Mellophone

The mellophone is a three-valved brass instrument in the key of F or E♭ that is used in marching bands and drum and bugle corps in place of French horns. These instruments are used instead because their bells face forward instead of to the back (or to the side), as dissipation of the sound becomes a concern in the open-air environment of marching. Tuning is done solely by adjusting the piping, instead of adjusting both piping and hand position as on the horn. Fingering for the mellophone is the same as fingering for a non-trigger (single) french horn.

Owing to its use primarily outside of concert music, there is little solo literature for the mellophone, other than that used within drum and bugle corps.

Characteristics

The present-day mellophone has three valves, operated with the right hand. Mellophone fingering is the same as the trumpet and is typically pitched lower, in the key of F or E♭. The overtone series of the F mellophone is an octave above that of the F horn.

The direction of the bell, as well as the much-reduced amount of tubing (as compared to a concert horn) makes the mellophone look like a large trumpet. Many mellophone players who double on trumpet use a trumpet-style parabolic ("cup") mouthpieces on the instrument, resulting in a brighter, more trumpet-like sound. Drum corps mellophones in G typically use V-cup cornet-style mouthpieces, which give a warmer, fuller tone. Horn players doubling on mellophone often use the smaller, lighter, conical ("funnel") mouthpieces used on concert ("French") horns, with an adapter to allow it to fit in the larger-bore lead pipe of the mellophone. This gives the instrument a velvety, warm sound more similar to the horn.