June 20, 2008 by John Ericson
Archived under: Equipment | Descants & Triples
“The Little Descants”
One thing that has not been remarked on much are the changes seen in descant horn designs since WWII. There were two basic approaches to the instrument; one was to make an instrument that functioned well as a B-flat horn with a good high F side. The other approach was to make an instrument that was primarily a horn in high F with good B-flat side.
Descant horns today are primarily produced as large instruments with a feel very similar to that of a standard double horn. In a new, online exclusive article in my main website, “The Little Descants,” I pay tribute to the smaller instruments and show that there still is a place for these instruments today.
Related to this article
- Cutting Slides
Sometimes you will need to cut or lengthen slides on brass instruments. I have seen this on a number of instruments over the years. Recently I purchased a classic Conn 16E Mellophonium for some jazz experiments. I went ahead and “did the deed” this morning, and cut three... - All in the High F Family
One thing perhaps not obvious from my recent mellophone posts is I am actually very familiar with the high F tube length, as I have for the past three years been working on large project related to high horn playing, descant, and triple horns, which has... - Thoughts on Marching Band Contest
I was able to hear part of marching band contest at ASU today. A horn major is one of the co-drum majors in the ASU marching band this year and I keep hearing good things about the group. So today I heard a chunk of the... - 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... - Pitch in Relation to Fingerings
A topic that has come to mind for me recently is facility in the use of alternate fingerings. Some teachers really push this, especially facility in B-flat horn alternate fingerings. But my teachers did not. Which is fine but, as a result, I have at this... - The Horn of Franz Strauss
As I mentioned to the horn repertoire class today at Arizona State, it is not very widely known but the horn used by the great nineteenth-century hornist Franz Strauss actually still exists! A single horn that he must have primarily used in B-flat, it was manufactured... - It is not “Cheating”
Many of us learned horn in a very standard way for the United States, double horns with “standard” fingerings (F horn from G in the staff down) and larger mouthpieces by Giardinelli and Holton. This was very much my background, one in which it would have...
Give a Dog a Bone - A New Web Site
Wild Card Critic Allan Kozinn Rails on the NY Phil Horns
From the Mailbag: What Horn Do You Play?
A Horn Like Dennis Brain Played
