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 7. Slurring: various intervals, various dynamics, register changes
Slurring can be a problem, even a major problem. The question you should be asking is this -- is the problem you, or is...
Fundamentals 6. Tonguing: clarity, fluency, variety, double, triple, flutter
And now we have another very big fundamental topic: everything about tonguing. Hill, in his list that we are following for this series, combines...
Brief reviews: New publications on the blues and creativity by Agrell
I’ve been doing few reviews here lately, but Jeff Agrell was kind enough to send two of his recent publications, which I would like...
Fundamentals 5. Embouchure: mouthpiece placement, muscular focus, relationship to air, various...
Before turning to all these topics, I would like to remind readers that this series is based on a list of fundamentals found 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
Kruspe Dreaming, part I: A Concert on a Kruspe
In several posts I have talked about how just before the pandemic I was able to obtain a low milage 1948 Kruspe horn. This...
Mystery of ‘The Scream’ revealed
What was Munch screaming about?
Was it the daily assault on our senses from media? The fear and anxiety of living in our modern age?...
Two Tips for the New First Horn Player
As we all know, all the horn parts are good! But there is a point when you start playing first horn in better ensembles...
Parody: A Wedding Portrait with Vienna Horn
The Arnolfini Portrait dates from 1434. It was painted on an oak panel by Flemish artist Jan van Eyck and is also known as...
On Testing Mouthpiece Rims
As noted in the recent article on mouthpieces and metal allergies, my current working theory is that may I have developed a sensitivity to...
What horn models do they really play in London?
Many hornists recommend the London Horn Sound CD for their students, it is a classic and full of inspiration for younger hornists. I have...
