French horn

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French horn picture

History of Instrument

The leader of the brass section is the French horn. But when it was first made nobody used it indoors because it sound harsh. In France the nobility used the horn during hunts and made up special codes to signal each other. It was even used by the night watch to call when there was trouble.

Even though it is called the French horn it first began to be developed in Germany. It was completed as we know it today in France. So that's why we call it a French horn. Some French horns are really two horns in one. They have two sets of tubing. The player switches between  the two sets of coiled tubing by working a valve with his left thumb. One set of tubing gives a mellow, rich, deep tone. And the other makes a higher, brighter sound.

Once the French horn became part of the orchestra its shape began to change. The tube got longer, the bell was made wider, and it got its crooks and valves. It is the only brass instrument with a funnel-shaped mouthpiece. If all of the tubing were uncoiled it would be over 20 feet long.

The valves of a French horn are rotary valves. When the player pushes down on a valve it pulls a string that opens or closes different valves. French horn players put their right hand inside the bell of the horn to adjust the tone.

Range of the French Horn:

From G two octaves below middle C to F one octave above middle C.

Music for the French Horn