2.2 The french horn  (Page 3/3)

The invention that really freed the horn to play the full chromatic scale easily was the valve . A valve can open and close almost instantly, redirecting the air through an extra crook in the middle of the instrument. It's really not clear who first invented a valved horn and when, but n 1818 a valve horn with two piston valves was patented; in the 1830's a third piston was added. Although most other modern brass still use piston valves, the horn switched to rotary valves, apparently invented by Joseph Riedl of Vienna around 1832. The modern horn uses three rotary valves, which lower its natural (F) harmonic series by a half step, a whole step, and one and a half steps, giving the horn a quick and easy chromatic scale. (For more on why three valves is enough for a brass instrument, see The Harmonic Series .)

Most modern horns are also double horns , that is, two horns in one. When instrument makers and players were settling on which of the many instruments (Horn in D? In E flat?) to use for the modern valved horn, the F horn was originally chosen as having a particularly full, moderate, and pleasing sound. But it is difficult to play high notes accurately on the F horn, so a second set of crooks, for the smaller, higher B flat horn, was added. A fourth valve, or trigger opens the shorter set of crooks, switching the instrument from the F "side" to the B flat "side" to play high notes.

Repertoire

Horns are part of the standard orchestra. A small orchestra will have two horns, a large one four or more. The first horn (principal) part may be so tiring that a large orchestra may have an associate principal horn player to take the principal's place on some of the program, and/or an assistant principal horn player to play along with the principal on non-solo sections. A typical band or wind ensemble will also have at least four horns. Some easy-to-find recordings that feature horns in larger ensembles are Strauss' "Blue Danube" waltz, the "Waltz of the Flowers" from Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker , the "Nocturne" from Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream , and the "Ride of the Valkyries" music from Wagner's opera Die Walkuere .

Horns are also well-represented in the chamber music repertoire. The standard brass quintet includes a horn, and so does the standard woodwind quintet. There is also much music written for horn quartet, some - but by no means all - of it derived from orchestral works.

In spite of the historic limitations of the instrument (see history, above), several famous composers also wrote solo music for the horn. The most well-known of these are the four Mozart horn concertos.

Practical information for composers and arrangers

The French horn is a versatile brass instrument with a large range , very useful in many different kinds of arrangements. Played with a brassy tone, or grouped with other brass, it can give a military or fanfare flavor, but, played with a mellower tone it also blends very well with orchestral woodwinds. It can give a sweet, haunting color to solos and easily evokes hunting or other pastoral scenes.

The most important thing to remember when writing for horn is that it is a transposing instrument; most players are only comfortable reading parts that have been transposed into F. If you do not know how to transpose, see the modules on Transposing Instruments and Transposition .

The horn is a more agile instrument than the lower brass, but not as agile as the trumpet. Avoid writing too many fast notes or large leaps in a row. Note also that the horn plays higher in its harmonic series than other orchestral brass instruments. This means the notes at the top of the intrument's range (the notes above the treble staff in the instrument's written range ) that have the same fingering are so close together that it is very easy to hit the wrong note. Use this range sparingly unless writing for professionals. Even in the middle register, an inexperienced player aiming for one note can very easily hit a different note that has the same fingering and only slightly different embouchure . This is what gives the horn its reputation as an instrument that is "difficult to play".

Suggested resources

To hear typical music featuring the French horn, search for "Mozart horn concerto" or "Strauss horn concerto".