French Horn

A New Method To Practice Improvisation For Classical Musicians

Joshua Pantoja, Third Horn of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and Professor of Horn at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music, has released a new book for classical musicians who are wanting to strengthen their skills in jazz and improvisation.

“The book is made especially for classically trained musicians who would like to adventure into improvisation and jazz. It was first intended for the french horn but it could easily be adapted to any instrument.  It is mainly based on the Circle of 4ths. It’s a book full exercises that includes Major an Minor pentatonic scales, Blues scales, Chord tones, Modes, how to learn them and where to use them while improvising. It is a very fun method, you can be very creative with it. [A]dapted to your own level of execution, you can use a classical articulation or a jazz articulation [as it] all depends on what you want to work on.”

Accompaniment tracks have been added to Joshua’s website for various exercises found within the book.

To order the book, please visit www.joshuapantoja.com.

Jeremy Smith

Jeremy E. Smith is the Founder and Editor of Last Row Music. He received music degrees from Grace College, Carnegie Mellon University, and The Ohio State University. Currently, Jeremy is the bass trombonist of the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra and performs throughout Ohio, where he lives with his wife and two sons. Smith is a member of the International Trombone Association and the Jazz Journalists Association.