Talk:French horn

Sound Production
To make the description of sound production more succinct and less Spanish Inquisitiony, I have replaced

To produce different notes on the horn, one must do many things—the seven most important are pressing the valves, holding the appropriate amount of lip tension, raising the soft palate, positioning the tongue, lowering the larynx, blowing air into the instrument, and placing the hand in the bell.

with

''Sound is produced by vibrating ("buzzing") the player's lips into the mouthpiece of the instrument. Different partials in the harmonic series can be played by adjusting the air pressure and lip tension, while different harmonic series can be accessed by pressing the valves. The player can also adjust the pitch of the instrument through the position of their hand in the bell.'' — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.11.117.130 (talk • contribs) 08:50, 29 March 2017 (UTC)


 * It works for me, thanks. I'm sorry you removed the Spanish Inquisition bit above, though . Best wishes DBaK (talk) 09:37, 3 April 2017 (UTC)


 * I've added that reference back in then. :P — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.11.117.130 (talk • contribs) 16:03, 26 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Phew! Thanks, I've missed it! Cheers DBaK (talk) 20:04, 26 April 2017 (UTC)

Timbre
Note that the flugelhorn article has a section concisely describing the timbre of the instrument. I was hope this article would have one as well. An opportunity for improvement! 75.163.180.231 (talk) 01:28, 11 November 2018 (UTC)

Hunting horn influence on playing position
Diff Wouldn't coiled or curved hunting horns have been in use well before right-hand stopping came into fashion? It seems implausible that a player of a signaling horn would want to muffle it, or be concerned with fine adjustments to intonation.

The "steering" comment may have been jocular, but hands (and reins, and bit) are not the only riding aid. A well-trained horse will respond promptly to small changes in the rider's seat and legs. Cow ponies, for example, must maneuver in coordination with a rider whose hand(s) may be busy with other tasks than guiding the horse. In that context, I've heard neck reining called "power steering."

I don't know enough about horn history to know where to go digging for reliable sources, nor to suggest accurate wording for clarification here. Any ideas? Just plain Bill (talk) 19:42, 24 January 2019 (UTC)


 * Perhaps that should go to Horn (instrument), not the specific French horn? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:34, 24 January 2019 (UTC)
 * It has to do with the supposed origin of the modern valved horn's playing position in concert settings. Just plain Bill (talk) 20:49, 24 January 2019 (UTC)
 * As the editor who requested that clarification, I suppose I should put my hands up. I do not find any illustrations in the various horn articles on Wikipedia, but the hooped 17th-century hunting horn was played one-handed and campane in aria, or at least held up on the right forearm, not two-handed and with the bell pointing downward. The idea was of course to make the sound carry as far as possible, quite the opposite of a desire to muffle the sound. The statement about the bell pointing backward is at least partially true, but the suggestion that the modern orchestral horn's playing position is similar to the hunting horn's is misleading. I wondered if that statement might have a source that could be used to clarify what was meant.—Jerome Kohl (talk) 21:15, 24 January 2019 (UTC)


 * A quick search of Wikimedia Commons fails to turn up any illustration of horseback performance, but this illustration gives some idea of the one-handed grip, with a two-handed grip just behind. It is only distantly similar to the way the orchestral horn is held.—Jerome Kohl (talk) 21:34, 24 January 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your expert attention to this. I suppose the player in front could quickly sling the horn onto his shoulder if both hands were needed for something else. On horseback, some sort of lanyard would likely be used to help keep the horn from going too far astray at energetic gaits. Neither player comes close to using a modern orchestral position, of course. Sorry, speculation is all I've got here. Just plain Bill (talk) 21:59, 24 January 2019 (UTC)

French Horn vs. Horn
There is a page for the Horn (instrument) which contains much of the general information which is erroneously duplicated on this page. This page should be, according to past consensus, dedicated specifically to the French Horn, and not to the general Orchestral Horn (which is actually a German horn. AsimovtheCat (talk) 05:06, 27 January 2024 (UTC)