Horn Matters is the leading online resource on the French horn, co-founded by John Ericson and Bruce Hembd. The mission of Horn Matters is: to encourage, inspire, inform, and challenge horn players, and; to promote the best musical instrument ever, the French horn. (More.)
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Does your horn spark joy?
Very recently I went through a round of testing various horns in a nice space. One had come in that I was testing for...
Fundamentals 18A. Bass clef: old (and new) notation bass clef
Number 18 on the list of fundamentals in the Douglas Hill book, which I have used to guide this series, to my mind involves...
My Mellophonium Mood
This 2008 article, very slightly updated here, originally appeared in the Horn Articles Online website
One thing I became very interested in during the summer...
Fundamentals 17. Transpositions
Lightning quiz: What is the most popular page in the entire Horn Matters website? That article is by Bruce Hembd on the topic of...
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Horn Etudes by Women Composers
Many Horn Matters readers will be familiar with the Works with Horn by Women Composers website by Dr. Lin Foulk. If not, this is...
Julius Watkins, jazz French horn pioneer
Talking with colleagues recently, a topic that came up was how some great players of the recent past are unjustly neglected today. In terms...
Overview of Trusted Brands in French Horns
A survey titled "What Brand Names Do You Trust?" collected the opinions of 392 participants. The results are in and while it may take...
Choosing a French Horn Mouthpiece (I): The Basic Parts
Part I: The Rim and Preliminary Thoughts
Part II: Cup, Throat and Bore
Part III: Weight, Plating and Shopping Tips
For the past decade...
French Horn Transposition Chart
A complete reference.
Transposition Chart (PDF) (updated 2012)
Over the past few months, I have been posting various transposition tricks, including how to transpose:
A and...
Farkas on Stagefright (and more)
In the world of horn there have been few that made as much impact as Philip Farkas (1914-1992). The Art of French Horn Playing...
Random Articles
Mini-poll: Is it the ‘French horn’ or just a ‘Horn?’
Both John and I have written a few articles recently on the topic of the name of our instrument in the English language -...
Sabbatical Extra: A Yamaha Conversion Horn, and Revisiting the Ascending Third...
During my sabbatical semester from Arizona State I looked briefly at one of the horns I had worked on, how I could set it...
Hornmasters: Farkas on Horns
For the next topic in the Hornmasters series we turn to horns and begin again with Philip Farkas. For the average reader today, this...
Of Standing Horses and the Horns of Interlochen [UPDATED]
This summer I was honored to join the horn faculty at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. Founded in 1928 and known for many...
Fundamentals 3. Tuning: in general and extremes (use chromatic tuner)
Tuning is fundamental! In general, to my mind there are two main problems, related often. Your horn is likely not in tune with itself,...
The Birth of Venus and Her Horn
A classic revisited for the new year.
The Birth of Venus (c. 1482-6) by Sandro Botticelli depicts the goddess Venus, emerging from the sea as...
