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Don't Fear the Horn with Richard Steggall
Добавлен 30 ноя 2022
Video series to accompany the book "Don't Fear the Horn: A comprehensive guide to the French horn for all brass players and teachers"
The French horn. A complex, tangled mess of an instrument. An instrument so inefficiently designed that its sole purpose often appears to be to confuse and frustrate. Why bother at all with the most troublesome of brass instruments? Well, because of the quite wonderful pay-off: its glorious sound.
In these videos, Richard Steggall systematically untangles the French horn's web of mystery, one strand at a time. This unique and groundbreaking series will give you the understanding needed to approach the French horn with confidence and clarity.
In short - Don't Fear the Horn
The French horn. A complex, tangled mess of an instrument. An instrument so inefficiently designed that its sole purpose often appears to be to confuse and frustrate. Why bother at all with the most troublesome of brass instruments? Well, because of the quite wonderful pay-off: its glorious sound.
In these videos, Richard Steggall systematically untangles the French horn's web of mystery, one strand at a time. This unique and groundbreaking series will give you the understanding needed to approach the French horn with confidence and clarity.
In short - Don't Fear the Horn
Should you learn on the F or B flat horn?
F or B♭? That's the question?
from "Don't Fear the Horn" Chapter 8
00:29 Tradition of learning on the F horn
00:59 Difficulties of the F horn
01:35 Justification for learning on the F horn
02:17 B flat horn
02:55 The 'correct' answer
03:16 Starting on the Bb
03:26 Starting on the F
"Don't Fear the Horn: A comprehensive guide to the French horn for brass players and teachers"
To buy your copy go to:
www.richardsteggall.co.uk
from "Don't Fear the Horn" Chapter 8
00:29 Tradition of learning on the F horn
00:59 Difficulties of the F horn
01:35 Justification for learning on the F horn
02:17 B flat horn
02:55 The 'correct' answer
03:16 Starting on the Bb
03:26 Starting on the F
"Don't Fear the Horn: A comprehensive guide to the French horn for brass players and teachers"
To buy your copy go to:
www.richardsteggall.co.uk
Просмотров: 1 100
Видео
Which French horn is perfect for YOU?
Просмотров 1 тыс.2 месяца назад
A guide to choosing which French horn is perfect for you Chapter 8: Choosing a French horn 00:21 Different types of French horn 00:48 The full double 01:11 Serious music students 01:39 Starter horns (mini horns) 02:09 Young learners 02:27 Single horn 02:35 Compensating double horn 03:11 B-flat single horn 03:38 Double descant (alto) horn 03:58 Triple horn 04:23 F single horn 04:35 Piston horn 0...
The Double Horn - are you using the F and Bb sides correctly? | Don't Fear the Horn: Chapter 7
Просмотров 1,8 тыс.2 месяца назад
Everything you need to know about the double horn from Richard Steggall's "Don't Fear the Horn" series, giving a comprehensive guide to the French Horn Chapter 5: The Double horn 00:00 About the double horn 00:56 The upper register 01:56 The pedal register 02:20 Hand-stopping 02:43 Gs and F-sharps 03:10 Middle and low register 04:35 Buy the book! 04:51 Thumb valve 05:45 Full double vs compensat...
Single B-flat horn | Don't Fear the Horn: Chapter 6
Просмотров 7834 месяца назад
Everything you need to know about the single B flat horn Chapter 5: The single B♭ horn 00:00 About the B♭ single 00:44 What's so complicated about the B♭single 01:20 Instrument in B♭but written in F - Rule breaker! 01:52 The harmonic series 02:09 C major scale fingering 02:39 Simplicity of fingering and difficulty of pitching 03:16 Bad intonation - 5th harmonic 04:16 Low register 04:55 Instrume...
Single F horn | Don't Fear the Horn: Chapter 5
Просмотров 2,1 тыс.5 месяцев назад
Everything you need to know about the single F horn Chapter 5: The single F horn 00:00 About the F single 00:43 The F mini-horn, or kinderhorn, or mini-wrap horn 01:00 Does it follow the brass rules? 01:30 The harmonic series 02:14 F horn fingering 02:32 Matching F horn fingering on any brass instrument 02:50 Low register of the F horn 03:10 Simplicity of fingering 03:25 Difficult of pitching 0...
Horn in F and the harmonic series | Don't Fear the Horn: Chapter 4
Просмотров 1,5 тыс.5 месяцев назад
Learn how to match French horn fingering on any valved brass instrument! Chapter 4: Horn in F and the harmonic series 00:00 Introduction 00:40 Rip up your fingering charts!! 01:01 What is the harmonic series? 02:21 The fundamental problem 02:47 The harmonic series of the trumpet 03:10 The harmonic series of the tenor horn 03:35 The harmonic series of the baritone 03:55 The French horn rule brea...
Different types of French horn | Don't Fear the Horn: Chapter 3
Просмотров 2,1 тыс.6 месяцев назад
"Don't Fear the Horn: A comprehensive guide to the French horn for brass players and teachers" Chapter 3: Different types of instrument 00:00 Introduction 00:44 4-step horn identification system 01:20 Single horn 01:36 F or B-flat? 01:57 "F" test 02:41 Mini-horns, or, "mini-wrap" horns or "kinderhorns" 03:11 Double horn 03:38 Full double and Compensating double, or "compensator" 04:11 Stands in...
Brass rules and how French horns break them | Don't Fear the Horn: Chapter 2
Просмотров 22 тыс.6 месяцев назад
"Don't Fear the Horn: A comprehensive guide to the French horn for brass players and teachers" Chapter 2: Brass rules and how French horns break them 00:00 Introduction 01:16 Rule 1: There is a standard key (instrument length) for beginners 01:38 Rule 2: Standard versions of instruments are in B-flat or E-flat 02:05 Rule 3: In the treble clef, music for beginners is written in the key of the in...
A brief history of the horn | Don't Fear the Horn: Chapter 1
Просмотров 1,4 тыс.6 месяцев назад
"Don't Fear the Horn: A comprehensive guide to the French horn for brass players and teachers" Chapter 1: A brief history of the French horn 00:00 Introduction 00:50 Hunting Horns - Cor de chasse 01:18 Natural Horn 02:23 Using the hand in the bell - Beethoven Horn Sonata 03:57 Using valves instead of crooks 04:41 How did the modern horn and the modern trumpet become so different? 05:33 Sketch: ...
Introduction to Don't Fear the Horn
Просмотров 5726 месяцев назад
"Don't Fear the Horn: A comprehensive guide to the French horn for brass players and teachers" Introduction 00:00 Welcome 00:48 Why have I written the book? 01:34 Who is "Don't Fear the Horn" for? 04:07 The French horn IS a brass instrument 04:39 Contents of the videos To buy your copy go to: www.richardsteggall.co.uk
Concernant the compensated system, it’s not always bad for the F side. Example : the f horn of the olds Selmer’s pistons double horn is really good, much better than Alexander 103 for example ! It’s a very good system for euphoniums or tubas for example. I don’t know why it’s not more developped for the French horn !
There's another type, which is very rare but very useful for high repertoire - the single Bb soprano descant. Same octave as a trumpet. Useful if you don't like triples. Only two extant makers still build them - Alexander (Model 99) and Takao Nakagawa. I personally use a Kalison for that rep and love it. French Cors a Pistons (piston horns) are also very useful for chamber music and solos when their unique timbre is desired, and historically-informed performance of 19th century French repertoire. One added benefit of using Vienna horns or 19th century rotary or piston horns for solo work are their interchangeable terminal crooks. If you're doing a recital with, say, Mozart 4, Haydn 1 and Strauss 1, you can readily change from Eb to D to F effortlessly without having to worry about transposing fingerings.
Do you have any ideas about the best way to purchase horns. Are there any rent to buy schemes? I find this is the real draw back for some people and to be able to buy a good quality horn without the huge financial hit would be beneficial. I play on a work provided horn but I will be leaving soon and need to get my own, my hope is to buy a good quality second hand Alex 103 but even these are expensive. If there are different options out there, I'd love for you to do a video on it.
Fascinating. Thank you for detailing the history and evolution.
Hornist for 35+ years. I play primarily on the Bb side, too. Even in high school and college, I would request parts in F when marching with a Bb instrument, then use the fingerings from the Bb horn. Matter of fact, my next horn will most likely be a single Bb with either high F or Eb descant and an A stopping valve. I'll keep my double for 2nd and 4th horn parts, but I rarely need the F side for horn 1 or horn 3. As for the G4 and F#4 on the Bb side (C5 and B4 concert), T13 is only 2 cents out of tune for the G and T123 is only 2 cents out of tune for the F# (as opposed to 14 cents playing T1 or T12, respectively). Theoretically, those fingerings should be more in tune for G5 and F#5 as well, but T0 and T2 should only be 4 cents off, but some of that depends on the throat size and flare.
I'm actually working now to build myself an F-Bb-High F triple horn, so I've made a nice little spreadsheet of tube lengths at required frequencies and their respective harmonics. It's amazing how changing the taper of the lead pipe and tail section can alter the overtones. I'm hoping to end up with a modular design that will allow me to swap not just a screw bell, but the entire tail section and lead pipe. Or even remove the valve assembly to swap between rotary and pumpenvalves (or even convert to a natural horn). The fittings should work like compression fitting for copper plumbing, with thumb screws to remove the supports.
About rule 3: trombones are pitched in Bb/F, but read in C. Also I think Baritones read in Bb when in treble clef, but read in C when in bass clef
I played on F horn for 1 year before being allowed to use Bb. We had the shared horns with 4 students, and my favorite was a Yamaha single in Bb, light, responsive, just great!
We hornplayers are most often drawn to the horn because of its glorious sound. Thus, begiinning with an F horn is most generally a good idea - especially since C thru G on the staff are among the earliest notes a beginner learns and they sound much better on the F horn. I admit to bias as, not having money for a double, I played a Carl Geyer Chicago F single for several decades before acquiring a double.
I started on the F side and only after playing for about 8 years started to introduce notes from the Bb side because I didn't want to get confused by different fingerings. Nowadays, I've been playing for 13 years and I'll interchange between both. If i have a solo or a prominant passage, during practice I'll experiment with both sides of the horn to find which fingering is easier, or if there's an alternate fingering to use. I can notice a much richer tone quality on the F side, so its definitely my preferred side up to C in the 3rd space. Beyond that, Bb is playing it safe.
Wow, 8 years is great going on just the F side. I remember being “allowed” to use the Bb side after about a year of learning, and was mightily relieved about how it made my higher notes easier!
There is another aspect of enjoyment. We keep trying to play such a difficult instrument because of beauty. The old school motivation was directed to the richer harmonic overtones of the f side. I recall being forced for 6 months as a kid to play a (hoyer) resting Bb double horn by a teacher who played an alex in an orchestra, whose view was you could not get a position playing F horn style. I despised the sound it made and almost quit horn. It was not until the school replaced those hoyers with 6Ds that i started to enjoy horn playing again.
That’s interesting to read. I think you must have been very musically mature to have valued beauty of sound over ease of playing! (Valuing the quality of sound is not something that I always manage to instill in my pupils.) I think that’s also the reason that many adults turn to trying historical instruments (hand horns/piston horns etc) and Vienna horns to find that overtone-rich quality of sound. 📯❤️
I think F is better cause all the band music uses F horn
Hey, thanks for watching my video! I think you might be making a common mistake. Yes all band music is in F BUT you can play that on either horn. Both the F and Bb horns read music is F. I know this sounds very strange to non-horn players. Check out my videos on “Bb single horn”and “Horn in F and the Harmonic Series” for a full explanation. 🙏📯👍🏻
We learn on Hans Hoyer F horns (HH-700L) at our local music school. In small for the kids and regular size for adults. Pricey but have good mechanics and a nice sound. I'd like to have a Vienna Horn (for its rich sound) but I am turned down by the price :-D
Yes, I’ve heard good things about Hans Hoyers but the small horns particularly seem expensive. Probably worth it if they last a long time though. Hope you get your Vienna horn one day 🤞🏻📯😀
As a bassoonist, I'll take the english variant please
🤣You’re welcome to it
What is exactly a vienna horn ? I always wonder about the way people speak of it without describing WHAT it is in fact, what is so special about it ! I therefore would appreciate very much an explanatory video about this mysterious thing... Thank you.
Good question! I afraid I can’t do a video at the moment as I don’t own one. The shape of it (bore size etc) is more like a natural horn, or the piston horn pictured in my video. The real difference is the valves: it uses the “pumpenvalve” which is a kind of piston valve. They don’t work as cleanly as piston or rotary valves, so fast playing is trickier but you can play beautiful slurs.
@@dontfearthehorn Thank you very much. At least I have a provisory answer !
Jokes on you the "perfect" horn for me isn't on the list. (I play altonium)
Ah, wonderful! Is it one of the King ones? In Eb or F? I’ve never seen one IRL. Probably a bit too obscure for my channel!
@@dontfearthehorn NGL I am very shocked you even know what that is. Mine is a Cleveland 648 in Eb only, also the name "Altonium" only applies to H.N. White manufactured instruments starting around the late 50s early 60s (after the trombonium was created). Anything else, such as the ones made by Conn or Olds, are just bell-front alto horns, not altoniums.
@@dontfearthehorn I've played an F Altonium. It's tiny and takes a Horn mouthpiece. Probably the most flexible instrument I've ever played. Like many alto-register piston instruments, written 2nd line G is out of tune and should be played with 1+3 instead of open. I think the main thing that separates it from Tenor Horns is the horn mouthpiece, and the fact that many were pitched in F instead of Eb.
Thomann makes great singles. Don’t forget about the goofy Schiller Elite G Key Student French Horn
Yep, the Thomann singles are really solidly built for the price. Never heard of the Schiller horn, I’m intrigued. Tell me more…
Apparently schiller makes bad horns, theirs probably better brands than it which is why it’s not as good
@@jli8418 they’re just another Chinese cutout horn brand, but I’ve heard they are definitely better than Jin Bao and Sia. On par with Mendini. Not as good as Thomman or Wessex which are good horns
B-flat mini singles: Briz 3/4 B-flat single Thomann HR100 Junior J. Michael 3/4 John Packer Jp161
F mini singles: Paxman Primo John Packer JP162 Thomann HR101
Compensating doubles: Paxman Academy John Packer JP263 RATH
Some less expensive full doubles: Paxman Academy Yamaha 567 Verus V Briz A980 Jupiter JHR1100
5 classic makes/models: Alexander 103 Conn 8D Paxman 20 Holton H179 Yamaha 667 (discontinued)
A lovely middle register tune! LOL awesome skit
Glad you enjoyed it!
Completely agree, mine stands in Bb and use F side like you do or depending on the passage. Sometimes it's just easier to play major arpeggios in the F horn rather than using cumbersome fingerings on the Bb one. Also, not all horns are equal sounding in both registers or equal in tune, so that also plays a factor.
Yep, alternative F fingering can be useful. Like you say, depends on instrument quality and also the skill of the player, to make sure that sound quality is not compromised
For me, the real epiphany was not discovering where I should switch between F and B-flat; it was discovering that I could switch AT WHIM however I felt like it. Passage involves a lot of twisted fingers? Try changing that note from the B-flat side to the F side to make the fingering easier. Can't make that F below middle-C loud enough on the F side? Switch to the B-flat side, where it comes out a little stronger. Big octave jumps? Just stay on the same side the whole way through.
Absolutely. Once you understand how both sides work you can be creative using both sides to solve problems. I think sound needs to be the main driver: if it sounds good, then use whatever side works. The only word of caution I’d add is that on top quality horns, you can usually match the sounds of the F and Bb sides pretty well. On lesser instruments there may be a too noticeable change in sound colour to freely move between the two sides.
You're absolutely correct
Thank you!
Certain fingerings on each side of the horn open up lip slur possibilities, along with alternate fingering possibilities. Sometimes, rather than fiddling with fingers it's easier just hold the fingering in the same position, or alternate one finger only to do a run. Once you know which side is easier to do the passage on, practice that until you've got it, because you'll generally only need to work on getting the embouchure/airspeed rather than complicated fingering too.
This gave me a shock
Hey love your videos! I would love to start to play the French Horn but I have no clue wich one to buy as a complite beginner. My fisrt tought to buy was a single F Horn. Do you have any recomendations?
Hi! I’ve just released a video called “Which French horn is perfect for YOU?” This video should answer your question, thanks 📯😀
sir, have u the video of double Horn fingering?
I started off on french horn at 10 years old, but wanted to play in the brass band and switched to euphonium. Then I wanted to play jazz so i switched to cornet. Years later i bought a horn to earn extra cash doubling in pit orchestras. One of the grwat things about coming back to horn was that i had learned orchestral transposition by that point. It makes everything easier. And as you said, a lot of C and D trumpets have the same alternative fingering issues. To make it easier to double i use one of the Wick horn mouthpieces with the wider rim. I play on big trumpet mouthpieces though, so its easier to accommodate. I dont sound fantastic but i can get by.
the first valve G on the Bb horn tends to be flat, but you can raise it up by playing it 1/3… this makes it slightly sharper, but by pulling out the third tuning slide a bit, it can be lowered so it is in tune… are there any other tuning tricks you know of for double horns?
I think it depends how strong your embouchure is and how controlled your air flow is. For most players I would recommend Gs open on the F side, but more advanced players should be able to use 1 on Bb side and just adjust using their ears. While it’s useful to have a valve combination that is in tune (possibly 1&3 like you suggest) I don’t find this to be a useful fingering in passagework. The one trick that I do like (although rarely use myself) is Ds on 3rd valve if 1&2 is too sharp.
When I was in shape, my ears and hand made a lot of adjustments. The flexibility is incredible! But alas! If you are out of shape/practice that same property becomes an incredible obstacle. Trying to hit and hold the right pitch and tone are nigh impossible.
Sir. Is it better the F or BB single sound ?
Hi Sir. Compare to single Bb with 4 valve and Single F, which one is better in sound and calm sound
It really depends. I guess most people will prefer the sound of the 4 valve Bb in the higher register. Certainly for the work that I do I’d certainly choose the Bb. Video on the Bb (and the drawbacks of the Bb) single coming up on Friday I think…
Sir. There is in the market Single Bb with 4 Valve. How do u think of this, compare to F single?. Does the Bb with 4 valve already makes Better compare to F single?
Video on the Bb single coming up on Friday I think, which will hopefully answer your question
Bizarrely, I always found my single F far more free-blowing than doubles I tried. The stuffiness *really* depends on the instrument.
Yep, different instruments respond in different ways. I don’t like to make generalizations about instruments, but if I don’t, I know people will ask the same questions!
Who the hell writes music in bass clef for the french horn? I have never ever seen that in my life.
Mozart, Beethoven, pretty much every composer I can think of. Not for whole pieces, just when it’s needed. The horn can play 2 octaves below middle C, so that would be a lot of ledger lines if you kept in treble clef
This video gives me 2010 RUclips vibes, and I love it!
When I play my rotary valved Tuba upside downwards, the bell points downward and I have to play with the left hand. Middle c (c') is the 9th harmonic and I can never put my hand in the bell regardless of where the bell is pointing to. 🙂
🤣🤣
I have something to say about the rule 13. I know it is quite debatable, since I have not calculated the populations or anything, but from what I have seen, pistons are not dominant world-wide on all but the horn (and trombone). Rather, the world is split roughly into two about equaly large halves roughly separated by the border between France and Germany. On the west of this border, pistons are greatly the dominant type, and on the east, rotors are (with the exeption of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, south Korea and possibly few more countries). There are two curiosities to this: Trumpet is greatly more common in pistons on the west, but is about 50/50 pistons to rotors on the east. And Tuba is extremely more common in rotors on the east and about 50/50 pistons to rotors on the west. I, being Czech, have never in person seen anything but trumpet with piston valves. I admit and I might very well be living in a bubble, since I live in one of these "some regions", but I see these regions as quite more expansive then is suggested in the video, spaning over almost half of the area where they use brass instruments. To avoid similar controversy, I would have worded this rule as "in the English speaking world pistons are dominant". Also, about rule 2. Where I live, the bass tuba for traditional music is F tuba and is about as common for beginners to start with as the Bb tuba (I personally have started on F tuba). Eb tuba is extremely uncommon here. I do not believe it is used too extensively anywhere in Europe other the the UK, Ireland and Denmark. Also maybe appropriate to reword as "In the English speaking world" And a small note to rule 5. Fourth valves on all tubas and "euphoniums" I personally have seen are operated with the right pinky, not the left hand. It is related to them being pretty much exclusively with rotary valves, as I have said earlier. Anyway, I have enjoyed the video :D I do not mean anything bad by this comment, These are just fun things to have a friendly discussion about.
Thanks for your comments. I think the tuba could be considered to be more of a rotary valve instrument worldwide but not the trumpet. And I concede that the Eb tuba is quite a British thing. Very interesting to get different points of view. Thank you
What
Ahh i love it
I got randomly recommended this playlist. welp guess it'll be useful if i ever decide to play these instruments
I grew up solely in the British Brass band world and never considered them a brass instrument until I was in college..but there is no way I'd ever welcome them into a brass band. . Eb Alto Horns FTW!!!
Is the intro and outro tunes from Brahmkovsky playing the piano?
Exactly!!
As a french horn player and reading the title I will just say I don't care.
Well thank you so much for taking time to comment
Basically F horn is just a tenor brass. Double horn is a combination of tenor and alto.
We go by the fundamental pitch when naming what set of harmonics the Horn belongs to. Those pitches have names. And unlike other brass instruments, regardless of how long or short the Horn is, the bore and mouthpiece diameter are relatively the same. The only other size difference besides a simple difference in tubing length is bell size. The largest Horn is the lowest pitched Horn. The Single Horn in F. It is pitched in Concert F1. The name of that pitch is Double F Contra-Alto. You could call it Double F Bass since the pitch is the same, but, since the Horn doesn't have a Bass timbre, we simply use FF Contra-Alto because it is exactly one octave lower than F Alto or F2. The Bb Single Horn is pitched in Bb2. The name of that pitch is Bb Tenor. Moving along up the harmonic, we have the Eb Alto and F Alto F Horns. That's Eb2 and F2. These have a very noticeable smaller bell. And then there's the Bb Soprano Horn with a very tiny bell that you can't mute by hand inside. Pitched in Bb3. All of those these Horns have the same bore (maybe slight microscopic variations based on manufacturer) and mouthpiece which give them not much difference in tone from Horn to Horn. The largest contributor to any noticeable difference in tone, is not from the shorter or longer tubing, but from the larger or smaller bell sizes. Obviously the smaller the Horn the smaller the bell. So there you have it. Also, because the mouthpiece and bore are relatively the same for them all, the highest note is the same. Of course as the Horn gets larger and larger the more skill is required to play it but basically as the Horn gets larger the available set of lower pitches gets lower and lower. This is why the FF Contra-Alto F Horn has the largest range of all valved brass wind instruments. It can go really low and really high.
I played in high school after starting on the flute in grade school. I'd like to start playing again but I really can't justify the cost of something I might hardly ever use. Nice channel.
Hope you can find a cheap second hand horn one day, glad your enjoying the channel!
sadly i don’t play any other brass instruments (besides trombone), so i’m stuck with the dreaded chart
This is very UK-centric, i recommend some research on brass instruments in the US as well as the rest of Europe.
They have Mellophones in F in US marching bands I believe. Those are quite strange in their own right. Apart from that I'm not sure what you're alluding to. Here in Germany only professionals use trumpets or tubas that aren't in B flat, let alone other instruments. This is mainly because amateurs really could not be bothered to buy another instrument that sounds 90% identical and don't have the chops to play a piccolo in A.
Conclusion: the French horn isn’t a brass instrument, it’s a wind instrument.
Euphonium for the first 3 rules: am i a joke to u