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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Fundamentals 11. Accuracy: initial attacks at all dynamics, consistency hearing entrance...
The proverbial elephant in the room in horn playing is accuracy. In the prompt from Douglas Hill (this series is based on a list...
Review: Two Gig Bags
Among my activities I like to work on horns, continuing the type of projects I was doing during my sabbatical (more here). I enjoy...
Fundamentals 10. Dynamics: response, control, intonation at all extremes in all...
Elsewhere in this site I have shared (probably several times) a story involving my Master’s degree studies with Verne Reynolds. He had a thing...
Fundamentals 9. Ranges: extremes, clear controlled sounds (high, middle, mid-low, low)
Ranges are fundamental. This prompt from the Douglas Hill book is pretty broad, but focuses on two elements; extreme ranges and good control in...
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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
Going with the Ensemble Flow
Don't fight the group karma: the job demands alertness, flexibility and a little bit of political savvy.
On the job, the main responsibilities of the...
Introducing the Marching Natural Horn, a High School Art Class Project
One small chapter of my story is the making of this marching natural horn. It was the first horn I made.
I have always enjoyed...
Ascending Third Valve Horns Past and Present
The Mellocast for this week is on a topic not often discussed, that of ascending third valve horns. In short, this is a French...
Review: MB “UltraLight” Horn Case
In preparation for travel this summer I wanted a new case. Last summer I saw my first Marcus Bonna “UltraLight” case and knew it...
‘Trusted Brands’ Report Update: New Results with Focus on Experience Levels
This is the second installation in the report "Name Recognition and Perception of Quality in Brand Names of (French) Horns," the details of which...
