☯️📯 Ep. 22 Momo Seko on Creativity, Taste & Technique

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 taste How Momo & Alvin began making music together Treating the horn as a vocal instrument Creating different colors and “porosities” in your sound Practicing multiple kinds of pianissimo, loud, bright, warm, and gentle Building a bigger artistic toolbox Learning music by ear Turning technical challenges into ear-training challenges Improvisation and learning to create in real time Loop pedals and arranging pop music for horn The tension between professional reliability and artistic individuality Why classical training only captures some dimensions of music Negative space, decay, silence, and how notes end Technique driven by artistic intention Nonviolent Communication for musicians and teachers Giving yourself permission to make music you actually like Momo’s message to horn players: “What you like matters.” 🌐 Links High Range Magic for French Hornists: https://highrangemagic.com Momo on Instagram:   / momo.s.corno   Momo & Alvin: https://momoandalvin.com/