Gabby's French Horn

[bigtree]

Gabrielle Giffords @GabbyGiffords 1h
Not many people know that I play the French horn. I hadn’t played since I was child. But after I was shot, I started speech therapy, physical therapy, and music therapy. Relearning an instrument has been a huge part of my recovery, and I’m getting stronger every day.
twitter.com/GabbyGiffords/status/1297220245241974792

Link to tweet

[3catwoman3]

1. This was one of the most touching moments...

...of the whole convention. I’m glad I get to see it again.

Thank you for putting it up.

[DarthDem]

2. This was awesome and heartwarming.

So moving.

[tanyev]

3. She's made great strides since whenever I last saw her speak.

Such a fighter.

[PatSeg]

8. She really has

She was amazing.

[malaise]

22. I was impressed

She's come a long way

[North Shore Chicago]

4. She is so amazing!

The French horn is a difficult instrument, the placement of your hand as well as it is up an octave makes mastering it a challenge.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

5. I hope she recovers enough to ride her motorcycle

[unblock]

6. French horn is one of the harder instruments to play

In high school band/orchestra I used to go around and ask to play other students' musical instruments. I tried everything except drums (which is a bit ironic because eventually the orchestra conductor asked me to play timpani after throwing a fit at the drummers who couldn't keep a beat and were always blowing their entry because they couldn't count 12 measures of rest.)

Anyway, I was always able to get a decent tone out of any instrument within a minute or two. Bit of a parlor trick because I would study their fingering and mouth/cheeks the previous session and try to mimic them later. Add a bit of experimentation and it wasn't hard to get a reasonable tone.

But the French horn took several tries. It seemed to be the most unforgiving if the seal wasn't perfect or the pressure wasn't in the right narrow range.

In fact there wasn't much of a "decent" tone. It either sounded great or horrible. Usually horrible. But done well, it's a beautiful instrument.


Amazing that gabby could play it, I can certainly see how that would have helped in her recovery.

[GoneOffShore]

14. I'm so glad that she's learning the French horn.

Here's a bit of fun about learning to play -

[Karadeniz]

26. Cute!

[MyOwnPeace]

19. Great, but........

think that's bad - try an oboe!!!!!

And as for Gabby - YOU GO, GIRL!!!!!!!

[CTyankee]

33. Thank you so much for that information. I am not a musician but I am writing a book about the

relationship of art and music (I am an art historian).

this is a deep subject and I have relied on the musicians in my family and with my friends who have been musicians for a lot of the information I need (I am not, nor have I ever been, a musician but I am deeply reverential of them).

May I call on you through DU if I have some questions regarding the representation of music (playing, singing) in art?

[unblock]

34. Happy to help if I can

Though I'm a hack when it come to music. I was quite good when I started as a child but my brain just developed in a different way and I became much more analytical than creative. So my true talent with music lies in listening rather than performing lol.

But like I said, happy to help if I can.

Oh and art history? Lol, the one college course I actually failed. I was taking 6 courses that semester and I swear I put in more time on that course than the other 5 combined. I just couldn't memorize what period was what, what years corresponded to what period, etc. so a course that turned out to be basically, here are 150 paintings, memorize them, that was a disaster for me!

[CTyankee]

36. What a terrible professor you had!

I did not major in art history in college. My advanced degree was in something called Liberal Studies, but the time I spent in that was well spent. I learned a lot in ways of seeing and that and needing to have a distraction from my role as my husband's caregiver during/after his two spinal surgeries, was what led me to this place.

PM me. I wrote a book for folks like you...

[kentuck]

7. That is so cool!

[Farmgirl1961]

9. Beyond inspirational

Imagine that. Even with her horrific gunshot to her brain, she speaks better than tRump.

[djacq]

10. Gabby is a Superstar!

Mark Kelly will be Arizona's next U.S. Senator.

[calclar]

11. Music therapy is a real thing...

...and Gabby playing the horn - one, if not the most difficult instruments to play in the symphony orchestra brought me to tears (along with her absolutely inspirational speech!).

[warmfeet]

12. Very cool!

I also played the French Horn in junior high school and in high school. I'm sure it is good therapy, as any music would be.

[MerryBlooms]

13. r&k! I cried the first time I heard her Dem Convention speech, and now again. Love this woman!

[TexasBushwhacker]

24. So did Rachael Maddow - on air! N/t

[MerryBlooms]

25. Gabby has an inspirational fighting spirit that grabs my heart and lifts it up...

She's a light of hope in these times of darkness. She and her husband are just so amazing.

[Paladin]

15. Good for her.

Mastering---even remastering---the French horn is no small feat.

[Illumination]

16. Gabby has tremendous strength & courage! Her French horn is beautiful & what a treat to

hear her play it!

[volstork]

17. She is a truly amazing woman.

What a shining example of patriotism!

[oasis]

18. Wonderful person. Never fails to inspire.

[panader0]

20. She was my Representative, Az#2.

[ChazInAz]

21. Mine, too!

Even had office space in the same building on Pima and Swan.
My late wife and I would occasionally pop in to visit.
We both adored her.

[panader0]

23. Outside Sierra Vista here--it's a big district.

[NBachers]

32. I'm out of state, but I adopted her for contributions early on. I found myself clapping at the end

of Gabby's speech.

[Karadeniz]

27. She's purely WONDERFUL...always a treat to hear from her!❤

[DFW]

28. She has made incredible progress to be able to make this speech

The last time I saw her was years ago, and she was barely able to get a sentence together. You could tell she knew what she wanted to say, but it just wouldn't come. But I knew she was all there inside. You had to have known her before she was shot to have understood the quiet determination that is Gabby Giffords. Almost two years to the day after she was shot, I met up with her again, and was apprehensive about approaching too quickly, in case she had forgotten who I was. I needn't have worried. When she saw me from across the room, she let out a cry of delight and raised her good arm to beckon me over and give me a hug. Always musical, she was able to sing songs long before she had relearned speaking. i think that was her path to relearning speech to the point where she could do what she did in this video. If you had known her before and immediately after she was shot, you never would have believed this day would come--unless you had known her LONG before she was shot. Then you would have known she wouldn't stop trying, EVER.

[soldierant]

29. It's not surprising that playing the French horn helps.

That's an instrument which requires more concentration, discipline, musicianship, and just general hard work than most other instruments - possibly the must difficult of any modern instrument.

My hat's off to her!

[onetexan]

30. Come November she'll be a Senator-elect's wife

So proud of her & her hubby. They're good people

[OAITW r.2.0]

31. Inspirational. Proud to be in the same Party AS Ms. Gifford. nt

[Wounded Bear]

35. Music is great therapy...nt

[ashling]

37. So inspirational - So patriotic