Impart your wisdom on the French Horn

foxtrapper wrote: Anyway, there are a number of good used french horns on ebay for under a hundred bucks. Which may well be cheaper than renting, even for just one semester. Especially when you factor in the repair cost on that rental, should your child be less than perfectly gentle.

The you can recoup some of your investment by putting it back on eBay after she decides that she'd rather have a Miata.

Thanks for all the thoughts! Being 99% non-musical, I had no idea that the french horn was considered so difficult to play. Given that, I wonder if we could gently steer her into something simpler to learn.

@Curtis73 - She's got more musical skill than me (not saying much) but she hasn't shown tremendous skill either. Not sure we have a virtuoso on our hands.

The french horn is not hard to play. It does take more work to learn to play it well.

Don't steer her towards an "easier" instrument, let her play the one that she likes. An instrument that she likes will be one she will learn to play well.

I've got two. Get her a used Single Horn to try first. If she takes to it, then step her up to a double. I used (and liked) Yamaha's. Granted, there were "better" out there but they usually cost $2-4k.

I've got a good working single I'd sell for $125+ shipping if you want. I used it through middle school and my first year of high school.

As for difficulty.... once you learn to play F horn well, any other brass instrument is a breeze. The mouthpiece is the smallest of the brass family, so it takes more control to start with. Plus, the "spaces" between notes don't exist. It's so easy to get the correct fingerings and be way off on pitch because it's not so easy. But once she figures it out, if she wants to pursue a music career horn scholarships are easier to find. There's just less of us than there are trumpet/trombone players. Plus we're better.

All the best French horn players i've met started on trumpet.

But yes, French horn is probably the most difficult brass instrument. Lots of closely-spaced partials. It's relatively easy to play an entire major scale with the SAME fingering if you can get far enough into the upper register.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: All the best French horn players i've met started on trumpet. But yes, French horn is probably the most difficult brass instrument. Lots of closely-spaced partials. It's relatively easy to play an entire major scale with the SAME fingering if you can get far enough into the upper register.

then they weren't that good. And you don't need fingers in any register. Hand placement and your chops can do it anywhere. Fingering makes it easier. After learning on a single, switching to a double was like hitting the easy button.

I started in 6th grade, played through middle school and high school, went to college and played there for 2.5 years. I wasn't even enrolled for the last full year. They just needed my chops and offered to waive the fees for the bands so I could continue to play.

Bobzilla wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: All the best French horn players i've met started on trumpet. But yes, French horn is probably the most difficult brass instrument. Lots of closely-spaced partials. It's relatively easy to play an entire major scale with the SAME fingering if you can get far enough into the upper register.

then they weren't that good. And you don't need fingers in any register. Hand placement and your chops can do it anywhere. Fingering makes it easier. After learning on a single, switching to a double was like hitting the easy button.

Rofl, i was joking.

I don't think you're doing a bottom range "F Major" scale without fingers. Or if you are, it'll sound REAL weird.

But definitely +1 on double being the easy button!

I never said it was pretty!

Bobzilla wrote: I've got two. Get her a used Single Horn to try first. If she takes to it, then step her up to a double. I used (and liked) Yamaha's. Granted, there were "better" out there but they usually cost $2-4k. I've got a good working single I'd sell for $125+ shipping if you want. I used it through middle school and my first year of high school. As for difficulty.... once you learn to play F horn well, any other brass instrument is a breeze. The mouthpiece is the smallest of the brass family, so it takes more control to start with. Plus, the "spaces" between notes don't exist. It's so easy to get the correct fingerings and be way off on pitch because it's not so easy. But once she figures it out, if she wants to pursue a music career horn scholarships are easier to find. There's just less of us than there are trumpet/trombone players. Plus we're better.

That would be great...except that, from what I know at this point, they require a double. Interesting that you mention scholarships. The band director pulled my wife aside after last night's meeting and told her that good french horn players have great opportunities for help with college!

Yeah... I screwed the pooch a long time ago and passed up a full ride to a private school because I was lazy. I didn't even turn in my application.... and that was all they were waiting on to offer me the scholarship. What can I say, I was 18, stupid and no idea what I was going to do with my life.

I can honestly say I was good. But there were better. there wasn't anythign I couldn't play if I practied enough. The guy on campus that was better didn't have to practice.

We heard the exact same thing about french horn players and scholarships. So my son stuck with it all through high school and decided he didn't want to be in a college music plan; so the music scholarships were never there for us.

I'd like to find someplace locally to play again. It's been about 6 years since I played other than in the house.

I too suggest buying used from a local ebayer.

If you happen to have boxes of cash to spend; these guys run a pretty decent operation. AND the Tire Rack building/track is across the highway!

http://www.wwbw.com/French-Horns-Brass-Instruments1.wwbw?o=1

Oh my... when I was in college I wanted one of these so friggin bad: http://www.wwbw.com/Holton-H181-Professional-Farkas-French-Horn-460378-i1142512.wwbw

Wow... remember when schools supplied the instruments?

I played clarinet and sax in school. Loved it, and when I made first clarinet in the band, my mother helped me buy a beautiful wooden Buffet. Years later when I decided to go to art college, I had to sell the clarinet to help pay for it. It broke my heart.

I just sold my H175 (176? Lord, it's been too long). Fantastic instrument.

If I may derail the topic for a second, my older brother played french horn, then went on to play some sort of marching variation in a drum corps. I've got the horn now, but can't find out exactly what it is. It looks something like this: But instead of having three valves, it has two valves and a small slide. Any ideas?

Wiki said: Mellophones manufactured exclusively for American drum corps use (1950s-60s-70s) had one horizontal piston valve (1 step) and one (half-step) rotary valve operated by the thumbs. When the prohibitions against vertical pistons were lifted, corps mellophones received two vertical piston valves. In 1989 rules passed to include a third vertical piston, permitting a complete chromatic scale.

So it looks like this horn that I have is probably a Mellowphone made for drum and bugle corps between 1977 and 1989, which makes sense since he was in college from '83-'88 or so.

This is hysterical. I had no idea that there were this many gearhead current or ex french horn players. I made noise with one for 7 years in school. This was back when school provided instruments... how the mighty have fallen.Just to beat the dead horse, renting is prolly for the best and keep a lookout on craiglist. Don't discourage her from learning this the toughest brass instrument. Looking to your future, girl french horn players are dropdead sexy and attract the highest caliber future sons-in-law.

Found this on ebay, and I'm just about positive that's what I've got. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&item=250789852578&nma=true&rt=nc&si=uSsYd8jgGAnA2NHLM%252FDUpsEsgsM%253D

Bobzilla wrote: Oh my... when I was in college I wanted one of these so friggin bad: http://www.wwbw.com/Holton-H181-Professional-Farkas-French-Horn-460378-i1142512.wwbw

That's what i rolled in college, actually.

Keith wrote: French horn players make great kissers. It's all about the embouchure. Just what a father wants to hear, I suppose.

Jay_W wrote: Looking to your future, girl french horn players are drop dead sexy and attract the highest caliber future sons-in-law.

You guys can go pound sand! I don't need to think about my 11 year old daughter this way!!

I played French horn for a short period in H.S. until my work schedule got in the way and I had to chose (work and $ won). In our band, horn players in concert band were made to play mellophones in marching band (and to be in concert band, you had to be in marching band). The school provided the horn until I had made a commitment. I don't recall if I had to pay any rental fee, although I don't think so. They had more spare horns than players at the time.

The learning period was rough on my parents. My father called it "the deformed brass tube..." I really wanted to play clarinet... since the case was smaller and would fit in my locker...

16vCorey wrote: If I may derail the topic for a second, my older brother played french horn, then went on to play some sort of marching variation in a drum corps. I've got the horn now, but can't find out exactly what it is. It looks something like this: But instead of having three valves, it has two valves and a small slide. Any ideas?

Pretty sure that's a Mellophone - often used by French Horn players in marching band settings.

Ian F wrote: Pretty sure that's a Mellophone - often used by French Horn players in marching band settings.

That's what I thought too, but the two valve thing (on mine, not the one pictured) had me confused. Wiki cleared it up for me.