Another day, another rehearsal.

This morning saw me trudging up the hill to Blackheath to rehearse Schubert's 5th Symphony.

One thing I dislike about Blackheath Halls is that the place tends, like all big old draughty buildings, to be freezing inside. Today was no exception, and though it is spring and Not That Cold out, I made sure to dress warmly in velvet and cashmere.

Keeping my body a comfortable temperature is not as difficult as keeping my horn a sensible one, however. The cold hands from touching a giant heat-sink I don't mind too much, but the instrument does respond quite differently at different temperatures. For one thing, when it's cold the horn goes flat, as do many other instruments; but not everyone in the orchestra will be the same amount flat, and different people compensate in different ways (and sometimes in different directions), with the result that tuning becomes slightly nightmarish. I think the worst thing is that it's just not terribly responsive when it's cold. Moving from one note to the next seems far more difficult, and it's more tiring to play. Schubert's 5th has not quite enough playing in it for the instrument to stay properly warm. I'm thinking I'll have to blow air through it during the rests next time we rehearse at Blackheath.

Thankfully concerts at Blackheath are usually a sensible temperature. I'm not sure if it's because they put the heating on or because having an audience full of homeotherms is enough to make a difference.