On Playing Perfect Intervals and Horn Fifths in Tune

By
Bruce Hembd
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6408
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To a certain degree a principal horn is only as good as the second player that supports him or her. A key element in this relationship is intonation. It is not enough to play notes with a good sound and with good rhythm without making some adjustments with pitch.

Over the past few weeks I have been busy performing a Mozart opera and was reminded of this relationship. One great thing about playing Mozart pieces with two horns is that the intervals are typically limited to the Perfect intervals and thirds, and so figuring out intonation is relatively easy.

Getting started

A rudimentary knowledge of chord positioning and how to temper interval relationships within chords is crucial. Generally speaking, chords resonate much better when certain individual chord tones are tempered.

With major chords:

  • The root should be stable, relative to circumstances
  • The fifth, in relation to the root, should be played somewhat high
  • The third, in relation to the root, should be tempered very low

This rule-of-thumb holds true in chord inversions, so it is important to always be aware of

  • Knowing the key you are in
  • Knowing what voice of the chord your note is
  • Knowing your horn and its tendencies

Tempered thirds and fifths played by themselves may sound out-of-tune, but in context they can resonate quite nicely. (With minor chords the only change to this method is that the third of the chord should be played high rather than low.)

For more specifics, see these articles posted a few years ago:

Flat major thirds

In the right context, I occasionally use alternate fingerings in order to hit the right spot. A fun experiment to try are examples like these:

Exceptions

A figure that is fairly common in many of Mozart’s large works that use two horns is the alternating unison/octave to an open fifth.

In this case the first horn notes alternate between being the root and the fifth of the chord. It would be a little unorthodox for the first horn to temper the fifth in this instance, and the second horn player might need to adjust accordingly.

In the context of large ensembles especially it is a good idea to remain flexible, and this example is a good illustration of that concept. For this reason I have avoided using exact cents in this particular article.

Horn fifths

The following figure, commonly known as horn fifths, is a traditional technique that was used over and over again for about 300 years in Western music.

Keeping in mind the guidelines given previously – low thirds, high fifths and chord inversions – the necessary adjustments should be fairly clear.

Along these lines, the Perfect Fourth can often be one of the most difficult intervals to play in-tune. It helps to keep in mind that a P4th is an inversion of the P5th, and typically it is the bottom note that needs adjusting.

Related articles:

University of Horn Matters