Horn

From Young Composers

A well-worn Double Horn in F/Bb

The horn, often referred to as a French horn, is an alto-range brass instrument with a conical mouthpiece, bore, and widely flaring bell. The horn is typically treated as a transposing instrument pitched in F and its parts are written in the treble clef, with rare exceptions in its lower range. It has a characteristic dark and mellow tone quality and is occasionally featured as a soloist.

Score Placement

In orchestral and band writing, usually four parts are written for horns. In an orchestra, one player will play each part, with on occasion an additional fifth horn to cover tutti passages of the 1st horn so that the principle hornist can rest and prepare for any demanding solos. The horns are placed first among the brass in an orchestral score, and below the trumpets in a wind band score. It is tradition that the 1st and 3rd horns player upper harmonies, and 2nd and 4th horns play lower harmonies.

Types of Horn

Natural Horn

A natural horn with its many additional crooks

The horn was the first brass instrument known to man, existing originally as the hallowed horn of an animal through which a sound could be produced. The natural horn could play no notes other than those of the harmonic series, such notes can only be played by manipulation the hand inside the bell of the instrument, thus its curious circular shape. The natural horn merely exists as a period instrument today, and can come in many keys. Typically a horn in Bb would have a removeable length of tubing (called the "crook") which could be replaced with a longer length of tubing which would lower the fundamental pitch of the instrument to the desired tone. This would eliminate the necessity for a hornist to carry with him several instruments each in a different key for the parts of a concert in different tonalities.

Modern Single Horn

With the advent of valves, the natural horn began to fall into disuse, as an instrument that could readily play in all keys was far preferable to one that could only play in one key at a time. The valved horn was typically pitched in the key of F with three rotary-style valves manipulated by the left hand. Although the use of valved allowed for the instrument to play any note, the horn player still positions the right hand in the bell to acquire the more characteristic sound of the natural horn. Though manipulation of the right hand, the hornist can fine tune all notes, so in thoery, like a trombonist, any horn player should have no excuse to play out of tune. Modern single horns are typically available in three tonalities:

• F alto
• Bb (one octave below the Bb trumpet)
• F descant (one octave above F alto)

Modern single instruments pitched in Bb and F descant are intended to be a lightweight alternative for those who play higher parts which demand more accuracy, as they are physically lighter in weight than most double and triple horns. Single horns pitched in F alto are typically, though not always, of poorer quality, intended for the less-demanding beginning horn players such as those found in schools.

Range

The range for an able player of the single horn pitched in the key of F alto is as follows:

• Concert pitch - C2 to F5
• Written pitch (F-transposing) - Low G in bass clef to C above treble clef

Note that the notes above concert F4 on the single horn in F are very close to each other on the harmonic series, so many horn players may have difficulty playing the correct pitches in this higher range. Only the more skilled horn players can consistently play above concert C5. Likewise, many less-skilled horn players are significantly less able in the low range, from concert C3 and lower.

Modern Double Horn

The double horn is the most common variety of concert instruments played in orchestras and bands. It is essentially two instruments in different keys that share the same mouthpiece and and bell, where the use of each "side" of tubing is controlled by an extra thumb "trigger". Double horns are treated as being pitched in the key of F alto and have separate sections of tubing for each "side" of the horn, one for the F side and one for the Bb side. The advantages of having the extra set of tubing for the Bb side is that since the Bb horn has a higher fundamental pitch than an F horn, the notes of its harmonic series are further apart then those of the F horn's in any given range. This makes for playing in the higher range of the horn (concert F4 and above) less problematic for the performer and fewer notes are likely to be missed. In addition to each set of tubing having a different fundamental, each has a different tone colour, or timbre. The F side of the horn is used wherever possible, as its darker tone is more characteristic of the instrument. The Bb side is brighter and so only used to facilitate playing in the higher range of the instrument.

Modern Triple Horn

The triple horn is an even more sophisticated extension than the double. In addition to have a seperated set of tubing for each the F alto and Bb sides of the horn, the triple horn also includes a set of tubing for the higher F descant with a second thumb trigger to redirect the airflow to the new tubing. The advantages of the triple horn are it's versatility and playing range. A triple horn can play more easily in the higher range (ie. up to concert F5), even extending its feasible range to concert A5 for the most advanced performer. The downside to the triple is its weight - some hornists may find the additional third set of tubing a bit too much to handle for an extended period of time and so many horn players will own several instruments, each for a specific purpose.

Mellophone

A marching-stye (bell-front) mellophone

The mellophone is brass instrument pitched in the key of F descant or Bb alto and is played with a trumpet mouthpiece. The purpose of the mellophone is to replace the concert horn in the marching band. While the concert horn's its circular shape and rear-facing bell are suited to indoor playing, the horn does not project well in a marching atmosphere, so the mellophone is designed to have similar to the horn but with a forward-facing bell to facilitate marching outdoors. The instrument is pitched one fourth below the Bb trumpet and/or cornet and intended to be played by a trumpet player, but many horn players play it using an adapter to fit the smaller horn mouthpiece into the mouthpiece receiver. Maybe manufacturers (notably Yamaha) now produce mellophones with receivers to fit a standard horn mouthpiece.

Scoring for Horn

The following advice taken from the following masterclass: Orchestration: PART 1 - Theory (Woodwinds).

When dealing with a larger ensemble, the orchestrator will more often than not have access to four horns. It would be important to point out that, despite HAVING four horns, it is not always suggested that you orchestrate with four continuous individual lines for the four instrumental parts. While you have access to four horns in a traditional orchestral setting, you are not obligated to use the four horns at all times. Apart from the moments where you will assign a particular melodic solo to a single horn, you may require only two horns to give more weight to, or round out the timbre of, a particular orchestral passage. Writing for four horns requires a carefully controlled conception of the harmony we are using. The horns cannot be used as “filler” in a woodwind choir, nor in a brass choir. Ideally, their material should come as closely as possible to “harmonic completeness”.

Bring the horns in at an important moment in the music. They will not sound “loud” and “brassy”, but will give a fullness to the orchestral sound. If you toss them into the mix haphazardly, the appearance and disappearance of the horn parts will be glaring. Whether you conceive of the horn part as a resonant part or as a melodic part, you must be sure that it has linear consistency.

The horns blend rather well with the woodwinds, thus explaining their inclusion in woodwind quintets. They also blend well with other brass instruments, though they have more difficulty holding their own against the slightly more powerful trumpets and trombones. One of the reasons the horns blend so well is because of the mellow nature of their timbre. When writing for a full woodwind complement (two of each), in any dynamic other than soft, four horns can readily overpower the entire sonority. This is why we time must be spent considering the use of unison and octave doublings, and the construction of blended timbres using the different woodwinds.

External links

• Read more on the althorn (mellophone) here