The Horn (photo) (audio)

Predecessors to the horm were made in ancient civilizations out of shells, bones and brass. However, it wasn't until the sixteenth century that the contemporary horn was first recorded. Unlike the trombone, tuba and trumpet, all of

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which have a cup-shaped mouthpiece, the horn has a funnel-shaped one. This has a affect on the vibration of the column of air which produces the sound. Thus, it has an affect on the production of sound and the sound itself.

The horn was used in many different ways, especially in operas during the seventeenth century. During the baroque period in the eighteenth century, many composers such as Handel in "Water Music" and Bach in "Mass in B Minor" utilized the horn. The heyday of the horn was during the classical period when Haydn and Mozart used the horn.

Prior to the nineteenth century, the only way a horn player was able to change the pitch of his instrument was with the so-called crooks. Crooks were different sized tubings that allowed

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different pitches. The shorter the tube or crook, the higher the sound was in pitch. During the nineteenth century a valved horn was produced which allowed different pitches to be played without having to switch crooks.

By the nineteenth century, horns became extremely widely used in operas and various orchestral music. Wagner used both the valveless horn and the valved horn in one of his operas. Horns are used in various military bands, marching bands and many background music for movies and television shows.