17. How can I improve my:
* range: Practice.
* endurance: Practice lots.
* tone quality: ??
* technique: Practice lots of hard stuff. :-)
At one point, I was soliciting suggestions for this section, but it's now my
opinion that you should find a horn instructor to work with you on these
items. Each player is different, and it's rare that any pat advice will work
for all people. A teacher can listen to your current playing, evaluate it
for strengths and weaknesses, and make suggestions based on their training
and experience. As I am just a player "at" the instrument, rather than a
student/teacher of it, I'm not qualified to offer real advice here. In any
case, young students may find this fingering chart useful. Also, Robin
Moffatt's Horn Mailing List Archive has a number of suggestions on improving
your playing ability.
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18. How do I find out about
* a. full-time positions with symphonies, etc.
* b. part-time or "one-shot" gigs
[Image] ClassicWeb Horn Jobs contains a detailed list, with links, of horn
positions. It seems to be primarily non-US, but that may just be all they
had when I visited.
[Image] Another good site containing many links to general music jobs is
that of Indiana University's "Worldwide Internet Music Resources" Music Jobs
page. You can find all sorts of positions through the links listed here.
A net-accessible site containing music jobs (and others) within US colleges
is located at gopher://chronicle.merit.edu/aa/.ads. Note this is a gopher
site. Other sites containing music-related employment information include
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs and Employment Searches. Eric W. Nicklas, maintainer)
A general employment web page can be found at
http://www-marine.wr.usgs.gov:80/docs/jobs.html. There are many employment
links of all sorts from here.
The American Federation of Musicians monthly newsletter, International
Musician, usually has many professional US horn positions posted in it.
Union members get it as part of their benefits package. For more
information, write:
American Federation of Musicians
1501 Broadway
New York, NY 10036 USA
Subscriptions for non-AFM members are US$20, CDN$25, and US$30 for all other
"foreign".
One-shots are largely a function of (a) how well you play, (b) how available
you are, often on short notice, and (c) who you know. Churches are a
starting point as they always seem to need brass players on short notice,
and often are willing/able to pay for non-members to come in and play. Don't
underemphasize the importance of networking with your fellow musicians.
There are sometimes musicians' bulletin boards (computer or real) in larger
communities where the arts are active, and you may be able to find audition
information in some cities' newspapers. If you are a AFM union member, they
will probably be able to assist as well - that's their job, after all! The
AFM has a BBS at 1-800-408-1330 [+1 212-768-2525]; speeds up to 28.8kbps,
enter "new" for userID. Currently this BBS is only available to AFM members.
Be forewarned; this is a Pentium/90 system ;-)
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19. Single vs. Double (vs. Triple) horns
Most of the following four sections were inspired by a question from Karen
Comer.
Most modern horns are known as "double" horns - not because there are two of
them, but because they are equipped with a "trigger" valve (usually at the
thumb) which changes the pitch of the instrument from F to Bb. In actuality,
most horn players merely learn alternate fingerings for the "Bb side" and
continue to read parts in F, without realizing that what they are actually
doing is a rather difficult transposition!
The Bb instrument allows more security in the upper register, and most
teachers of the horn recommend playing on the Bb side on all notes above 2nd
line G. The trigger also allows the seven lowest notes, C to F below the
bass clef staff (new notation), to be played, if the hornist has developed
that register. [Note - these are pitches "as written" in F, not concert
pitches].
The standard double horn is a "full" double, meaning that there are two
complete paths for air to flow, including separate tubing for the three
normal valves. Older "compensating" doubles share paths through the three
valves and are much more difficult to tune and generally play. A couple of
horn manufacturers even make "triple" horns, with two thumb valves to chose
between the keys of F and Bb, found in a double, and F alto, found in
descant horns (c.f.). Such horns are quite heavy and are rarely used today.
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20. Descant horns
A descant horn is a smaller horn (a smaller diameter, and shorter length),
usually pitched in F alto, that has a brighter sound and which facilitate
playing in the upper register, much as a piccolo trumpet compared to normal
trumpets. These are not commonly used, but do see occasional use in woodwind
ensembles and wherever sustained very high playing is called for. Triple
horns incorporate a F alto side, and many descant horns include a "stopping
valve" to ease playing of gestopft notes. Most descants are double horns,
with Bb being the second pitch..
Christopher Stratton (stratton@mit.edu) adds:
"'Descant horn' generally refers to any horn shorter than 8.5 foot Bb,
typically the 6 or so foot 'high F' horn. Much as the Bb side of a
double adds security in the high range, going another step to a high F
horn makes very high parts just a bit less treacherous. It seems
these instruments are often used for the extremely high parts
sometimes found in baroque or goofy modern literature.
Actually, that 'any horn shorter than Bb' statement is a bit
misleading, because many modern descant horns are Bb/high F doubles.
Some 1st horn players (those who would never use the F side of a
traditional double anyway) prefer Bb/high F descants for all-around
use. I believe Michael Thompson plays one as well. Some people with
durable biceps opt for the 'swiss army knife' of horns, the F/Bb/high
F triple, since it lets them feel prepared to face just about anything
someone may toss in front of them."
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21. Natural horns
This section inspired by email from Bob Goodman.
"Natural" horns are horns with no valves. The notes the horn can play are
restricted by the harmonics corresponding to the key the instrument is in,
modified by "stopping" the horn as well as those produced by the "hand mute"
technique; said techniques allow the production of notes that are on half
step higher and lower, respectively. Until the 1800s, almost all horns were
of the valveless variety. The horn player of that era had to be a master of
stopping and hand muting, and could produce notes outside the normal
harmonic range by changing the key of the instrument. This was done by
changing "crooks" - basically, a slide attachment that added or subtracted
length from the instrument. This is one reason for the multitude of keys
that modern horn players have to contend with - composers would mark
sections for "horn in D" when those notes were called for, "horn in G" when
a moderation from D to G might occur, etc.
Natural horns still see some use today, mostly in academic surroundings and
at conferences. "Villanelle", by Paul Dukas, is probably the most well-known
modern work composed for natural horn.
A seminal work for the study and performance of the natural horn is:
Method for Cor Alto and Cor Basse, by Louis-Francois Duprat
Edited by Viola Roth
ISBN 0-929309-02 (English translation; 500pp)
Birdalone Music
508 North College Ave, Ste. 333
Bloomington, IN 47404-3831 USA
phone: +1 (812) 333-0167
fax: +1 (812) 337-0118
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22. Geyer vs Kruspe wrap
There is no "standard" horn design, but two major designers who have
influenced modern horn design are Geyer and Kruspe. The Geyer design puts
the fourth ("trigger") valve away from the player on the far side of the
valve stack. The Kruspe design, which is favored by more manufacturers,
places the trigger closest to the player, and may have more tuning options
than a Geyer wrap. Other than the tuning differences, each type of wrap has
its proponents, advantages, and disadvantages, which often relate more to
the individuals' playing style as much as anything else.
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23. How old is my horn?
Often, the only way to tell the age of a horn is by checking it's serial
number against a manufacturer's list. These are a bit long to put in the
faq, but I will put links to html pages with the info here.
http://www.io.com/~rboerger/bach.html Bach
http://www.io.com/~rboerger/besson.html Besson
http://www.io.com/~rboerger/boosey.html Boosey & Hawkes
http://www.io.com/~rboerger/conns.html Conn [updated 26 Sep 96; how to find Texas horns]
http://www.io.com/~rboerger/holton.html Holton
http://www.io.com/~rboerger/king.html King/Cleveland
An ftp site with many serial number lists is at:
ftp://geomag.gly.fsu.edu/pub/brass.
Please email any additional lists you may have to me.
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24. Are there any "WWW" sites for the horn?
Robin Moffatt has created an web archive of topical, timely discussions from
the horn mailing list. In an ideal world, they'd be in this FAQ, ;-) but
Robin is doing a fine job of preserving the flow of the original
conversations, rather than turning things into a dry compendium of topics
such as you see here. Have a look, and for God's sake, read what is said
about the Vienna Philharmonic before rehashing it on the list for the 50th
time!
The Norwegian Music Information Centre contains catalogues of Norwegian
contemporary sheet music, including horn solo and ensemble music.
Robert Ward, of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, is working on his home
page, including a work-in-progress, "The Horn Warm Up Book".
Sharon Zurflieh has set up a site with MIDI-based accompaniments of horn
solos. These are great to practise to when you don't have an accompianist
handy, plus with most MIDI software, you can vary the tempo, etc. to your
own tastes..
Harlan Feinstein's home page includes such fun things as information about
jazz horn players.
The Music Publishers' Association of the United States web site may be of
interest to horn players. It includes a listing of officers, MPA Sales
Agency List, a copyright reshourse center, and more.
[Image] Speaking of jazz horn players, see John Clark's Hidden Meaning Music
site for an example of someone who is very successful as a hornist in this
field.
Dennis Brain lovers probably want to check out Ivan Wong's Dennis Brain
Homepage and the Dennis Brain Discography.
Mary Keezer sent out a survey to the amateur hornists on the list and has
compiled some of the replies to the questions. The responses give quite a
bit of insight into why amateurs continue to play; see Stories from an
Amateur Hornist Survey for more.
Prof. Thomas Bacon's Thomas Bacon Horn Page is extremely well-done and
offers a wealth of information to both the amateur and professional hornist.
THE web site for the Horn, it includes Prof. Bacon's study guide, audio
clips, and more.
Well-known European hornist Hanz Pizka offers a someone different take on
things from his home page. You'll find information from his publishing firm,
pictures of Wiener horns (the unique piston F horns that they use over
there), advice to young players, and more. Note that Herr Piska "states it
as he sees it" :-)
Eric Pingel's class project on the horn is an interesting and well-designed
introduction to the instrument, although you'll need a frame-capable browser
to view it. Eric's site combines other net resources with original content
of his own to present a visually pleasing reference to the instrument.
There's even a final exam so that you can see what you learned.
[Image] Christopher Cornette's Horn Pages are a new and welcome addition to
the family of horn pages. An incredibly comprehensive collection of horn
links is just the starting point on this site, which includes a weekly MIDI
clip (and substantial ones at that), links to the Northwest Horn Society,
CMU Horn Club Online, the 560th ANG Band, a bio, and more. He even rates the
sites (giving this FAQ a generous **** rating; I'm not so sure). Well worth
an afternoon or evening's visit, but be prepared to spend some time here.
The British Horn Society Home Page is of interest to more than UK hornists.
Included here is Horn News, information on BHS publications, and more.
The Swedish Horn Society Home Page looks to be of interest to those versed
in Swedish. There appear to be links, stories on the horn, performance tips,
book reviews, and more. I wish I could read the pages!
The Historic Brass Society World Wide Web Site is a must for anyone
interested in the history of their instrument.
I've given up on Windplayer magazine ever adding horn to their site. Over a
year now, same five "popular" instruments they've always had. OK, guys, try
playing "Star Wars" with just flute, clarinet, sax, trumpet, and trombone.
The FAQ author's home page will have links to WWW horn sites as time permits
and as info comes in. Point to http://www.io.com/~rboerger for more. [there
is a pointer to this FAQ off this page]
Again, if you know of any horn sites that you'd like to have listed here,
send me a note.
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