For New Hornists
Welcome to the horn! We all have out stories of how we started on the horn, and this new (for Fall 2024) page is a resource to help new hornists.
Horn Matters and the new hornist
While we certainly feel that Horn Matters contains much information that would be useful to new hornists — true beginners and those switching to it later — but that information ends up being hard to find. This is due to the size of site and the sheer quantity of articles, many of which are in one way or another aimed at players who are more advanced.
A note on band books versus the horn
Different places do things different ways, but most typically beginning horn players start in a full band situation using some sort of band book series.
If you are in this situation, you pretty much have to use what they use at your school. Do be aware, trumpet and trombone basically are an octave apart for beginners, but horn is at an awkward place between the two — and it can be a struggle for the new hornist. In some books they give you alternate lines, and you will need to pick what suits you better. But also be looking, in many books there are pages “for horns only” that actually present music in the most natural octave for the beginner. Yay!
You can also supplement the materials you use at school with a book really written for the horn, such as the one below.
Is there a good book for a beginner to use?
Some of the “standards” that have been long used for private lesson teaching are so dated now, but not long ago we reviewed a wonderful recent publication:
Horns and beginners
For the beginner there are a number of topics to examine quickly. One would certainly be what type of horn to use.
The short answer is while traditionally beginners were started on a single F horn, they can get a better start on a single Bb, and in an ideal world everyone would start on a relatively compact double horn such as, for example, the Yamaha 567. And for anyone switching to the horn later, they should start on a double horn.
Double horn? If you look at a double horn you can see that there are two sets of valve slides from each valve. The longer set are F horn slides and the shorter set are Bb horn slides. Thus, a double horn combines both horn lengths (F and Bb!) into a single instrument, but really as a player you just imagine the fingerings to be different on each instrument, always reading music that is “in F.”
An overview article from 2007, recently updated:
And another from our Hornmasters series that is slightly more in-depth:
Where can I find a fingering chart for my horn?
A fingering chart that clearly lays out F, Bb, and Double horn fingerings may be found here.
A quick look at right hand position
Another quick topic of urgent interest to the new hornist is right hand position. You can find variable information on this, but in general it should look something like seen in this photo. The general idea is that the horn won’t play correctly if your hand is not in the bell, and the opening needs to be not too covered or too open!
But as a real beginner, honestly, some variation from “standard” is fine. Please see this article for more:
Why is the right hand in the bell?
The short answer would be tradition and tone. The horn is designed to be played with a hand partially covering the opening of the bell, making the tone a bit more mellow and giving the high range better stability.
The other part of this question is why the right hand instead of the left? Before the invention of the valve in 1814 horn players did not have valves (!), and as most people are right handed they put the right hand in the bell where it was used it to open and close the bell to produce notes a half step lower than the open harmonics. When valves were added to the horn this playing position was not modified and the valves were activated with the left hand, the opposite of any other brass instrument.
Posture
Ideally, players should bring the horn to their face in the place where it is naturally, without changing basic body position. If you are a smaller person, this unfortunately may not quite be practical. One option to consider is playing with the bell off the leg. Holding the instrument is one of the reasons sometimes people think you might wait and not start right out on the horn, but rest assured you will grow into it.
A horn at home, a horn at school
For younger students especially, transporting a horn back and forth to school can be a problem. If possible it can be a great help to have a horn at school and a horn of the same general type at home.
Don’t play a bad horn!
One discouragement can be that your horn is just not very good, but you don’t really know it because you are a beginner and can’t tell. This article might be a helpful read:
Don’t be an orphan!
It is almost better to have no horn players than one lone horn player in a group. If you are that lone player, recruit a friend to play! Directors, do what you can to at least have a pair of players if not a full section in all your ensembles. The section will do much better with multiple players, and the better sound possible in any group with a full horn section is undeniable.
What mouthpiece would be best for a new horn player?
For a beginner a small to medium sized horn mouthpiece will give the best results. A mouthpiece that is deep and large bore with a thin rim will be the worst choice. Something like a Laskey 75G would be a great choice, with the Laskey Protégé model an excellent alternative at a lower price point.
Mouthpiece placement and the new hornist
You can play the horn to a pretty decent level with most any mouthpiece placement. But you can save yourself a lot of trouble if you start out using a placement with more upper lip. The article below has a couple quick suggestions for finding a natural and ideal placement.
Breathing and starting notes
We could wish that every brass player would naturally take a large breath, but many hornists do not take or use large breaths. Stated simply, just take a large breath in and start the music in one motion. Never hesitate! (The illustration is from the Gunther Schuller book).
As to what articulation to use for tonguing the start of a note, besides the need to develop varied articulations to achieve different musical results, an element to remember is that the tongue placement in the mouth varies by register. In the high range I suggest more of a “tee” articulation, in the middle range “ta,” and in the low range more of a “toh” articulation. The same general oral cavity shapes are produced when whistling. Attempting to play in the high range with a low range articulation (or vice versa) will be a source of frustration.
Where’s the water?
The thing to remind yourself is that water goes to low places in the horn. Initially it will take some problem solving skills, but soon you will know how to find the water quickly and easily.
Hitting the water key often is always a good idea, too — if you have one! A surprising fun fact being many horns don’t have a water key.
A note on the Mellophone
Some players come from the mellophone to the horn. The mellophone can certainly be a gateway instrument to the middle brass world of the French horn.
But more often the mellophone is encountered by horn players as a marching band substitute for the French horn. It plays in the same general range to be sure, but there are a lot of differences. Some are positive — accuracy is much easier! — but the fingerings are different than the horn, different mouthpiece, etc.
If you are in a situation where you need to play mellophone in marching band, or choose to play it in a drum corps, it can be a fun experience. And we at Horn Matters are supportive of all the middle brass, especially if it helps you toward playing the horn. A related article:
Watch this page grow
Over the fall of 2024 we plan to expand the range of information in the site geared toward new hornists. And, again, welcome to the horn!
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BONUS: Introducing the Horn by John Ericson
Giving more hornists a good start is a goal of mine as a horn teacher. This goal led me to create my own publication for students starting on or switching to the horn, Introducing the Horn. It is my hope that this publication will serve to give many new hornists a good start on the horn and help educators give hornists a good start. There are a lot of unique aspects to playing the horn, aspects that ultimately make the horn very rewarding to play but do require some specialized teaching to understand well.
Introducing the Horn: Essentials for New Hornists and Their Teachers covers the range of performance-related topics that are the most essential in giving a new hornist a good start. This updated edition is a great resource for beginners and for those converting to the horn, with information also of use to intermediate and advancing hornists. In addition, supplemental text is presented which is directed toward current and future instrumental music educators, and presents practical information that will serve to augment materials used in horn methods classes.
A publication from Horn Notes Edition | Print version — Kindle version