Horn/General/Types
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[edit] Natural
This is the ancient ancestor of all modern horns. It has no valves whatsoever. Because of this, only the notes in the harmonic series can be produced with out the use of the right hand. This is why originally hornists had their hands in the bell and partly why we still do today on modern horns. Today when playing music written before the advent of the valve we see parts written for horn in many keys besides F. While this might seem to be a pain today, on the natural horn it actually simplifies reading the music. The hornist would just add the correct crook and read all the parts the same since handhorn technique doesn't change between keys. Realizing this can help transposition immensly if we know which key combinations are equivalent to the key of the horn part.
List of natural horn keys with their corresponding fingering on the modern horn:
- C alto - none
- B alto - none
- Bb alto - T0
- A alto - T2
- Ab alto - T1
- G - T12 or T3
- Gb - T23
- F - F0 or T13
- E - F2 or T123
- Eb - F1
- D - F12 or F3
- Db - F23
- C - F13
- B basso - F123
- Bb basso - none
- A basso - none
- Ab basso - none
[edit] Handhorn Technique
Before starting to learn handhorn get to know the harmonic series of the horn or the notes that can naturally be played without valves.
For every pitch there are a few things we can do to give us a near chromatic range:
- To play one half-step lower close off the bell a bit. This will take some experimenting to figure out how much but it should be relatively easy.
- To play one half-step higher fully stop the bell. (For a full explanation see Stopped horn.) For modern horns we are encouraged to make this sound quite nasally. For the natural horn it should not be quite so much. Experiment to make the note sound more uniform with other notes. This may even require playing some of the open notes slightly more closed.
- Pitch bending with the lips is required for some notes. For example Beethoven especially likes throwing in low written G's (bottom line base clef in new notation). This is not a note in the harmonic series, but bending the pitch that low is quite possible. Another example that is not used often is for playing the D just below the treble clef staff. It is a whole step away from the C and E which can be played open. Bending all the way to the D from either note is quite difficult, but a half-step bend down from the E is very doable. So if we bend a half-step and then close off the bell a bit we can get a D.
Some repertoire for natural horn:
- Mozart Horn Concerti
- Beethoven Sonata for Horn
[edit] Single
The single horn has three valves which lower the pitch of the instrument two, one, and three half steps respectively. Valves eliminate the need for hand-horning, though stopped horn is still commonly used among modern players. Single horns are usually made in the key of F, though many can be found in Bb alto.
[edit] Double
The double horn combines the F and Bb single horns into one instrument. Double horns have four valves; the three valves of the single horn plus an additional valve, played with the thumb, to switch between the F and Bb horn. The double horn is the most commonly used today. It gives players extra versatility by allowing them to use the Bb horn to produce better tone in the upper register and in the low range from the F below middle C to the C a fourth below that. The F horn is typically used in the mid-low to middle register.
[edit] Descant
The descant horn is a single horn in the key of F, but pitched an octave higher than the usual F horn. It is often used for pieces in which the horn part is entirely in the upper and upper-middle registers.
[edit] Triple
The triple horn combines the single F, single Bb, and descant horns into one instrument. It has the four valves of a double horn plus a fifth valve to switch to the descant "side" of the horn.
[edit]
- Alp Horn
- Wagner Tuba
For more information on all types of horns see Horn.
