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.)

Most Recent Articles

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...

Brief Review: The Horn. The Book You Need

To open this brief review, I’ll start with a money quote: The Horn by Renato Meucci and Gabriele Rocchetti is the most significant book on...

Accuracy Encyclopedia: Well Duh!?! and More

Continuing our look at accuracy and the letters D and E, our first topic is the descant horn, which can certainly help accuracy in...
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Featured Articles

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

Ask Dave: The Positive Benefits of Oil Ports

You've seen them in the top bearing plates once the valve caps are removed: tiny holes. They are known as "oil ports" or "oil...

A Garland on Your Bell: Not Just Bling

One option out there from a few horn makers is a garland, an extra band of metal added to the edge of the bell...

2010 Web Site Stats Report

Echoing John's sentiments from yesterday, I would also like to extend a big THANK YOU to all our readers. Since launching Horn Matters about...

Warhol-ed Brain

A master of Pop Art meets a master of the French horn. What would have happened if pop artist Andy Warhol created a portrait of...

F or Bb — What Horn Best Suits Beginners?

The standard line for many teachers is single F horn is the best for beginners, traditional tone, etc. Is this pedagogical approach stuck in...

Re-Writing Bach: The Trio from Brandenburg Concerto No. 1

I have been working on the final Trio section from Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, not for a specific performance but rather as an exercise...
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