About French Horns

The French horn is a brass instrument used primarily in orchestral music, but also in jazz and rock. The original French horn, with three valves, was used in fox hunting. It is now called a "single horn" but is usually referred to as a "horn."

Invented

Horns were originally used in fox hunting and could play in only one predetermined key. In orchestral settings, players added lengths of pipe to a horn to change its key, and horns in different keys were often played side by side to accommodate sharps and flats in the score. Everything changed when valves were added to the instrument around 1815. Valves allowed the length of pipe to be altered by sealing off a section of pipe. Suddenly players could change keys and play chromatic lines easily. The French horn was born.

Evolution

The original French horn, with three valves, is now called a single horn. Since the single horn's introduction, double and triple horns have come equipped with more tubing and additional valves to allow for greater tonal accuracy and ease of play at higher and lower registers. Because they are more complex instruments, these horns are heavier and more expensive, but double horns have become standard for professional players today. "French horn" is now a somewhat colloquial term. The instrument's official name is simply "horn."

Features

The horn is made of coiled silver, nickel, or brass tubing. There's a mouthpiece on one end, a sound hole (called a bell) on the other, and valves in between to alter the flow of air. The horn is played by blowing into the mouthpiece, pressing the valves, and placing a cupped hand into the bell. Reaching into the bell is called "hand stopping," a technique used to flatten notes in the horn's given key.

Function

Most single horns are in the key of F. Double horns allow the player to alternate between F and B-flat. And triple horns add a lower register in F. The double horn's range begins at F two octaves below the bass clef and reaches to F at the top of the treble clef. An orchestra typically includes four horn players, although some works call for as many as six or eight horns.

Significance

Some important orchestral works featuring the horn include Bach's "Brandenberg Concertos," Handel's "Water Music," Holst's "The Planets," Mahler's "Symphony Number Seven," and Tippett's "Sonata for Four Horns." The horn has also been used in jazz music, notably in arrangements by Gil Evans and Miles Davis. And it's even been featured in rock music, perhaps most famously on The Who's "5:15" and "My Wife."