Horn Matters | A French Horn and Brass Site and Resource | John Ericson and Bruce Hembd | John Ericson & Bruce Hembd on the French horn, brass related topics, and the field of classical music.

Horn Matters is the leading online resource on the French horn, co-founded by John Ericson and Bruce Hembd. The mission of Horn Matters is: to encourage, inspire, inform, and challenge horn players, and; to promote the best musical instrument ever, the French horn. (More.)

Most Recent Articles

Practice Topic — E Major and your Horn Playing

Something I say to students surprisingly often is how once you work out E major real well everything is easier. As I say that,...

Musings on Horns and Memories of a Dvorak Serenade

The Dvorak Serenade for Winds, Op. 44 is a wonderful work I've played a few times. The most memorable performance certainly was for a recording...

Let’s Talk About Ensemble Dynamics

One topic that comes up often in lessons is that of dynamics in ensembles, especially large ensembles. While in typical etudes the dynamics are...

Schmidt Dreaming, Pan American Edition

One of the original, iconic double horn designs was developed by German horn maker C. F. Schmidt in the early 20th century. The use...

The Heldenhorn

As Horn Matters author Bruce Hembd and I were both students at Eastman at the same time, we both had contact with a specific...

A Look at a Bopp Horn

Regular readers already know I have an interest in horns from the 19th century, especially from Germany. When I saw this horn up for...

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Horn Etudes by Women Composers

Many Horn Matters readers will be familiar with the Works with Horn by Women Composers website by Dr. Lin Foulk. If not, this is...

Julius Watkins, jazz French horn pioneer

Talking with colleagues recently, a topic that came up was how some great players of the recent past are unjustly neglected today. In terms...

The Future of French Horn Playing

One thought I have heard (and have repeated myself) is that this is a “golden age” for the French horn. Or is it? Before getting...

Overview of Trusted Brands in French Horns

A survey titled "What Brand Names Do You Trust?" collected the opinions of 392 participants. The results are in and while it may take...

Just Say “No” to Transposed Parts?

Transposed parts have for years been a point of discussion in the horn world. Certainly students and many adults love them, but on the...

Choosing a French Horn Mouthpiece (I): The Basic Parts

Part I: The Rim and Preliminary Thoughts Part II: Cup, Throat and Bore Part III: Weight, Plating and Shopping Tips For the past decade...

French Horn Transposition Chart

A complete reference. Transposition Chart (PDF) (updated 2012) Over the past few months, I have been posting various transposition tricks, including how to transpose: A and...

A Fingering Chart for Single F, Double, and Single B-flat Horns

I know from the site stats that people are looking for fingering charts for the horn! Typically horn fingering charts are somewhat confusing as they...