High School Player’s

Guide to Playing the Horn

Compliments of:

Jeffrey Agrell
Associate Professor of Horn
School of Music
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242
o.: 319-335-1648
[email protected]
web site: www.uiowa.edu/~som
 High School Player’s Guide to Playing the Horn
University of Iowa Horn Studio
Jeffrey Agrell, Associate Professor of Horn
www.uiowa.edu/~somhorn

Table of Contents

Daily Practice Program

1. Warm-Ups 1
2. Technique Review 5
3. Technique Development 6
4. Problem Solving 6
5. Performance/fun session 9

Planning Practice Sessions 9

Resources
Web sites 9
Accessories 10
Sheet music sources 10
Solo repertoire 10
Etude books 11
Orchestral excerpt study 11
Duets 12
Trios 12
Quartets 12
Brass Quintets 12
Woodwind Quintets 13
Horn History 13
Famous Horn Players 13
Recordings of Great Solo Horn Playing 14
Symphonic Music with Prominent Horn Parts 14
International Horn Society 15
Books 15
Brass Ensembles 15
Questions? 15
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High School Player’s Guide to Playing the Horn

Daily Horn Practice Program
Excellence in any skill depends on two things:
1. Quality: Efficient practice (knowing what to practice and how to practice it)
2. Quantity: Practicing regularly and putting in the time. Those that practice
the most invariably show the quickest progress and become the best
players. Regular practice is essential – one hour every day is much better
than nothing for six days and then seven hours in one day.

Quantity is up to you. This handout will briefly outline the basics of quality
practice to help you know what to practice and how to practice it.
________________________________________________________________
A complete practice program includes
I. Warm-ups
II. Technique review
III. Technique development
IV. Problem solving in current repertoire, including solos, etudes,
orchestral excerpts, chamber music, etc.
V. Performance/fun session: sight-reading, playing through familiar
pieces, reading through new literature, playing tunes by ear,
improvisation.

Decide how much time you have to practice total (day and week) and allot
times accordingly. Warm-ups should be done every day. Technique Review
and Performance sessions may be brief if necessary, but Technique
Development and Problem Solving session should be done daily. Ideally the
sessions have some resting time between them.

I. Warm-Ups
A well-designed warm-up prepares your embouchure for the hard work of the
day. A warm-up recalibrates the basics of the playing process and promotes
accuracy and flexibility. Depending on the condition of the lip and the time
available, a warm-up may take from two to twenty minutes (more than that is
practicing). Your lip should feel fresh after a warm-up and not at all fatigued.

1. Buzzing – wake up and recalibrate the embouchure by buzzing your lips, first
without the mouthpiece, then with.
•Pick any comfortable note in the middle register. Buzz it as straight as
possible – i.e. with no waver in the tone. Repeat several times.
•Repeat, this time giving it a slow waver up and down in pitch.
•Repeat with “sirens” – wider variations in pitch up and down.
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Buzzing exercises. Play 1) free buzzing (lips alone) and 2) repeat with
mouthpiece.

Diatonic intervals:

Note: Try to play with as little mouthpiece pressure as possible at all times.
Be especially careful when playing in the upper register. It is easy to force high
notes by pressing the mouthpiece, but the price is heavy – it leads to a lot of
missed notes and it fatigues or even injures the lip, and soon the lip is exhausted,
and the result is poor tone, missed notes, and a barely functioning embouchure.
High range is best achieved with solid air support and much practice of overtone
series lips slurs, which builds lip flexibility, precision, and muscle tone.

2. Lip Slurs
The key to making horn playing accurate and easy is doing lips slurs, first on the
Overtone Series (without valves), and later using regular fingerings. It’s very
useful to be familiar with the Overtone Series, i.e. the notes you can get with one
fingering. For instance, F:0 [no valves on the F side] gives you:

F:2 would give an overtone series a half step lower; F:1 would be a series a
whole step lower, and so on.

Memorize the order of the Fingering Series (descending by half step):

F: 0, 2, 1, 12, 23, 13 [123 also possible but little used]
Bb series, ascending by half step: 23, 12, 1, 2, 0
Each fingering in the F horn series adds enough tubing to lower the pitch of the
overtone series by a half step.

Play all overtone exercises through the whole Fingering Series.

Overtone Series (OTS) lip slur exercise #1: OTS 5 to 6, through the Fingering
Series (F side). Each measure can and should be repeated. Rest briefly in
between.
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To develop flexibility, over time be able to play this two-note pattern (OTS 5 to 6)
progressively faster and finally much faster. Example:

F:0 (Overtone Series numbers 5 to 6)

As with all flexibility exercises, repeat through the fingering series.

Other OTS patterns (shapes) to do in addition or instead as part of a daily warm-

up (through the Fingering Series):

F:0
Ex. #2 OTS 4545 6565 Ex. #3 OTS 4565

Ex. #4 This is the same “shape” as Ex. #2 – just moved down one in the overtone
series – OTS 3434 5454.

F:0

All overtone shapes can and should be moved up and down the series for
flexibility practice in different registers. As you acquire fluency, play them at
faster tempos.

Ex. #5 Glissandos. After acquiring some skill in moving between adjacent

overtones, it’s useful to acquire flexibility and control over a wider range. At first
play only measures 1 and 2 at a moderate tempo. Notes should move between
overtones evenly and accurately. Over time add the other measures. The end
result will be a clean octave slur. Repeat through the Fingering Series.
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F:0

Nonadjacent slurs. The above exercises are all using overtone notes that are
adjacent to each other. Next are overtone (valveless) lip slur exercises where
you leap (or skip) over one or more overtones. The challenge is to make them
clean without hitting any of the “middle” overtones. Examples (as with all
examples, F:0 fingering is depicted; repeat through the Fingering Series 0, 2, 1,
12, 23,13):
Ex. 6
OTS 6 to 8 OTS 4 to 6 OTS 5 to 8 OTS 8 to 10 OTS 10 to 12

It helps to make your tongue position be “ahh” for the lower note and “ee” for the
upper note; also to think “faster air” for the upper note.

Mixed lips slurs: adjacent plus nonadjacent OTS movement

When you have acquired some control moving cleanly and easily between
adjacent overtones and some of the two-note nonadjacent overtone leaps, it’s
time to incorporate the standard major arpeggio, which has both types of
overtone movement (adjacent overtone notes & leaps).

Ex. 7 [F:0; repeat through the Fingering Series]

The whole arpeggio is OTS numbers 4 5 6 8 10 12 and back down.

This arpeggio can be extended an octave lower and up to a written high C.

There are many, many more possible overtone series lip slurs possible.
Continuously collect (from horn method books and other brasses) more and
invent new ones.

Note: all of the above exercises can and should be played on the Bb side of the
horn as well. The Bb fingering series is often played from the lowest one,
ascending: Bb: 23, 12, 1, 2, 0.
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Fingered warm-up patterns

Although most warm-up patterns should be valveless slurred overtone series
exercises, you may also play some appropriate warm-up exercises that use
valves. Examples are similar to those by Herbert Clark:

Ex. 8 – Chromatic. Be very careful in this exercise that the more difficult finger
combinations do not hinder evenness. This one may eventually be played quite
quickly. Play softly and repeat as many times as possible on one breath. Begin
the pattern on a new note (higher or lower) every day.

Ex. 9 – Based on scale steps 1231

Play this one in many different keys. As with all exercises here, memorize the
pattern as soon as possible.

II. Technical Review

After your embouchure is well warmed up, run through elements of technique
that you can play very well. Examples: certain major scales, patterns, arpeggios,
chromatic scales. Decide carefully which of your scales (or parts of scales) fit
here (if you have a lot of material in this category, you can select some for each
day – you don’t have to play everything every day). If you can whiz through a C
scale in the middle octave, but stumble in the lowest and highest octaves, play
the fluent middle octave in this session and work on the other octaves in the next
session, Technical Development. If your F# major scale has hesitations or
mistakes, take it up in the next session where you work out new technique. Be
very forthright with yourself about what you can and can’t do very well right now.
As items in the later Technical Development session become mastered, they
move to the Technical Review session.

For reference - Scale cycles (i.e. order to practice keys):

C F Bb Eb Ab Db F# B E A D G [circle of 5ths, descending]
C C# D Eb E F F# G Ab A Bb B [chromatic]
C F# E Ab G Bb A Eb F D B Db [random]

Suggested technique items to work on:

Scales: major, minor (melodic, harmonic, natural), chromatic, Mixolydian
(dominant seventh). [see also Power Scales, below]
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Arpeggios: major (scale steps 135), minor (1b35), major seventh (1357),
dominant seventh (135b7)
Pattern: scales in 3rds, 1231, 123, 171
Articulation: (single/double/triple tonguing)
Lip trill
Low range/bass clef
High range
Transposition: be able to transpose Horn in E, Eb, D, C, Bb basso.
Intervals. Play (slurred and/or tongued) all diatonic intervals both ascending and
descending from one or more pitches every day. Example below shows the
ascending (only) form for C major.

Alternate #1: Repeat the interval exercise above, but do it using every note in the
chromatic scale (C-Db, C-D, C-Eb, C-E, C-F, etc.). Pick a new starting note every
day.
Alternate #2: Choose one interval (m3, M3, 4th, tritone [#4], 5th, m6, M6, m7, M7,
octave) and play it slurred and/or tongued, ascending and/or descending through
all keys (see Scale Cycles, above). Pick a new interval every day.

Tip: before working much on regular octave scales, acquire fluency in scale
steps 1 2 3 4 5, also known as the Power Scale. Example:

Power scales are the building blocks of longer scales and can be learned quicker
and played much faster than the longer octave (or two-octave) scales. Learn
them in both major and minor (1 2 b3 4 5) and in a variety of articulations (as
illustrated above).

III. Technical Development

Same items as Technical Review, but here you carefully work on what you can’t
(yet) play very well; this is where you learn new scales, arpeggios, and patterns,
or extend the ranges of those that you do know. Here’s where you might work on
low range, high range, double-tonguing, transposition, and so on. Most tempos
will be slow; you want your practice of these items to be successful, so you
reduce tempo to where you are consistently successful Always use a
metronome; advance it one notch after many successful repetitions of the
problem spot. Patience! It takes many repetitions to teach your body a new skill.

IV. Problem Solving in Repertoire

This session should form the bulk of your practice time and is similar to Technical
Development, except that where T.D. was concerned with fundamental
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techniques such as scales and arpeggios, this session is focuses on finding and
solving problems in solos, etudes, orchestral excerpts, and chamber music.

Problem Solving Method

1. Solve as many problems as possible before playing.

•Learn something about the composer, composition, and style
•Translate all foreign language expression markings
•Take note of time and key signatures and/or changes, accidentals,
unusual leaps, etc.
•Work out all rhythms before playing

2. Play through the piece slowly, stopping frequently to put brackets (in
pencil!) around any problem spots to identify them as practice spots.
Knowing exactly what needs attention is essential to efficient practice.

3. Arrange the practice spots in an efficient order, e.g. practice all similar
passages together. Work on the hardest spots first. Leave easy passages
until last. You do not have to work on the piece in order as printed.

4. Change something. Change one or more elements until you have arrived
at a version that you can play right now. What you can change:

-Tempo! This usually means slow way down.

- Shrink the frame: reduce the size of the passage to work on,
which may be from two notes to usually no more than a measure in
length.
- Change dynamics. Usually this means play louder, but
occasionally playing softer makes it easier.
- Articulation: change slurred to tongued or vice-versa to make it
easier.
- Transpose it. Bring the passage down (or up) to a more
comfortable range. Then play it progressively higher and higher
until you reach the final goal (or better, until you can play it above
it).
- Rest. If a passage is long and tiring, introduce rests in the middle
(anywhere from 8 bars to 1 beat) to make it playable.
- Interval size. Keep the bottom note the same, and bring down the
top note; and/or keep the top note the same and bring up the
bottom note.
Here’s an example. The original F4-F5 octave is approached by
practicing the intervals leading up to it, the principle being, if you
need to be able to do the simpler components before you do the
more difficult version.
 8

Your changed version (using one or more of the above) may be quite different
from the final (printed) version, but the only important thing is that you arrive at
something that you can play easily and consistently accurately right now. Once
this is the case, you can gradually change the elements in the direction of the
final version, i.e. make it a little bit faster, a little softer, add another note, and so
on. As the mastered passage practice chunks gradually expand, you can begin
to knit several together at some point.

If (that is, when) you make a mistake (i.e. get an expected result), don’t instantly
try it again. Take a moment to think about what just happened (mistakes are
useful information!) and decide what you need to change to get the result you
want. Assess your new attempt and refine it as necessary. This is the most
efficient way to learn and improve your playing.

More tools for problem solving:

•Pitches only. Ignore rhythms and play all pitches as quarter notes.
Focus on what you need to do to get to the next note. Make a note of
problem intervals and come back to them and spend extra time on them
before adding rhythms.
•Mouthpiece alone. Check the accuracy of your buzz using just the
mouthpiece. The mouthpiece alone is merciless in revealing
shortcomings.
•Don’t play. After many repetitions, you may need to rest in order to
refresh yourself mentally and let your chops recover.
•Back to basics. If a problem can be practiced in a related way on the
overtone series, extra OTS time always pays big dividends.
•Alternate fingerings. Some fast passages can be helped by using
alternate fingerings, such as Bb:1 for G5 (top of the staff) or Bb:12 for F#5,
etc.
•Record yourself. You hear much better (e.g. identifying trouble spots)
when you are just listening and not playing. Record yourself as often as
possible.
•Memorize. Memorize the short problem spot as soon as possible and
work on it without looking at the printed music. This brings you to a higher
level quicker.
•Learn it in all keys. You will be putting “money in the bank” if you extract
the (short) technical spot (such as a scale passage or arpeggio) from the
solo and learn it in all other keys as well.
•Loop it. Muscle memory retention depends on a large quantity of
accurate repetitions. Any time a spot needs attention, focus on it and play
it over and over (looping), stopping frequently but briefly to rest (get the
mouthpiece off the chops).
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If you try every problem solving method and nothing helps over a number of
weeks, then it is clear that you are working on something for which you are not
ready. Problems need to be just a bit out of your comfort zone so that they are
solvable with some time and effort. Your progress will be much greater if you
(and/or your teacher) choose challenges that suit your current level of
development. Ask any listener: a simpler piece that is accurately and comfortably
played is much preferable to a difficult piece that is a struggle and full of
mistakes.

V. Performance Session

This session is the most fun, but it’s most effective after you’ve done the other
four sessions. This session can include sight reading (solve as many problems
as possible before starting; then don’t stop no matter what!), duets (a great way
to practice transposition), trios, quartets, playing through previously learned solo
repertoire, running through possible new repertoire, working on memorizing
pieces, inventing your own melodies, playing familiar tunes by ear (and in
different keys), playing Call & Response games with a partner, and so on. No
practicing allowed, just playing!

Planning Practice Sessions

No one has unlimited practice time. To get the most out of the time you have, it’s
very important to plan your sessions. Look ahead and see how much time you
have each day to practice, then apportion your practice time between the above
types of practice. The mix may be different every day, but you should always
include a warm-up session and a problem-solving session. Even if time is short,
it’s good to have a brief technical review session. A regular technical
development section is where you make advancements in technique; it’s not
always much fun to work on what you can’t do very well, but this is where you
improve by giving this kind of practice regular attention. You can’t do everything
every day, but if you plan carefully, you can give attention to the most important
things during the week, and to most things over time. Think about what you want
to accomplish this year, this semester, this month, this week, and today – plan it
out first approximately, and then in detail (make a chart!). Haphazard or random
practicing (just playing through things) is an alternative that guarantees slow
improvement and suboptimal performance. For success, make a plan! You can
change plans if the need arises, but think through your goals and commit them
first to paper and then to action.

Selected Resources for the High School Horn Player

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Following are some highly selected resources to get you started in a number of
categories.

Web Sites
•University of Iowa Horn Studio web site: www.uiowa.edu/~somhorn
This site has the most comprehensive (and annotated) collection of links on the
web. See Resources>Links for information on nearly everything horn-related
available online. Topics: Accessories, Artwork, Auditioning, Bands, Basics,
Blogs, Brass Ensembles, Brass Quintet, Business of Music, Camps &
Workshops, Care & Maintenance, Competitions, Cool Stuff, Composers, Creative
Horn, Employment, Food for Thought, Horn Ensembles, Horn History, Horn
Making, Horn Players, Instruments, Interviews, Jazz Horn, Mouthpieces, Jazz
Horn, Mouthpieces, Music Education, Mutes, Natural Horn, Orchestral Excerpts,
Orchestral Scores, Organizations, Pedagogy, Performances, Physical Aspects,
Practicing, Publications, Recording, Recordings, Reference – Horn, Reference –
General, Repair Shops, Repertoire, Sheet Music, Software – Music, Technique,
Woodwind Quintets, and more. The categories below are selections – go to the
web site to get more complete lists of everything.

Accessories (online sources for mutes, cases, pencil clips, music stands, etc.)
Ken Pope (www.poperepair.com)
Osmun (www.osmun.com)

Sheet Music Sources (online ordering)

It’s never to early to start building your personal library of music for horn. Start
with the solos and etudes that you’re currently working on, then start buying
repertoire that you’d like to work on down the line, including chamber music and
horn ensemble music (duets, trios, quartets). Sheet music is a great investment
in your musical future.
Eble Music (Iowa City’s famous sheet music store) www.eble.com
Hickey’s Music www.hickeys.com
Robert King Music www.rkingmusic.com

Suggested Solo Repertoire Damase, Berceuse

Collections: McKay, G.F., Three Pastoral Scenes
Scriabin, A., Romance
Mixed Difficulty
Solomon, E., Andante
Jones, M., First Solos for the Horn Player
Solomon, E., Waltz Theme
Jones, M. Solos for the Horn Player
Tchaikovsky, P., March Slav
Voxman, H., Concert and Contest Collection
Beginning
Grade 3
Feldstein, S., First Solo Songbook
Bozza, E., En Irlande
Gunning & Pearson, The Really Easy Horn Book
Clerisse, R., Chant Sans Paroles
Ohanian, D., Beginning Horn Solos; Easy Horn
Clerisse, R., Matines (horn in Eb)
Solos
Corelli, A., Sonata in F Major
Intermediate
Gipps, R., Sonatina
Campbell, A., Horn Solos (2 vol.)
Gliere, R., Intermezzo, op. 35, no. 11
Ohanian, D., Intermediate Horn Solos
Solomon, E., Night Song
Solomon, E., November Nocture
Solos
Solomon, E. Sonatina
Grade 1-2
Benson, W., Soliloquy
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Grade 4 Mozart, W.A., Concerto No. 1, 2, 3, 4

Abbott, A., Alla Caccia Nelhybel, V., Scherzo Concertante
Bozza, E., Chant Lointain Piantoni, L. Air de Chasse
Cooke, A., Rondo in Bb Senaille-Eger, Allegro Spiritoso
Corrette, M., Concerto in C Major “La Choisy” Strauss, F., Concerto, op. 8
Effinger, C., Rondino Strauss, F., Theme and Variations
Glazunov, A., Reverie Strauss, R., Concerto No. 1
Gliere, R., Nocturne Tomasi, H., Danse Profane
Gliere, R., Romance Vintner, G., Hunter’s Moon
Gliere, R., Valse Triste
Handel, G., [in the M. Jones collection] I See a Grade 6
Huntsman Berge, S., Horn-Lokk
Hummel, Sonatine Bouyanovsky, España
Ketting, Intrada Bozza, E. En Forêt
Koetsier, J., Romanza Danzi, F., Concerto in Eb
Krol, B., Laudatio Dukas, P., Villanelle
Mozart, W.A., Mvt 1 from Concerto No. 1 or No. 3 Gliere, R., Concerto
Nielsen, C., Canto Serioso Haydn, F.J., Concerto No. 1, No. 2 in D
Saint-Saëns,C., Morceau de Concert (last mvt: Heiden, B., Sonata
Gr. 6) Hindemith, P., Sonata
Strauss, F., Nocturne Hindemith, P., Althorn Sonata
Telemann, G., Adagio and Presto Jacob, G., Concerto
Tomasi, H., Chant Corse Kvandal, Introduction and Allegro
Reynolds, V., Sonata
Grade 5 Rheinberger, J. Sonata
Beethoven, L., Sonata, op. 17 Rosetti, F., Concerto in Eb
Chabrier, E., Larghetto Schumann, R., Adagio and Allegro
Cherubini, L., Two Sonatas Strauss, F., Fantasie, op. 2
Corelli, A., Sonata in D minor Strauss, R., Horn Concerto No. 2
Danzi, F., Sonata, op. 28 Telemann, G.P., Concerto in D
Defaye, Alpha Weber, C.M. von, Concertino
Larsson, E., Concertino Wilder, A., Sonatas 1, 2 &

Note: Make sure that you can play pieces at lower levels of difficulty consistently
easily and accurately before you go to a higher difficulty level. Tackling pieces
that you’re not ready for guarantees frustration, lots of missed notes, and the
establishment of many bad habits. The wisest choice is a piece that is just
slightly above your current level of development.

Etude Books
Clarke, H., Technical Studies for Cornet
Decker, C., Intermediate Serial Studies for Trumpet
Kopprasch, G., 60 Selected Studies, Vol. 1&2
Gallay, F., 12 Etudes, op. 57
Maxime-Alphonse, 200 Progressive Studies, Books 1 & 2
McCoy, M., 46 Progressive Exercises for Low Horn
Miersch, E., Melodious Studies
Musser & Del Borgo, Rhythms of Contemporary Music
Rochut, J., Melodious Etudes for Trombone, Bk. 1 (bass clef/low horn studies)
Pottag/Schantl, Preparatory Melodies
Shoemaker, J., Legato Etudes
Shaw, L.E., Just Desserts (jazz/swing etudes)
Teuber, F., Progressive Studies
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Orchestral Excerpt Study

Orchestral Horn Excerpts www.hornexcerpts.org - standard excerpts available
online in notation (printable!) plus multiple recordings of each excerpt.
Anthology of French Horn Music by Richard C. Moore [annotated orchestra
excerpts; if you only get one excerpt book, this is the one to get).
Horn Player’s Audition Handbook by Arthur LaBar

Playing ensembles with other horns is one of the most fun things you can do.
Starting collecting ensemble music and invite other horn players to join you!
Duets
Franz/Sansone, 100 Duets Bks 1&2
Hill, D., 10 Pieces
Hoss, W. (ed.), 60 Selected Duets
Howe, M., (ed.), 17 Horn Duets
Kling, H., 30 Duets
Nicolai, O., Duet #1, #2, #3, #4-6
Shaw, L.E., Bipperies
Voxman, H. (ed.), Selected Duets Bk. 1&2
Telemann, G.P./Shaw, Six Canonic Sonatas

Trios
Schneider, G., 18 Trios
Reicha, A., Six Trios
Bach, J.S./Shaw, Five Bach Trios
Barrows, J., La Chasse
Boismortier, J.B./Shaw, Sonata
Hill, D., 5 Pieces
Nelhybel, V., Musica Festiva
Schubert/Voxman/Block, 3 Songs
Mozart/Gabler, 5 Trios

Quartets
Dishinger, R., Americana Suite
Fair Play (arr. E. Gogolak) [Folk songs], 3 Vol.
Mayer, R., Four Little Pieces
Quartet Repertoire for Horn (Rubank)
Schubert, F. arr. Reynolds, Six Quartets
Shaw, L.E. Fripperies, 8 Vol., start with Vol. 1-4
Telemann, G.F., Concerto

Playing chamber music is a fun and effective way to hone your ensemble,
technical, and musical skills. Start a group with friends if at all possible.

Brass Quintets (2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba)

Agrell, J., Oh, No! [optional drums]
Anonymous, Sonata from Die Bänkelsängerlieder
 13

Bach, J.S., Contrapunctus I, arr. Robert King

Calvert, M., Suite from Monteregian Hills
Cheetham, J., Scherzo
Dukas, P., Fanfare from “La Peri”
Ewald, V., Quintet No. 1
Farnaby, G., Fancies, Toyes, and Dreams
Frackenpohl, A., Quintet
Gabrieli, G., Canzona per Sonare Nos. 1-4
Horowitz, R. Music Hall Suite
Maurer, L., Three Pieces
Mouret, J., Rondeau
Pezel, J., Three Pieces
Reynolds, V. (ed.), Centone 1-2
Scheidt, S., Galliard Battaglia
Scheidt, S., Canzona Bergamasca

Woodwind Quintets [flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon]

Agay, D., Five Easy Dances
Danzi, F., Quintet in F major op. 68 no. 2
Farkas, F., Ancient Hungarian Dances
Haydn, F.J. Menuetto and Trio (arr. Voxman in Ensemble Repertoire for
Woodwind Quintet)
Hindemith, P., Die Kleine Kammermusik
Ibert, J., Trois Pièces Brèves
Milhaud, D., La Cheminée du Roi René
Reicha, A., Quintet op. 88 no. 2

The horn has a fascinating history going back hundreds of years. It’s always
rewarding to learn about who, what, and where. Don’t miss a chance to learn
more about horn history, famous horn players, and the evolution of the
instrument itself (we only see double horns today, but the horn has had many
different shapes and forms over the years!). Below you will find some information
to help you get started in learning more about these areas.

Horn History
Barry Tuckwell on horn history - www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSOzrP0FSJ8
Also www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWpUDEoLi-w

Famous Horn Players

Thomas Bacon John Cerminaro
Georges Barboteu James Chambers
John Barrows Alan Civil
Hermann Baumann John Clark
Richard Bissill Dale Clevenger
Alfred, Aubrey, & Dennis Brain Peter Damm
Vitali Buyanovsky Louis François Dauprat
 14

Pip Eastop Verne Reynolds

Philip Farkas Gunther Schuller
Lowell Greer Bernhard Scully
Anthony Halstead Richard Seraphinoff
Anton Horner Arkady Shilkloper
Ifor James James Sommerville
Joseph Ignaz Leutgeb Franz Strauss
Frank Lloyd Barry Tuckwell
Phil Myers Kerry Turner
Jeff Nelsen Adam Unsworth
Marie Luise Neunecker Radovan Vlatkovic
Valery Polekh Frøydis Ree Wekre
Giovanni Punto Gail Williams

Playing in band is great, but it’s a good idea to hear examples of the horn in other
contexts, i.e. listening to soloists playing great music and listening to the horn in
the symphony orchestra where our instrument can really shine as a solo
instrument, with the brass section, and horn section by itself. Below are some
suggestions to get started. Do a little detective work and find great horn playing
at Amazon.com, on iTunes, in YouTube videos, and in many more places.

Recordings of Great Solo Horn Playing [all available from Amazon.com; check
also at www.poperepair.com]
•Solos for the Horn Player (solos from the Mason Jones solo repertoire
collection); soloist: Greg Miller. MSR Classics.
•The London Horn Sound – spectacular horn ensemble playing. Cala.
Mozart Horn Concertos 1-4. Soloist: Dennis Brain. EMI Classics.
•Perspectives. Horn music by Beethoven, Gliere, Mozart, Rossini. Soloist:
Hermann Baumann. Philips.
•The Romantic Horn Concerti. Concertos by R. Strauss, F., Strauss, Gliere.
Soloist: Eric Ruske. Albany Records.
•Hornology. Soloist: Arkady Shilkoper (unusual improvised music, with effects)
•Mozart: The Horn Concertos. Soloist: Peter Damm. Phillips.
•Mozart: Horn Concertos Nos. 1-4. Soloist: Barry Tuckwell. EMI Classics.
•Strauss Concertos. Soloist: Barry Tuckwell. Decca.
•Mozart: Horn Concertos. Soloist: Radovan Vlatkovic. Seraphim Classics.
•Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1; Horn Concerto No. 2. Soloist: Marie-Luise
Neunecker.
•20th Century Settings. Soloist: Gail Williams. Summit Records.
•Frøydis Ree Wekre. Soloist: Frøydis Ree Wekre. Music by Chabrier, Cherubini,
Schumann, Tomasi, Saint-Saëns, Sinigaglia, and Cui. Crystal Records.

Symphonic Music with Prominent Horn Parts (recorded excerpts of horn

solos at www.hornexcerpts.org; best is to listen to the entire work).
 15

J.S. Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 1

Beethoven Symphonies – all, especially Sym. 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
Brahms, Symphonies 1-4
Bruckner – Sym. No. 4
Dvorak – New World Symphony
Haydn – Sym. No. 31 (“From the Horn Signal”)
Mahler – Sym. 1, 4, 5
Mendelssohn – Nocturne from Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shostakovich – Sym. No. 5
Richard Strauss tone poems: Till Eulenspiegel, Don Juan, Don Quixote, Ein
Heldenleben
Stravinsky – Firebird Suite
Tchaikovsky – Symphonies No. 4 & 5
Weber – Overture to Der Freischütz

Horn Society You Should Join

Join over three thousand other horn enthusiasts and become a member of the
International Horn Society – as a student, you get a discount! There are
regional and international workshops and three issues a year of the latest
information on everything to do with playing the horn. Check out the IHS web site
and join up at www.hornsociety.org - today!

Books
Farkas, P., Art of French Horn Playing
Hill, D., Collected Thoughts
Rider, W., Real World Horn Playing (see www.wendelworld.com)
Yancich, A Practical Guide to French Horn Playing

Famous Brass Ensembles

American Brass Quintet New York Brass Quintet
Canadian Brass Meridian Arts Ensemble
Empire Brass St. Louis Brass Quintet
Chestnut Brass Ensemble Atlantic Brass Quintet
London Brass Boston Brass Quintet
Philip Jones Brass Ensemble Summit Brass Quintet

Questions about anything related to the horn or horn study?

If there is anything in this Guide that you would like to understand better or know
more about in detail, don’t hesitate to write, email, or call Prof. Jeffrey Agrell at
The University of Iowa School of Music. He looks forward to hearing from you
and answering your questions about anything related to the horn or music study.
Feel free to inquire about a free lesson or a visit from Prof. Agrell to your area for
a clinic for horn students. Contact: [email protected]; office phone: 319-
335-1648. Web site: www.uiowa.edu/~somhorn