The Horn is one of the oldest musical instruments, made originally of animal horns and later of metal. Although in English the Horn is usually called a French Horn, it was mostly developed by Germans. Since a Horn produced very powerful sounds, it was quite natural to use it for battle signals, and especially for hunting festivities. The instrument adopted a coiled circular form; this made it easy for the player to handle it, and allowed him to carry it over his head or shoulder while riding or marching.
The diameter of the tube's bore begins quite narrowly (approximately 6.5 mm.), gradually expands to almost 8 cm., and ends in a very large flared bell, with a diameter of almost 30 cm.
The first Horns did not have any valves and were called Natural Horns. They had a variety of different U-shaped crooks (tuning slides) with which the player could lengthen or shorten the whole tube of the instrument. All the crooks, together with the whole tube, could attain nearly 5 meters.
The real problem arose when the Horn was introduced into the orchestra. The Natural Horn could only play the notes of its harmonic series; in this matter, the crooks could not be of any help, since each change of crooks made it possible for the player to produce only a new set of harmonics (based on the new length of the tube). Composers had to write notes which were performable, and which gave the players enough time to change crooks when the key was changed.
Help came from an unexpected direction. Players trying to soften the rough sound of the Horns, would insert their hand into the bell. In this manner, they not only checked the sound, but also muted it, and ensured perfect intonation.
Then came the greatest discovery in the history of the Horn. By
inserting the hand far enough into the bell, the pitch could be lowered. But, when the hand was pushed in as far as possible, the tone was suddenly raised a semitone. These experiments were carried out by Joseph Hampal, the horn player, during the second half of the 18th century.
Then, in approximately 1815, came the invention of the valve system. This system did away with the crooks, and made it possible to change the length of the tubes without having to cease playing.
Although Valve Horns are currently used in symphonic orchestras, horn players still like to play the Natural Horn when possible. It was the famous French teacher and Horn virtuoso who declared that the Natural Horn is, of all wind instruments, " the most beautiful in respect of timbre and intrinsic quality of tone, while the feelings aroused by its charm are generally admitted to be irresistible".
The Horn is a member of the brass section, but it is also associated with the woodwind section. That is why it is written above the Trumpet in scores, although it has a lower range. Its sounds can be mellow, quiet, and mysterious, as well as powerful and majestic.
The notes played when the player's hand is firmly placed in the bell, are called Stopped Notes. The sign used to designate playing Stopped Notes is a " + " placed on the notes to be stopped. When the player is to play normally again, an " o " (for Open Notes) is placed on the notes. When no signs appear on the notes, the player is to play Open Notes.
A muted Horn gives a far-away, distant sound. When the player forces his hand into the bell and blows very loud, a very brassy sound is produced (called "cuivre", which is French for brassy).
Of all the types of Horns, only two were adopted by players: one in F, and one in B flat. Today, a Double Horn is used by most of the horn players, including the two kinds of Horns with added tube and a fourth valve. The Horns are transposing instruments and use different clefs in order to avoid leger lines.
