Horn in E-flat Means What?

One topic that has come up for me as a question a number of times over the years is that of horn in E-flat. As in, why are the parts in E-flat?

They could be in E-flat for a number of reasons. If it is old enough music, pretty much anything that you run into from before 1850, it is in E-flat because it is for natural horn. As are, for example, the Mozart horn concertos. But with the development of valved brass instruments, valved horns were being crooked in E-flat, the same pitch length as an E-flat natural horn. The players of these instruments were horn players.

But they were not the only type of valved brass instrument in the alto range notated in E-flat; also we have E-flat alto (tenor) horns in the mix of things. These instruments are constructed an octave shorter and in some situations have an advantage—and they are certainly easier to play. The players of these instruments were generally speaking not trained as horn players, they were brass band players who either started on alto or moved to it from cornet or Euphonium. The classic mellophone is another close relative of the alto/tenor horn. Also, the high E-flat side seen on some Schmid descant and triple horns is the same tube length.

Today as horn players we are taught to transpose at sight any part in E-flat on our normal horn but in the old days players used crooks, as for example could be done on the classic piston valve Hawkes horn that ASU owns, seen at right. I have a longer description here.

In reality the sound of this horn is not that much different on the E-flat or F crook but still it is very interesting to experiment with a horn like this, it is exactly the type of horn some composers were thinking of in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

While quite a few E-flat tenor horns are in use, valved horns in E-flat are a rarity today in ensembles. Anything recently composed or arranged that is for E-flat horn is certainly for E-flat tenor horn in a brass band context. For the older works though it is an interesting thing to try to duplicate the instruments the composers requested, you can learn something from this experience as a modern horn player.

The final thing I would note is that I do have several books out recently related to alto range brass instruments including descant and triple horns, Wagner tubas, and mellophones. Check them out at Horn Notes Edition. And The Brass Gym will work great on any of these instruments.