What is a French horn? Getting acquainted with wind instruments

Them this article you will learn about what is a French horn. This instrument is actively used in symphonic and brass bands.

Definition

What is a French horn? It is a copper brass mouthpiece that sounds in the tenor register. The word "horn" goes back to the German Waldohom, which means "forest horn". The instrument really originated from the hunting horn and entered the orchestra in the middle of the 18th century. Until the 1930s the French horn had no additional gates and was a natural instrument with a limited scale. Even Beethoven used the so-called "natural" horn. Later, through various adaptations, it was significantly improved.

Appearance

The description of the appearance of the instrument will help to understand what the french horn is. It is a metal tube about twelve pounds in length. The instrument has a tip in the shape of a mouthpiece and three special valves. The musician changes the sound of the French horn, vibrating his lips on the mouthpiece and moving the valves with his left hand. His right hand is usually placed in the socket of the instrument to give the timbre additional colors and shades.

Features of sound

What is a French horn today? It is actively used in the wind and symphony orchestras, as well as a solo and ensemble instrument. The horn is usually used in the Fa (in F), in the wind orchestra - in the E-flat (in Es). The range of the wind instrument is all the sounds of the chromatic scale from the "c" of the control to the "fa" of the second octave. The timbre of the French horn is bright and bright on the forte, melodious and soft on the piano, in the lower register it is somewhat coarse. The instrument conveys a solemn and sad mood.

Playing the French horn, it is good to extract long notes (including on the organ point) and melodies for wide breathing. At the same time, the volume of the consumed air is relatively small. French horn, a photograph of which you can see in this article, is very suitable for the performance of symphonic works.

Techniques for changing sound

The sound of the French horn can be changed using special techniques. To make the instrument produce "closed" sounds, its mouth is closed by hand. In this position, quiet sounds acquire a gentle and muted timbre, while loud ones become hoarse and growling. To extract from the instrument "stuck" sounds in the bell of the horn, a fist like a pear is introduced. From this, the sound rises by a half, the sounds on the piano become tense and alarming and ringing, at the forte - they acquire a growling, hoarse timbre. Both methods were used in the old days to give the "natural" French horn of chromaticity. If you play the instrument with a bell to the top, it will make the horn sound more loud and give the music a pathetic character.

Works for French horn

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote four concerts for the French horn. In addition, special works for her were written by Rheingold Glier and Richard Strauss. In Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, in concert for pianoforte and orchestra No. 1, in the first bars you can hear a French horn. The second part of the fifth symphony of the great composer is practically a solo on this wind instrument. In the first symphony of Gustav Mahler (in the first part of it, from the 32nd bar) also the instrument of the French horn sounds.

Famous French hornists

The art of playing the French horn at various times was famous for such musicians as Austrian Josef Ignaz Leitgeb, Brain Dennis from the United Kingdom, Baumann Herman and Peter Damm from Germany, Baborak Radek from the Czech Republic. Talented horn players were Russians: Usov Anton Ivanovich, Buyanovsky Mikhail Nikolayevich and his son Buyanovsky Vitaliy Mikhailovich, Polekh Valery Vladimirovich and Demin Anatoly Sergeevich. These great performers knew what the French horn is, what magnificent works can be performed on it.