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.)
- - Please visit: International Horn Competition of America - -Most Recent Articles
Mailbag: The Top 3 Horn Concertos
A question came in earlier this year asking generally what are the top 3 horn concertos. With the end of the semester for my...
Ultrasonic Cleaning and your Horn
You know that you need to keep your horn clean. If you are proactive about maintenance you will hardly ever need to have your...
Geyer Update: Engravings, Serial Numbers, and More
I could also have titled this article “Things I got wrong” in the Geyer Dreaming series (which starts here), or the related article published...
Revisiting the Art of French Horn on LP Records
The past year the vast majority of my actual classical music listening has been to LP records. With the recent passing of Hermann Baumann...
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Horn Etudes by Female Composers
Many Horn Matters readers will be familiar with the Works with Horn by Female 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
Multi-tasking with Marc Papeghin, II
Continuing with Marc Papeghin (see Part I), I wanted to know more about how he puts together his impressive arrangements and videos. Speaking of...
Ask Dave: What Can I Do About a Horn that Plays...
Eric J asks:
I recently bought a new horn about two months ago. Everything is in working order, great sound, projection, ergonomic, light, just a...
Parody: Vader at the Philharmonic
A look behind-the-scenes *
In this video the Star Wars character Darth Vader takes on the role of orchestra conductor. But instead of a baton...
Horn Pedagogy Week 5: Breathing, and a bit on Dystonia
Breathing is a very important topic! In looking at this topic in terms of horn publications -- and this approach is probably not the...
Ask Dave: String Theory — What Makes a Good String for...
Whether you call it string, line, wire, or cord, the thin, flexible linkage between your valve levers and your valve rotors is your lifeline...
From the Mailbag: Ouch, My Shoulder Hurts!
A question has come to me through private email about shoulder pain:
I've recently started playing horn again after many (many) years away, and I've...
