French horn

The French horn is a wind instrument and one of several horns that make up the brass section in most symphony orchestras. A descendant of history's earliest horns, the French horn was originally conceived as a simple hunting horn before it evolved into its modern form. Contemporary French horns typically have a large bore, a widely flared bell, about three to four rotary valves, and a mouthpiece. Sound is produced by blowing air into the horn through the mouthpiece. By using the rotary valves with the left hand and changing the way he or she holds the instrument with the right hand, the musician can play different notes and alter the horn's sound. Because of the advanced techniques one must master to manipulate it properly, the French horn is generally considered one of the most difficult musical instruments to play. Regardless, it remains one of the most recognizable orchestral instruments in the brass family.

Brief History

The French horn's earliest ancestors include an array of rudimentary wind instruments made of bone, shell, or brass that were commonly played by people from various ancient civilizations. The first crude version of the French horn, the hunting horn, did not appear until the late sixteenth century. The hunting horn was essentially a long tube bent into a circle with small flared ends. A monotone instrument, the hunting horn could produce only a single primary note. As a result, the only way to change keys was to switch to a different horn. Initially, the hunting horn was used almost exclusively in connection with hunting and was rarely incorporated into formal musical compositions.

Over time, the hunting horn evolved into the French horn, which was actually a German creation and not French at all. One of the first key advances contributing to this evolution was the invention of movable slides called crooks by German musician Anton Joseph Hampel in 1753. These crooks could be used to change the key of the horn. Because they had to be physically changed and therefore limited the musician to a single pitch series per song, the advantages they offered were limited. Just a few years later, in 1760, musicians discovered that it was possible to manually lower the tone of the horn by placing a hand over the bell. This method later came to be known as stopping. Eventually, special devices for stopping that could be used instead of one's hand were invented.

The most critical part of the French horn's evolution came in the nineteenth century with the introduction of rotary valves. These valves, which were separately invented around 1814 by Heinrich Stölzel and Friedrich Blühmel, finally made it possible for the French horn to seamlessly play notes in every key without the need for crooks. With the addition of such valves, the French horn became a versatile instrument that could be used as part of the arrangement of many styles of music. Moreover, the introduction of valves cleared the way for the development of modern iterations of the French horn that appeared in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Overview

Two versions of the modern French horn exist: the single French horn and the double French horn. The single French horn is the basic version of the instrument and the one on which most beginning musicians learn to play. In addition to approximately eleven feet of interwoven brass tubing, the single French horn consists of a bell, a finger hook, a leadpipe, a main tuning slide, a mouthpiece and mouthpiece receiver, rotary valves, valve keys, valve slides, and a water key. The leadpipe is the brass tube that runs from the mouthpiece to the first tuning slide. The mouthpiece is a small metal cup against which the player presses his or her lips to blow air into the instrument. The mouthpiece receiver holds the removable mouthpiece in place and connects it to the leadpipe. The main tuning slide is a special slide located on side of the horn with which the player can adjust the instrument's overall pitch. The bell, which is located on the far opposite end of the instrument from the mouthpiece, serves to amplify and transmit the horn's sound. The bell is specifically designed to maximize the horn's tone production by shaping sound waves as they leave the body of the instrument. Players can modify the sound of the horn by placing their hand inside the bell and altering the way it exits the instrument. The rotary valves allow the player to change the horn's pitch during a performance by redirecting air into one of several valve slides. Each valve slide is placed at a specific point in the horn's air flow path, and each placement has a different effect on the sound produced. By manipulating the valves with the valve keys and redirecting air into different valve slides, the player produces different notes. Most single French horns have either three or four slide valves. The finger hook offers the player a reliable place to grip the instrument while using the valves. The water key is a small hole in the main tuning slide that can be opened to drain moisture from the instrument.

The double French horn is the more advanced version of the French horn and the one typically used in professional settings. The double French horn is actually two different instruments combined. Along with a normal single French horn keyed in F, it contains a higher-pitched second horn keyed in B♭. Players access the secondary horn by opening the fourth rotary valve. The double French horn differs from its single counterpart in other ways, too. Most double French horns have bells made of gold-plated brass that lend them an especially round tone. Others are made of silver-plated brass and have a comparatively sharp, bright sound. Because the double French horn has two built-in horns, it has two separate main tuning slides.

Regardless of form, the French horn is a versatile instrument commonly used to play a wide variety of music. A number of classical pieces were written specifically for the French horn. Some of these include Robert Schumann's Adagio and Allegro and Benjamin Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings.

Bibliography

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"Anatomy of the Double French Horn." The Instrument Place, www.theinstrumentplace.com/parts-of-the-double-french-horn/. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

"Anatomy of the Single French Horn." The Instrument Place, www.theinstrumentplace.com/parts-of-the-single-french-horn/. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

Bellis, Mary. "History of the French Horn." ThoughtCo., www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-french-horn-1991798. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

"The French Horn." West Australian Symphony Orchestra, www.waso.com.au/watch/the‗french‗horn/. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

"Horn." Philharmonia Orchestra, www.philharmonia.co.uk/explore/instruments/horn. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

Kozinn, Allan. "The French Horn, That Wild Card of the Orchestra." New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/arts/music/13horn.html. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.

Pogue, David. "The Role of the French Horn in Classical Music." Dummies, www.dummies.com/art-center/music/the-role-of-the-french-horn-in-classical-music/. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017.