Name: Merav Goldman aka Meravi
Nationality: German
Occupation: Horn player, vocalist, songwriter, composer
Current release: Meravi's new album Golden Sign is out via Sod Camus.

Tool of Creation: The horn
Type of Tool: Woodwind, brass instrument
Country of origin: Byzantium
Became available: c.  10th or 11th century

If you enjoyed these thoughts about the horn by Meravi and would like to know more about her music, visit her on Instagram, Facebook, and bandcamp.  

Meravi is also a member of Berlin based collectives Jembaa Groove and Move 78. For a deeper dive, read our Jembaa Groove interview and our Move 78 interview.  



Some see instruments merely as tools towards creativity, others feel they go hand in hand. What's your take on that?

In my case the horn is the creativity.

After some not-very-exciting attempts to write songs on piano or guitar, I was luckily introduced to some music programs. Finally I was able to record, edit and layer horns in order to write music. Everything became easy and intuitive. Writing with the horn feels like a second nature.

I like the idea of creating in a frame. Some people will say it’s limiting, but in my case it gives me the freedom to create. The horn is the frame and the freedom.

I've spent so much time with this instrument that I know every corner, or, more precisely, every curve of it, and the horn is the center of my musical inspiration.

In the light of picking your instrument, how would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation vs perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

To be honest I feel an inner conflict regarding that topic.

On one hand I am trying to reinvent the use of this instrument, which goes well with originality and innovation. On the other hand I do feel my classical background regarding my relationship with perfection and timelessness. I see no reason in creating something that was done already a million times, but I also really appreciate skills and tradition.

I hope I manage to bring the good things from both sides into my creative process and into my music. To be honest I don’t know anyone who wrote songs using (apart for vocals and drums) only horn.

The closest thing, that inspired me also during my writing, is a song by Bjork called “The Anchor Song.”



If anyone knows of more music using unusual instrument so exclusively, please lemme know!

What was your first encounter with the horn? What was it about it that drew you in?

Tthat’s a somewhat funny story …

When I went to pick an instrument, at the age of 10, I was as original as any other girl at my age - I wanted to play the flute. Luckily the flute teacher was too busy and I was offered to play the horn. I’m still not sure if it’s because the horn was a good fit or they simply needed horn players in the youth orchestra, but in any case I was lucky. When I saw this magnificent instrument, all shiny and pretty, I immediately wanted to try it.

What really drew me in was the that I felt special and that I met other kids I felt could be my friends. Being not the most popular kid in class, this gave me a sense of uniqueness and belonging that I still feel to this day.

Just like any other instrument, the horn has a rich history. What are some of the key points from this history for you personally?

So the horn has a really interesting history, it’s a really old instrument. I find the technical part of the instrument development fascinating, but that talk is for horn nerds only.

Something about the horn’s history I find very cool is that it was used for hunting only back in the days. It took some time before it was introduced to the music world, but once it was, the musical demands got higher and so did the production of the instrument itself.

I find in that history inspiring to keep developing. The horn was used for hunting and then introduced to the classical music world. I want to continue the development and introduce changes in the way we use it. The physical changes, if necessary, will follow for sure.

What, to you, are some of the most interesting horn recordings and -performances by other artists in terms of your personal development?

Since there are not too many horn players playing non-classical music, I am forced to go back to my classical roots.

The old recordings of Dennis Brain influenced me a lot. I remember listening to the bad quality or recording, trying to memorize every little detail.



Then there is Radek Baborák, whom I was lucky enough to play with.

But throughout my life I am still going back to a recording of him as a kid playing flawlessly. His freedom on the horn was always mind-blowing.



There were a couple women that especially inspired me as a young female horn player.

I used to listen to orchestral recordings with Gail Williams leading the horns section, and I was lucky to see and meet Julie Landsman live in New York.



Those experiences are worth the world to me, being a female brass player - a woman in a men’s world.

When talking about electronic devices, we often think about their “features”. But the horn is a complex device, too. What are some of its stand-out features from your point of view? How would you describe its sonic potential?

The horn has absolutely amazing features. It’s so versatile.

It can have this heavy brassy sound or a very soothing, soft one. The range is also very wide. As you can hear on my album Golden Sign, I play bass, harmonic and melodic lines with one instrument. I find it crazy and I love it.

In the last years I stared to using some effect and pedals, which really makes the sonic potential endless.

Instrument design is an ongoing process. Are you interested in recent developments for the horn in this respect?

To be honest I am not a big equipment nerd. Also this instrument finished its main development long time ago.

The more recent developments are  happening in order to make the life of the classical horn players easier, cause being a classical horn layer is really f#@king hard.

These days I am a bit more interested in learning music editing programs better and getting nice effects for the horn.

Tell me about the process of learning to play the instrument and your own explorations with it.

Learning to play the horn was pretty easy for me at first. Later on it got much harder and you can’t even imagine how many hours I spent practicing. The horn is an instrument that’s dependent on a very close connection with its player. Big devotion, playing daily for years.

I’ve always been very curious with the horn, and besides the “normal practice” I would always play along my favorite jazz tunes and learning the solos of the featured instrument. This was the beginning of my exploration.

Nowadays I get to explore a lot with composing my music and with my band Move 78, where my experimental spirit is at its best.



What are specific challenges in terms of playing the horn?

As I mentioned earlier, this instrument requires a tight bond, and the need to play almost daily to keep in shape can sometimes be a challenge.

But there is a deeper challenge. I have a slight tendency towards perfectionism, and the horn is my so called “life lesson”, as it is known as a tricky instrument regarding accuracy …

What interests you about the horn in terms of it contributing to your creative ideals? How do you see the relationship between your instrument and the music you make?

As I said earlier as well, the horn is the music I make. I follow the instrument and what “it wants” - what works nicely on it and what sounds best. I explore the way I use it to find what it is the horn is asking for that hasn’t been done yet. Then I combine all that with my ideas and thoughts to create the songs.

Sometimes it feels like I am the instrument and the horn is using me to be heard and not the other way around. A bit cheesy :)

How would you describe your personal style of playing the horn?

Eclectic.


Meravi Interview Image by Shari Annabell Marks

What does playing your instrument feel like, what do you enjoy about it, what are your own physical limits and strengths?

Playing the horn feels like having an extension on the body. I love playing it more and more as time goes, really. I’m deeply moved now realizing that after writing it.

I do have weaker and stronger areas on the horn. I am not a natural screamer (not a big fan of playing really loud) and I am not the most experienced improviser (which I always want to improve). But I think I could say my playing is very soulful and my soft playing is my real jam.

One thing that is great about the horn, is that there is always more to practice and more to improve and grow.

Could you describe working with the horn on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

Working with the horn as the only pitched instrument on my music is pretty special. It is a melodic instrument so I actually always write the music in melodic layers.

Let’s say I start with the bass line, so it will be for me a little bass melody. On top of that the harmony will be layered of melding horn lines and so on. So for me the work of composition isn’t harmony oriented, I go by ear only layering melodic lines.

The other thing is that is super cool with the horn is that I can play both the bass with it as well as the leading high pitched melodies thanks to its crazy range. I find this very special and unique to the horn.

How, would you say, does the horn interact with other instruments from ensembles/groups you're part of?

So I mentioned how versatile the horn is, and I think it’s probably the best feature of that instrument. This is why I think it has the potential of blending in very well with many other instruments.

But you know, those things depend more on the musicians holding the instrument than on the instruments themselves.

Are there other hornists whose work with their instrument you find inspiring? What do you appreciate about their take on it?

I met many great horn players along the way that inspired me a lot. To mention just a few of them that especially inspired me regarding the unusual use of the horn:

Matias Piñeira is a super successful classical horn player that also sings and plays in a great band, Stefan Jezierski who used to play in Berliner Phil and now sometimes plays in the best jazz bars Berlin, Nuria Rodriguez Diaz who is combining horn and coaching for musicians, Mangala Erdos which a young jazz horn player I recently met and many many more.

I am thankful for all those inspiring encounters.