French horn
Category:Brass instruments
The
French horn is a
brass instrument consisting of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. It is also known as simply the
horn, or, in other languages:\n German - Horn\n Italian - corno\n French - cor
Compared to the other brass instruments commonly found in the
orchestra, the typical range of the french horn is set an octave higher in its
harmonic series, facilitated by its small, deep
mouthpiece, giving it its characteristic "mellow" tone. The typical playing range of a french horn goes from the written F at the bottom of the staff in
bass clef to the C above the staff in
treble clef.
History
\nThe original French Horns were much simpler than current horns, which consist of complicated tubing and a set of 3 to 5 valves (depending on the type of horn). These early horns were simply brass tubing wound a few times and flared into a larger opening at the end (called the bell of the horn). They evolved from the early hunting horns and, as such, were meant to be played while riding on a horse. The hornist would grip the horn on the piping near the mouthpiece and rest the body of the horn across his arm so that only one hand was needed to play and the other could be free to guide his steed. The only way to change the pitch was to use the natural harmonics of that particular length of tubing by changing the speed at which the lips vibrated against the mouthpiece.
Later, horns became interesting to composers, and were used to invoke an out-of-doors feeling and the idea of the chase. Even in the time of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, however, the horn player (now a part of the early orchestra) still had a much simpler version of the horn; he carried with him a set of crooks, which were curved pieces of tube of different length which could be used to change the length of the horn by removing part of the tubing and inserting a different length piece. The player now held the horn with both hands, holding the tubing near the mouthpiece with one, and putting the other into the bell, which was either rested upon the right knee of the player or the entire horn was lifted into the air. Now the pitch played could be changed in several ways. First the player could change the harmonic series which the instrument as a whole had by removing and inserting different sized crooks into the instrument, changing the length of the horn itself. Less globally, given a particular crook, the vibration of the lips could be varied in speed, thus moving to a different pitch on the given harmonic series. Finally, now that the player had his hand in the bell, the hand became an extension on the length of the horn, and by closing and opening the space available for air to leave the bell, he could bend the pitch to interpolate between the elements of a harmonic series. This interpolation finally made the horn a true melodic instrument, not simply limited to a harmonic series, and some of the great composers started to write concerti for this new instrument. The Mozart Horn Concerti, for example, were written for this type of horn, called the natural horn in the modern literature.
Around 1815, the horn took on new form, as valves were introduced, which allowed the player to switch between crooks without the effort of manually removing one from the horn and inserting a new one. At this same time, the standard horn came to be the horn on the F harmonic series, and there were then three valves added to it. Using these three valves, the player could play all the notes reachable in the horn's range.
Types of horns
The single F horn, despite this improvement, had a rather irksome flaw. As the player played higher and higher notes, the distinctions a player had to make with his or her embouchure from note to note became increasingly precise. An early solution was simply to use a horn of higher pitch -- usually B-flat. The relative merits of F versus B-flat were a hotbed of debate between horn players of the late nineteenth century, until the German horn maker Kruspe produced a prototype of the "double horn" in 1897.
The double horn combines two instruments into one frame: the original horn in F, and a second, higher horn keyed in B-flat. By using a fourth valve operated by the thumb, the horn player can quickly switch from the deep, warm tones of the F horn to the higher, brighter tones of the B-flat horn (commonly called "sides"). In the words of Reginald Morley-Pegge, the invention of the double horn "revolutionized horn playing technique almost as much as did the invention of the valve." [Morley-Pegge, "Orchestral," 195]
Specialized horns
While most modern instruments are of the F/B-flat double horn variety, various special-purpose instruments are available (usually at a very high price).
The most common is the descant horn, which is a single horn pitched in F alto, one octave higher than the traditional F horn. The descant is used largely for extended playing in the high register, such as in Bach's Brandenburg Concerti. Double horns in B-flat/High F (or High E-flat) are increasingly popular for works that only use the upper and upper-middle registers of the instrument.
Single horns in F or B-flat still see use, notably in operatic settings. Their lighter weight renders them much more suitable for the extended and strenuous playing required of Wagnerian operas.
The triple horn is the result of merging an F/B-flat double horn with an F-alto descant, adding a fifth valve to an already complex instrument. While the horn is suitable for work in nearly every register of horn literature, the added weight makes it tiresome to play, and for this reason it is not widely used.
The Viennese Horn is a horn traditionally played in the Vienna Philharmonic. It is a standard single horn with a dual piston mechanism for each valve. This page shows a bit more about the differences between this and the other horns listed above.
The mellophone is, in appearance, very different from any of the above types of horn, but it is nevertheless used in place of the horn in marching bands. In fact marching band is the only connection between the horn and the mellophone. This instrument is harmonically much more similar to an elongated trumpet.
Horn Techniques
\nDouble/Triple Tounging
\nThese techniques are not unique to the horn and are applicable to most all wind instruments. Normal tonguing consists of interrupting the air stream by tapping the back of the front teeth with the tongue as said in the syllable 'da' or 'ta'. Double tonguing is alternating between the 'ta' sound and the 'ka' sound. Try saying the word kitty repeatedly to get the idea. Triple tonguing is most used for patterns of three and is made with the syllables 'ta-ka-ta' said repeatedly.
Stopped Horn
\nThis is the act of fully closing off the bell with the right hand or a special stopping mute. This results in a somewhat nasal sound. The usual notation is a '+' above the note followed by a 'o' above notes that are open. For longer stopped passages the word is just written out. Below is a list for different languages:\n\n English - stopped ... open\n German - gestopft ... offen\n Italian - chiuso ... aperto\n French - bouché ... ouvert (not to be confused with cuivre which means brassy.)\nThere is some debate as to how to finger the stopped note. Among horn players it is accepted that stopping a note raises the pitch by a half-step. Think of the act of stopping as shortening the total length of the horn. Therefore to play the written pitch a half step below the note must be fingered. Stopping must always be done on the F horn as the Bb horn generally does not work for common notes (see fingering chart for acceptable notes to stop on the Bb horn). Some Bb horns do help this by having an A stopping valve.
Muted Horn
\nSome confusion arrives when a composer marks a passage muted but also puts +'s above the notes. This is usually a typographical error or a lack of understanding the difference between stopped horn and muted horn by the composer. Muted horn is just the use of a mute in the horn. It is therefore impossible for a note to be stopped and muted simultaneously. For marking this in music the following are used:\n English - muted ... open (or remove mute)\n German - gedampft ... dampfer weg\n Italian - con sordino ... senza sordino\n French - avec sourdine ... enlevez la sourdine
Handhorn technique
\nBefore the advent of the valve horn players could increase the number of notes the could play beyond the normal harmonic series by changing the position of the hand in the bell. This resulted in a near chromatic range from the horn midrange and up.
Transposition
\nMany older pieces for horn were written for a horn not keyed in F as is standard today. As a result a requirement for modern orchestra hornists is to be able to read music directly in these keys. This is most commonly done by transposing the music on the fly into F. Commonly seen transpositions:\n Bb alto - up a P4\n A alto - up a M3\n Ab alto - up a m3 (uncommon)\n G - up a M2\n F# - up a m2 (uncommon)\n F - no transposition required\n E - down a m2\n Eb - down a M2\n D - down a m3\n Db - down a M3 (uncommon)\n C - down a P4\n B - down a d5 (uncommon)
Multiphonics
\nMultiphonics is the act of producing more than one pitch simultaneously on the horn. To do this one note is produced as normal while another is sung. Doing this it is quite difficult to produce an aesthetically pleasing sound, but nonetheless can be done. Like other wind instrument techniques, it is not unique to the horn. One of its earliest uses however occurs in the Concertino for Horn and Orchestra by Carl Maria von Weber.
Circular Breating
\nInformation on this subject can be found here.
Fingering Chart
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Well Known Horn Players
\n*Peter Arnold\n*Radek Baborak\n*Hermann Baumann\n*Dennis Brain\n*Aubrey Brain\n*David Cripps\n*Peter Damm\n*Stefan Dohr\n*Philip Farkas\n*Lowell Greer\n*Michael Höltzel\n*Roland Horvath \n*Fritz Huth\n*Ifor James\n*Kurt Janetzky\n*Heinrich Keller\n*Christian Lampert\n*Joseph Ignaz Leitgeb\n*Ethel Merker\n*Marie-Luise Neunecker\n*Hans Pizka\n*Max P. Pottag\n*Josef Schantl\n*Bruno Schneider\n*Gerd Seifert\n*James Sommerville\n*Franz Strauss\n*Gunther Schuller\n*James Thatcher\n*Barry Tuckwell\n*Istvan Vincze\n*Radovan Vlatkovic
Pieces for Horn
\n*Johann Georg Albrechtsberger: Concerto F-Dur für Horn und Orchester\n*Hermann Baumann: Elegia, für Naturhorn solo\n*Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonate für Klavier und Horn, Op. 17\n*Vicenzo Bellini: Concerto F-Dur für Horn und Orchester\n*Emmanuel Chabrier: Larghetto für Horn und Orchester\n*Reinhold Gliere: Concerto op.91 B-Dur, für Horn und Orchester\n*Michael Haydn: Concertino, für 2 Hörner und Orchester\n*Joseph Haydn: Konzert Es-Dur, für 2 Hörner und Orchester\n*Joseph Haydn: Hornkonzert Nr.1\n*Joseph Haydn: Konzert für 2 Hörner und Orchester in Es-Dur\n*Paul Hindemith: Concerto for Horn and Orchestra\n*Paul Hindemith: Sonata for Horn\n*Franz Anton Hoffmeister: Romance für 3 Hörner und Orchester\n*Heinrich Hübler: Konzert, für 4 Hörner und Orchester\n*Leopold Mozart: Sinfonia da Caccia G-Dur "Jagdsinfonie", für 4 Hörner, Kugelbüchse und Streichorchester\n*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Hornkonzert Nr. 1 D-dur KV 412 (zweisätzig)\n*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Hornkonzert Nr. 2 Es-dur KV 417 (dreisätzig)\n*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Hornkonzert Nr. 3 Es-dur KV 447 (dreisätzig)\n*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Hornkonzert Nr. 4 Es-dur KV 495 (dreisätzig)\n*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Konzertrondo für Horn und Orchester in Es-Dur, KV371 (einsätzig)\n*Francis Poulenc: Elegy for horn and piano \n*Joseph Reicha: Konzert op.5, für 2 Hörner und Orchester\n*Antonio Rosetti: Concerto Nr.6 in E, für Horn und Orchester\n*Camille Saint-Saens: Morceau du Concert for Horn and Orchestra\n*Camille Saint-Saens: Romance op.36, für Horn und Orchester\n*Robert Schumann: Konzertstück F-Dur op.86 für 4 Solo- Hörner, Piccolo-Flöte, 2 Flöten, 2 Oboen, 2 Klarinetten, 2 Fagotte, 2 Hörner (ad lib.), 2 Trompeten, 3 Posaunen, Pauke und Streicher\n*Carl Stamitz: Konzert Es-Dur, für Solo- Horn, 2 Flöten, 2 Hörner und Streicher\n*Franz Strauss: Fantasie op. 6 für Horn und Orchester\n*Richard Strauss: Hornkonzert Nr. 1 in Es-dur, Op. 11 (1883)\n*Richard Strauss: Hornkonzert Nr. 2 in Es-dur (1942)\n*Richard Strauss: Andante für Horn und Klavier, Opus posthum\n*Richard Strauss: Introduction, Thema und Variationen für Horn und Klavier, Opus 17\n*Georg Philipp Telemann: Konzert D-Dur für Horn und Streichorchester\n*Georg Philipp Telemann: Konzert Es-Dur; Tafelmusik für 2 Hörner, Streicher und Cembalo\n*Carl Maria von Weber: Concertino für Horn und Orchester, Op. 45
External Links
\n*The International Horn Society\n*Professor John Q. Ericson's Horn Links\n*Some online horn articles\n*An online collection of horn orchestral excerpts\n*How the valved horn emerged from the early Industrial Revolution
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