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
Fundamentals 15. Stopped horn: tonal control, responses, projection, F and B-flat...
Continuing our series on fundamentals (using, as prompts, the list of fundamentals found on pages 92-93 of the Douglas Hill book of Collected Thoughts),...
Fundamentals 14. Lip trills: fluency, control at all dynamics, knowledge of...
Lip trills are a must for any hornist playing on the level to perform a Mozart concerto movement.
Spoiler alert: Lip trills are easier on...
Vienna Horns, part III: Their musical world and more
A year ago, I started a short series of posts related to the Vienna horn, which was left incomplete. This final article of the...
Fundamentals 13. Concentration: ability to mentally focus for long periods
Concentration is not a topic touched on directly by many horn teachers. However, the ability to focus is a key fundamental for effective practice...
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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
Barrows Plays Wilder
This weekend I got back to my old copy of John Barrows and his French Horn: Music of Alec Wilder. It was a Golden...
The Cabbage Speaks on ‘Wolf Notes’
In response to a question about bad notes on a natural horn crook, both John and Dave have taken a crack at an answer.
Behind-the-scenes...
Halloween Frights, I
Something is not right with this image of Dennis Brain.
Yes, it is upside down but if you turn your head around to look at...
The Golden Clam Award of Merit
The HORNDOG GOLDEN CLAM AWARD of MERIT*
is reserved for recognizing and honoring noteworthy accomplishments in the world of classical music.
This honor, governed by the...
About those “Tutti” parts in some Mozart Horn Concerto editions
A question that comes up quite often is that of the "tutti" parts in some editions of Mozart horn concertos. As in, what is...
Reviews: Verdi’s Aida, H-Kote and the Femenella Bellrest
It is a busy time for me - February and March are packed with performances. Next week for example, I will be playing a both...
