiet barn for the interview and alphorn trial. Franz Schüssele is an alphorn Jack of all trades. He began his musical career as a trombonist in classical music
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Brandi and Lindsey Jones are, to my knowledge, the only alphorn making couple in the world. They have known each other since their school days. Musically, they went the way of the trombone to the French horn as an inseparable duo. Lindsey graduated early and dedicated himself to restoring brass instruments with his Nevada-based business, Silver & Brass Musical Instruments, beginning in 2013. Brandi joined the business full time when it began generating enough sales to cover the young couple’s
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The first months on the alphorn are for beginners mainly a struggle with the lips. After just a few minutes of playing the alphorn, the muscles go slack – then it just croaks, high notes no longer come and the lips hurt. The usual advice is “be patient, it will come in time, just don’t push it…”. That may be. But isn’t there a shortcut? What was that again about bodybuilding for the lips? If you do some research on
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At the age of 32, Romain Boulanger is currently probably the youngest alphorn maker. I met him on the sidelines of my visit to the Federal Yodeling Festival and tried out his alphorn. Romain has played the trumpet since early childhood and is still active in a harmony. Rather by chance he discovered the alphorn seven years ago. Via Alexandre Jous he came to the Sonneurs de Savoye . Besides this large formation, Romain also blows successfully with the Trio
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One should not be deceived by the youthful appearance: Sandro Faïta has already had a 20-year career as a professional horn player in France, Ticino and Belgium. Health problems forced him to take a longer break a good ten years ago; after that he did not want to return to the classical orchestra. Instead, he did an apprenticeship as a carpenter and got into alphorn making. He runs the company résonance bois together with his business partner, who is a
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For more than half a century Gérald Pot has been intensively involved with the alphorn. As a child, he was first captivated by the magical sound. At the age of nine, he started making music himself – his father was a bandmaster in the local brass band. The alphorn was added later. Through his contact with the mountain farmer Pierre Cochard, he also came to alphorn making. Cochard(here in a great documentary by TSR from 1976) didn’t teach him many
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In Lavey-Village, at the south-eastern tip of the canton of Vaud, François Morisod has been making his alphorns for over twenty years. Michel Gaugaz from Aigle(seen here in a TVRL video) had asked the carpenter and wood sculptor for assistance at the time and then initiated him into the basics of the alphorn. This opened up the world of music for François, which was completely new to him. The production of wooden sculptures, as well as general carpentry, has remained
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