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French horn front.png
Brass instrument
Other names French Horn, F-Horn de: Horn
es: Trompa
fr: Cor d'Harmonie
it: Corno
Classification Aerophone
Hornbostel-Sachs classification 423.232
(Valved aerophone sounded by lip movement)
Playing range
Range frenchhorn.png
in F: sounds one fifth lower than written. However, it is by custom that notes in the bass clef are written one octave too low.[1]
Related instruments
More articles

The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about 12 feet (3.7 m) of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player (or less frequently, a hornist).

Descended from the natural horn, the instrument is informally known as the French horn, but since 1971 the International Horn Society has recommended the horn.[2]

Horns have valves, operated with the left hand, to route the air into extra tubing to change the pitch. Most horns have lever-operated rotary valves, but some horns like the Vienna horn use piston valves (similar to trumpet valves). A horn without valves is known as a natural horn, changing pitch along the natural harmonics of the instrument (similar to a bugle), but with a wide range of notes due to the long tubing.

Three valves control the flow of air in the single horn, which is tuned to F or less commonly, B. The more common double horn has a fourth valve, usually operated by the thumb, which routes the air to one set of tubing tuned to F or the second set of tubing tuned to B. Triple horns with five valves are also made, tuned in F, B, and a descant E or F.


General characteristics

The horn is the second highest sounding instrument group in the brass family. Horns are mostly tuned in B or F, or a combination of those. In some traditions, novice players use a single horn in F, while others prefer the B horn. Compared to the other brass instruments in the orchestra, it has a very different mouthpiece, but has the widest usable range - approximately four octaves, depending on the ability of the player. To produce different notes on the horn, one must do many things - the four most important are pressing the valves, holding the appropriate amount of lip tension, blowing air into the instrument, and placing the hand in the bell. More lip tension and faster air produces higher notes. Less lip tension and slower air produces lower notes. The right hand, usually cupped at a "three o-clock" position in the bell, can lower the pitch, depending on how far into the bell the player puts it, by as much as a semitone in the instrument's midrange. The horn plays in a higher portion of its overtone series compared to most brass instruments. Its conical bore (as opposed to the cylindrical bore of the trumpet or trombone) is largely responsible for its characteristic tone, often described as "mellow".

Today, music for the horn is typically written in F and sounds a perfect fifth lower than written. The limitations on the range of the instrument are primarily governed by the available valve combinations for the first four octaves of the overtone series and after that by the ability of the player to control the pitch through their air supply and embouchure. The typical written ranges for the horn start at either the F immediately below the bass clef or the C an octave below middle C.


Also important to note is that many pieces from the Baroque to Romantic periods are written in keys other than F. This practice began in the early days of the horn before valves, when the composer would indicate the key the horn should be in (horn in D, horn in C, etc.) and the part would be notated as if it were in C. For a player with a valveless horn that is a help, showing where in the harmonic series a particular note is. A player with a modern instrument must provide the final transposition to the correct pitch. For example, a written C for horn in D must be transposed down a minor third and played as an A on F horn.


Horn with three Perinet valves
"How to shout and blow Horns."—Facsimile of a miniature in a manuscript of the hunting manual of Gaston Phoebus (15th century)



Early horns were commonly pitched in B alto, A, A, G, F, E, E, D, C, and B basso. Since the only notes available were those on the harmonic series of one of those pitches, they had no ability to play in different keys. The remedy for this limitation was the use of crooks, i.e. sections of tubing of differing length that, when inserted, altered the length of the instrument, and thus its pitch.





Types of horn


Single horn

Single horns use a single set of tubes connected to the valves. This allows for simplicity of use and a much lighter weight. They are usually in the keys of F or B, although many F horns have longer slides to tune them to E, and almost all B horns have a valve to put them in the key of A. The problem with single horns is the inevitable choice between accuracy or tone - while the F horn has the "typical" horn sound, above third-space C accuracy is concern for the majority of players because, by its nature, one plays high in the horn's harmonic series where the overtones are closer together. This led to the development of the B horn, which, although easier to play accurately, has a less desirable sound in the mid and especially the low register where it is not able to play all of the notes. The solution has been the development of the double horn which combines the two into one horn with a single lead pipe and bell. Both main types of single horns are still used today as student models because they are cheaper and lighter than double horns. In addition, the single B horns are sometimes used in solo and chamber performances and the single F survives orchestrally as the Vienna horn. Additionally, single F alto and B alto descants are used in the performance of some baroque horn concertos and F, B and F alto singles are occasionally used by jazz performers.

Dennis Brain's benchmark recordings of the Mozart Horn Concerti were made on a single B instrument by Gebr. Alexander, now on display at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Double horn

The valves of a Conn 6D double horn. The 3 lever keys (above the large valves) can be depressed to the large outer tube. The thumb key (near the left valve) moves inward toward the 3 finger keys.
Scheme of a double horn (view from underneath)

Despite the introduction of valves, the single F horn proved difficult for use in the highest range, where the partials grew closer and closer, making accuracy a great challenge. An early solution was simply to use a horn of higher pitch—usually B. The use of the F versus the B horn was a hotbed of debate between horn players of the late nineteenth century, until the German horn maker Ed. Kruspe produced a prototype of the "double horn" in 1897.

The double horn also combines two instruments into a single frame: the original horn in F, and a second, higher horn keyed in B. By using a fourth valve (usually 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 horn. The two sets of tones are commonly called "sides" of the horn. Using the fourth valve not only changes the basic length (and thus the harmonic series and pitch) of the instrument, it also causes the three main valves to use proportionate slide lengths.[3]



Compensating double horn

The first design of double horn did not have a separate set of slides pitched in F. Rather, the main key of the horn was B (the preference of German horn players) and it could be played in F by directing air through the B slides, an F extension, and another set of tiny slides. This "compensated" for the longer length of the F slides, producing a horn now called the "compensating double". It was, and still is, widely used by European horn players because of its light weight and ease of playing, especially in the high register.

Triple horn


Other modifications


Related horns

Natural horn


The natural horn is the ancestor of the modern horn. It is essentially descended from hunting horns, with its pitch controlled by air speed, aperture (opening of the lips through which the air passes) and the use of the right hand moving in and out of the bell. Today it is played as a period instrument. The natural horn can only play from a single harmonic series at a time because there is only one length of tubing available to the horn player. It is however possible to alter the pitch by using a technique that involves partially muting the bell with the right hand, thus enabling the player to reach some notes that are not part of the instrument's natural harmonic series - of course this technique also affects the quality of the tone. The player has a choice of key through changing the length of tubing with crooks.

Vienna horn

Vienna horn



Sometimes, a derivative of the F alto horn, commonly used in brass bands and marching bands, called a mellophone or mellophonium is used. It is shaped like a cornet, with piston valves played with the right hand and a forward-pointing bell. These horns are generally considered better marching instruments than regular horns because their position is more stable on the mouth, they project better, and they weigh less. Though they are usually played with a trumpet like mouthpiece, their range overlaps the common playing range of the horn. This mouthpiece switch makes the mellophone louder, less mellow, and more brassy and brilliant, making it more appropriate for marching bands. It is a sound similar to that of the bass trumpet. Often now with the use of converters, traditional conical horn mouthpieces are used to achieve the more mellow sound of a horn, in order to make the marching band sound more like a symphonic band. There are two instruments with the moniker "mellophone". The first, rarely seen in the 21st century is an instrument shaped somewhat like a horn in that it is wrapped in a circle. It has piston valves and is played with the right hand on the valves. The second instrument is most accurately called a "marching mellophone". It is keyed in E-flat alto and is the instrument described when discussing modern marching instruments.



While horn players may be asked to play the mellophone, it is unlikely that the instrument was ever intended to be used as a substitute for the horn, mainly because of the fundamental differences described.[4] As an instrument it compromises between the ability to sound like a horn, while being used like a trumpet or fluglehorn; a tradeoff that sacrifices acoustic properties for ergonomics.

Marching horn

The marching horn is quite similar to the mellophone in shape and appearance, but is pitched in the key of B (the same as the B side of a regular double horn). It is also available in F alto (one octave above the F side of a regular double horn). The marching horn is also normally played with a horn mouthpiece (unlike the mellophone, which needs an adapter to fit the horn mouthpiece). These instruments are primarily used in marching bands. However, many college marching bands and drum corps use mellophones instead which better balance the tone of the other brass instruments.

Wagner tuba









Due to the heroic quality of the sound produced by horns, they are often used extensively in film music.

Chamber music


Orchestral horns


This setup of high-low-high-low has many reasons: Firstly, it makes it easier to play a high part if you have someone on your left playing a low part, but it makes it easier to play a low part if you have your high player (from your pair) to your left. Secondly, pairing makes it easier to write for horns, seeing as the 3rd and 4th horns can take over from the 1st & 2nd horns, or play a contrasting part. Thirdly, when music was first written, it was for the natural horn, which meant that the horns could only easily play certain notes. Because of this, the 1st and 2nd horns had to be in a different key from the 3rd and 4th horns so that more of the notes can be played. For example, if the piece is in C minor, the 1st and 2nd horns might be in C, the tonic major key, which could get most of the notes, and the 3rd and 4th horns might be in E, the relative major key, to fill in the gaps.


Some pieces (like Rachmaninov's Isle of the Dead, Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem, Holst's The Planets and Richard Strauss' Don Quixote) have called for 6 horns, or as many as 20 horns, as found in Eine Alpinesinfonie, by Richard Strauss . Here the pairing remains the same, with the odd horns being high parts and the even horns being low parts.

In jazz

The horn has been rarely used in jazz music. Notable exponents, however, include composer/arranger Gil Evans who included the horn as an ensemble instrument from the 1940s, first in Claude Thornhill's groups, and later with the pioneering cool jazz nonet led by trumpeter Miles Davis. Notable improvising horn players in jazz include Julius Watkins, Willie Ruff, Clifton Hyde, and Tom Varner.

Notable horn players

People who are more notable for their other achievements, but also play the horn, include actor Ewan McGregor, comedian and television host Jon Stewart and The Who bassist and singer John Entwistle.


See also


  1. ^ Walter Piston, "Orchestration." W. W. Norton & Company, 1955. ISBN 0-393-09740-4
  2. ^ Meek, Harold (February 1971). "The Horn!". The Horn Call (International Horn Society) 1 (1): pp. 19–20.,en/. Retrieved 2008-07-29. "Meek strongly advocates using the term 'horn' rather than 'French horn.'". 
  3. ^ Backus, John, The Acoustical Foundations of Music, 2nd ed., 1977, ISBN 0-393-09096-5

External links


Up to date as of January 15, 2010

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Wikipedia has an article on:




Viennese horn.jpg


From French + horn.


French horn

French horns

French horn (plural French horns)

  1. (music) The American name for a coiled brass musical instrument derived from the French hunting horn, having rotary valves.


  • Viennese horn


See also


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