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On the Brahms Horn Trio

John Ericson
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This article was for many years posted as part of a longer article on Horn Articles Online. A version of these materials was also published in my article “Brahms and the Orchestral Horn,” The Horn Call 52, No. 1 (October, 2021), 47-51.

Brahms studied the hand horn as a youth (along with cello and piano), and the horn was one of the instruments that his father Johann Jakob Brahms (1806-72) performed upon professionally as well. With this background, his clear understanding of the natural horn must be a part of why Johannes Brahms composed for the instrument as late as he did.

It is widely known that the Trio, Op. 40 for horn, violin, and piano of Brahms is one of the last and greatest chamber works written for the natural horn. Brahms was quite specific about wanting his Trio performed on the natural horn instead of the valved horn. A very clear source is a letter dated December 7, 1865, to his friend Albert Dietrich, director of the orchestra at Oldenburg, on possible works to perform at a concert during a proposed visit.

For a quartet evening I can with good conscience recommend my Horn trio, and your horn player would do me a great favor if he would do like the Carlsruhe man and practice the French [i.e., natural] horn for some weeks before-hand, so as to be able to play it on that. [9]

Brahms knew he was at this point asking for something unusual, as he asks for the hornist to practice the natural horn “for some weeks before-hand, so as to be able to play it on that.” In other words, he expected that the player did not normally use the natural horn at that time but that the player would be familiar with it from his training in the period and that this really was the sound Brahms wanted in his conception of the work.

In a letter to Richard Heuberger Brahms also stated the following in regard to performing the Trio on the hand horn: “If the performer is not obliged by the stopped notes to play softly, the piano and violin are not obliged to adapt themselves to him and the tone is rough from the beginning.” [10] In this passage Brahms gets at an important advantage of the natural horn in this work–it is “naturally” softer. The main advantage of the natural horn is however the tonal color and the resulting shadings of tonal color heard automatically with the natural horn. The following is an example:

Brahms, Trio, Op. 40, mvt. I

For Brahms I believe that this use of the natural horn was at least in part to create a nostalgic mood, retrospective, one looking toward the past and into memories. It is this very element that makes performances on the natural horn of this work perhaps a little problematic for an audience today. Brahms grew up with the natural horn and saw the instrument replaced by the valved horn during his lifetime, as did basically all of the musicians working everywhere outside of France in 1865, as the valved horn only came into wide use after 1850. Audiences today, in contrast, know basically only the valved horn and the concept of the beauty of variations of tonal color on the natural horn is lost on most listeners [11].

The Trio is important in relation to the orchestral horn writing of Brahms in that it clearly points out where he was coming from. Brahms knew the natural horn and wanted it to be performed in his works.

NOTES: 

9. Henry S. Drinker, The Chamber Music of Johannes Brahms (Philadelphia: Elkan-Vogel, 1932), 112. Another translation of the key phrase of this quote confirms the intent for the work to be performed on the natural horn, reading “Your horn player will do me a great favour if, like the Karlsruhe man, he practices the natural horn for some weeks beforehand and plays it on that” (Albert Dietrich and J. V. Widman, translated Dora E. Hecht, Recollections of Johannes Brahms [London: Seeley, 1899], 48, cited in John Humphries, The Early Horn: A Practical Guide [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000], 101).

10. Drinker, 111-112.

11. The work is also considerably more difficult on the natural horn than on the valved horn–I would estimate that it is towards 50% more difficult to perform on the natural horn, depending on your comfort level with the instrument. As a horn player interested in historic performance practices I have worked on the Trio the way Brahms intended, on the natural horn, hitting the work very hard between the fall and spring semesters just a few years back in preparation for a February performance. I would have enjoyed performing the Trio in recital on the natural horn, but once we got into the rehearsals I opted to instead to use the valved horn. The balance and color of the work was certainly different on the natural horn but I personally am comfortable with presenting a historically informed performance on the valved horn, creating as much of the color and retrospective mood of the natural horn as possible without actually using a hand horn. And after working hard on the work on natural horn it was suddenly very easy to play on the valved horn.

The Heinrich Domnich Methode and the Natural Horn

John Ericson
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This article is based on materials published in The Horn Call Annual 8 (1996) with additional materials from my 1995 dissertation. It’s a bit longer and more “dense” than I typically post in Horn Matters, but I think it still to be a good read, with the extended quotations from the Domnich Méthode providing interesting details and context on the use of the natural horn in the early 19th century. This was posted for many years on the old Horn Articles Online website; I have added headings to split up the text up for better readability in this new format. Also, the 1808 edition of the Méthode is on IMSLP, and is well worth looking at more closely; the two images in this article are from the 1808 edition. 

Heinrich Domnich (1767-1844) was born in Würzburg, the son of hornist Friedrich Domnich (1728-1790), and he went on to study and build a distinguished career in Paris [Pizka, 102]. His Méthode de Premier et de Second Cor (1808) gave a very thorough examination of the natural horn and its technique. Of particular interest are the comments of Domnich on the use of crooks, the hand in the bell, and transposition, which generally expound what could be considered a very traditional and standard approach to the natural horn.

The two editions

Two very different editions of the Méthode appeared in Domnich’s lifetime. The original Le Roy edition in French, which appeared in 1808, contains extensive introductory materials on the history and technique of the horn which do not appear in Schott’s French and German edition of 1832 [ibid]. This later edition does, however, contain materials which were either revised by Domnich or altered editorially; this is most clear with regard to the subject of crooks and transposition, and in itself sheds some light on the rapid changes occurring in performing techniques employed on the horn.

The 1808 edition on crooks and transpositions

One passage from the introductory materials of the 1808 edition sums up much of his commentary about transposition and crooks. Domnich was particularly directing his comments to those players who were cultivating only the middle range of the horn and the medium crooks.

Equally deprived of the high and low tones, the Cors mixtes, which custom and disastrous development of the new species has introduced in almost all our orchestras, are able to play neither on the C crook, nor on those of A and B-flat. How do they manage? When they are given a piece in B-flat, instead of being provided with the proper instruments in this key, the horn in E-flat is employed. They make use of the horn in D if the piece is in A, and if it is in C it is necessary to use the horn in F. Now if a composer has to render a brilliant design in one of these three keys, to express, for example the noise of war, the glory of victory, the pomp of triumph, he arranges the horns in such a manner that they are able to do all without the aid of the hand in the bell. But the Cors mixtes being obligated to transpose as in this operation, the sonorous notes are transformed often to stopped notes and the brilliant to dark and lugubrious accents, the prestige of the illusion vanishes, and with the illusion is destroyed all effect. Furthermore, in the factitious scale which results from the transposition, the artist must, at times, change the second part by playing notes absolutely destitute of tone, and which are only rendered as a dull quivering.

From this we learn that some performers were transposing on the natural horn in order to avoid using either the high or low crooks, but true artists on the horn did not adopt this practice. We also learn that players were to avoid the low stopped tones as they “are only rendered as a dull quivering.” Domnich taught both the use of the full range of crooks on the natural horn and to avoid stopped tones which were outside the intentions of the composer.

The 1832 edition on crooks and transpositions

In contrast, in the 1832 edition, some of the sections on the crooks in article ten, “How to employ the different tonalities of the horn” have been modified to explain how to transpose the more difficult crooks of C basso, A, and B-flat alto on the natural horn. These three keys are transposed onto the F, D, and E-flat crooks, respectively, as explained in the following section, which also serves well to review the conventional wisdom of the period on all the crooks of the natural horn.

Horn in C.

Of all the different keys, it is the horn in C which demands the most effort to play because of the multiplicity of its contours. Because of this, playing with the C crook is both trying and fatiguing and should only be employed for simple orchestral effects. A light or graceful melody will never be suitably rendered in this key. There is however a means to render playable solos which are in the key of C, and that is by simply rewriting the notes so that they may be played on the F crook.

Horn in D.

The horn in D is more manageable than the horn in C. However, its contours are still too numerous for it to be suitable for light melodies or difficult passages, although a simple tune played on this crook can produce a good effect.

Horn in E-flat, E, and F.

Everything that is possible to be played on the horn, from simple accompanying figures through to the most difficult concertos, can be played on the E-flat, E- and F-horns. In each of these three keys, the composer is free to follow his bent and bring into play all the resources of the instrument.

Horn in G.

The horn in G is naturally sonorous and requires some delicacy. It should be used with restraint. A simple melody played on this crook can nonetheless produce a pleasing result.

Horn in A and B-flat.

Horns in A and B-flat should only be used for simple orchestral effects. Their tonal quality is so shrill and penetrating that even the most competent of performers would not be able to make use of them in the accompaniment of a soft and graceful piece. There is however a means to render playable, solos which are written for these two keys. This means, which is analogous to the one employed for the C crook, consists of rewriting the notes so that pieces for the horn in A can be played on the horn in D, and those in B-flat on the horn in E-flat.

Horn in B-flat basso.

The horn in B-flat basso can be used with much success, if a somber, melancholic, or solemn colour is sought by the composer when writing in the key of B-flat; however its use should be limited to simple orchestral effects for the same reasons which have already been cited concerning the horn in C. Whenever the composer makes use of this key, he should take care to write at the beginning: Horn in B-flat basso. The horn in B-flat basso has the same range as the horn in C, and for the two types of horn it is divided in the same manner relative to its range.

Horn in C alto.

The horn in C alto can be used with much success, if vivacity, movement and brilliance are sought after by the composer in his piece when writing in the key of C; however as the natural timbre of this crook is very penetrating, its use should be limited for loud effects only. At the beginning of the piece should also be written: Horn in C alto. The horn in C alto has the same range as the horn in B-flat alto, and for the two types of horn it is divided in the same manner relative to its range.

So we see that by 1832 transposition was an accepted practice, if not by Domnich, at least by the editors responsible for the later German edition. Domnich concluded this section on crooks with the following section relating to the choice of crooks for the beginner (identical in both editions). Domnich made special note of the most characteristic crook for the horn and of how the other crooks should be approached.

We have seen that the low keys, such as those of C and D demand strength and that to be equal to it, one must have acquired firmness of lip, the late fruit of time and study. The high keys, such as G, A, and B-flat, demand on the contrary, delicacy and although shrill, they can be softened, but only by dint of skill. For giving to one and to the other the character which suits them, one has to be initiated up to a certain point in the practical knowledge of the instrument, of its means and resources.

Very near the middle of the two classes of keys are found those of E-flat, E and F among which it remains to choose. But one will not hesitate long if one considers that the tones of E and F already brilliant have a sort of tendency to the disadvantage of the high keys which they border upon whilst by its nature, that of E-flat is soft and harmonious.

The first trials in the last key will contribute then to training the ear of the beginner and to giving him at the outset the feel of the true quality of horn tone. He will be able next to pass to the other keys without danger. The difference in effect which he will find in them ceases to be a stumbling block for him and finally will not produce anything different in his playing. Guided by a period of steady comparison, he will endeavor to adjust those new nuances of key to that which is familiar to him and to preserve in his mind the right type.

Domnich on evenness of tone

About right-hand technique Domnich made many interesting observations. The most significant are stated in article five, titled “Evenness of tone.”

All the notes of the horn can be divided into two principal classes: one whereby the notes are produced with the bell open, and the other whereby the notes are produced with the bell more or less stopped by hand.

There is clearly a difference in timbre between the stopped notes and the open notes which is impossible to make disappear because it is inherent in the nature of the instrument, but one can disguise it enough in order that the ear will not to be offended.

In order to obtain this result, no other means as yet has been found other than by making the attacks on the open notes softer in order that the stopped notes which are naturally weaker will not make too great a contrast with the open notes.

This method is good in principle but the result is not always satisfactory. It could be applied to a slowly moving succession of unimportant notes, but in a sustained melody or in a rapid passage it would be impracticable. Thus it is clear that such a hard and fast rule would be detrimental to the music. Since it is impossible to render the stopped notes with any brilliance of sound, and that to the contrary it is possible to suppress this brilliance on those notes which are not stopped, one is obliged to make use of the latter, but at the same time employing another method. The breath must play no role in this; it is the hand in the bell alone which must control this by opening as little as possible for notes which are not stopped, i.e. the hand should be open enough in order that each note be in tune and closed enough in order that the sound does not become too bright.

Domnich also presented a hand position chart for the natural horn covering a complete four octave range from written range from G (notated by Domnich in “new” notation) to g”’. [NOTE: Old notation, used by Classical composers and most composers of the period, notated horn pitches in bass clef an octave too low. New notation, utilized by Domnich, is commonly associated with twentieth century composers].

Domnich on the effective use of stopped tones

A number of the low stopped tones were highlighted as notes to avoid. The section of observations which followed in article eleven, “Sharps and flats,” showed how to effectively employ the stopped tones in passage work.

Placing the hand in the bell enables execution of all the notes of the horn with their sharps and flats, i.e., playing natural and chromatic scales in all keys.

However this does not imply that every note of the horn can be used in any place and in any manner to the same advantage. If the stopped notes are played with a strong attack, the resulting sound is lugubrious and their timbre acquires an unpleasant quality. These notes are best placed in a flowing melody or in a soft accompaniment. There are even some notes in the first and second octaves [written G (new notation) to g’] which are absolutely dead, and no matter how they are employed, never produce a satisfactory result. Composers should, as much as is in their power, avoid using these notes.

Domnich on the topic of range and the hornist

Finally, the title of this work should be again noted; Méthode de Premier et de Second Cor. The high and low horn were treated as separate instruments in terms of range and equipment by Domnich; no one player could be expected to master the full range of the horn. Domnich did, however, feel that any individual player could master either range. The following passage from the article entitled “The two types of horn” is quite revealing.

It has already been said that it is impossible for the same player to play all the notes of the horn from the low register to the high register using only one mouthpiece. It is equally impossible for him to use in turn two mouthpieces of different diameters.

These limits being as they are have made it necessary to decide whether or not to sacrifice a part of the horn’s range, or to divide into two, (sharing between two players), the complete range of the instrument. It is the latter which has been accepted resulting in two types of horn being established. One of these, known as the first horn [premier Cor], has been allocated to the high register, and the other, the second horn [second Cor], has been allocated to the low register. The intermediary notes, which one refers to as the middle or medium register belong equally to both types of horn.

It is generally accepted opinion that thin flat lips are best suited for first horn, and thick protruding lips are best suited for second horn. This idea is devoid of reason. The two types differ only in the mouthpiece which is used. For first horn, a narrow mouthpiece helps to obtain the high notes while for second horn, a larger more open mouthpiece favors the low notes. When considering the limits of their respective ranges, both of these demand the same effort for the lips, or more precisely, the same degree of mouthpiece pressure on the lips.

It is therefore true to say that there exists no particular natural tendency to either of these two types of horn. The pupil will be found to be equally well gifted for one or the other. From this it follows that from the first lesson, the pupil must adopt one of the two mouthpieces and thus choose between first or second horn.

Illustrations of the two types of mouthpiece followed and are reproduced below. Undoubtedly, these comments of Domnich reflected opinions which were shared by many horn players of the period. SOURCES

Heinrich Domnich, Méthode de Premier et de Second Cor (Paris: Le Roy, 1808) viii, trans. in Birchard Coar, A Critical Study of the Nineteenth Century Horn Virtuosi in France (DeKalb, IL: Birchard Coar, 1952), 27, 36.

________, Méthode, German, French and English ed., English trans. Darryl G. Poulsen (Kirchheim: Hans Pizka Edition, 1985), 5, 9, 12-16, 19, 23-25. Several minor spelling errors have been corrected.

Hans Pizka, Hornisten Lexikon (Kirchheim: Hans Pizka Edition, 1986).

The Little Descants

John Ericson
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This article was originally posted (in a somewhat hidden location) in Horn Articles Online, as bonus content to my 2007 high horn book. While Horn Articles Online is now gone, it’s still an interesting topic, part of the story of how we arrived at descant and triple horns as they are made today. The below is only lightly updated from the 2007 version, with a comment added at the end.

[The main article introducing descant and triple horns may be found here.]

As descant horns began to be used more widely by professional high horn players after WWII, two types of designs or design philosophies for double descant horns emerged. One type of descant was essentially a standard single B-flat horn with a high F side added. The bell was of a type and size that would be typically used to make a double horn and the instrument thus has a “feel” very similar to that of a regular instrument but with a high F side. The other type of descant was constructed either as a dedicated instrument in high F or as a double descant geared around the high F side. While only rarely produced by makers today, these instruments are around and quite interesting to explore.

Before looking at double descants specifically, on the cover of my new publication Playing High Horn I illustrate an instrument owned by Arizona State University, the single F descant by Alexander on the left in the photo. Most hornists, on first sight of this instrument, say it is just about the cutest horn they have ever seen. With a light and clear tone in the high range this instrument is a great little horn, but it is also somewhat limited as to how useful it is in reality, as it only works well on very high, light horn parts. This instrument has a fourth valve; it is tuned to equal a 1-3 combination and may be used to obtain notes as needed in the gap between F-sharp below the staff and low C. The fingerings are identical with those of the mellophone or trumpet.

How small is it?

The most unique feature is that the bell of this instrument has a very small throat. This is most easily illustrated photographically: note the distance a mute sticks out of the bell of the small ASU descant compared to a more average modern Paxman L bell in the following photos.

Also, for additional comparison, the bell throat is almost exactly half way between that of a Conn 16E Mellophonium and a King 1170 mellophone. This tighter bell throat makes good sense as they are all instruments dedicated to the high F pitch length. At the same time, however, and taking nothing away from the abilities of Alexander, the tiny bell gives the instrument an overall tone that in the mid-range sounds very much like a mellophone or Flugelhorn. In the very high range it sounds like a horn, but in the lower range it is obvious that it is something else.

A “little” full double

Recently I learned that another Phoenix area player also had one of these “small” descants, but this one is the full double version of the instrument by Alexander, on the right in the photo at the top of this page. First, let me say that I have tried a number of Alexander descants and they have tweaked the design repeatedly over the years. Their current production uses a bell that is either similar or identical to that used on their model 103 double. This instrument however dates to 1961 and uses this same “small” bell as the ASU single descant.

Pros and cons

Both of these instruments play GREAT on the high F side. It really does not get much better than this, the intonation is really quite good and production is comfortable. The double certainly has a bigger/darker tone than the single; the extra weight and longer tubing does come into play to its advantage. The high ranges are amazing. Having played on many double descant and triple horns I would say that most have issues on the high F side which these horns do not have.

Where the double really shines between the two instruments is in the mid range—the tone is quite horn-like. It would probably stick out a little in a section situation, but the sound is quite manageable and familiar, easily recognized as a horn sound in the mid and upper register.

On the negative side, both feel pretty different than a modern double horn. They are very compact instruments and feel small in the hands. But more importantly in the lower range both have an odd resistant quality, especially the double in the lower range. This is in part a function of design. We are used to playing horns that are basically designed around the B-flat horn, and an instrument truly designed around the high F side just feels different. Overall the bottom half of the range of either instrument is not great. As a result it is not as easy to switch back and forth between standard double horn and a descant of this design as compared to a more modern descant horn.

If you intend to make use of a descant in some musical situations and a standard double in other situations it is important to feel that you can go between both instruments easily. This is why modern descant designs have developed and largely replaced these instruments with small bells and wraps–a modern descant feels more like a standard double horn. A triple horn solves this problem even better, as made correctly the whole horn will play well with a similar feel top to bottom.

But that said there is certainly a place for a small descant of this type for very high register Baroque works such as those seen in some works of Bach and Telemann. As already noted the high F side is great on these instruments, and combined with the light weight of the instrument the result is I can play probably a third higher on either of these horns than I can on my triple horn. A lot of weight is gone and the design is just more efficient for the high F side. Of the two horns in this article the double feels great on solos like the Telemann concerto and the single works great on very high excerpts such as seen in Bach cantatas.

In short, while these models would not be my first choice for a descant horn for general use, you should keep your eyes peeled if one comes your way and check it out. It is quite interesting to see how the instrument feels when geared around the high F side; it would be handy for certain works and is a valid design approach.

The comment I’d add is to emphasize that this type of “little” descant is really most suited to extreme literature, especially from the Baroque. Which is performed today to be sure, but generally speaking players use instruments with larger, conventional horn bells that will more nearly match the sound of a standard horn. 

Fundamentals 18B. Key signature

John Ericson
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Another element of the 18th fundamental in the list of 25 fundamentals by Douglas Hill (his book is the source of the prompts for this series) is something very fundamental: key signatures.

Why it can be more of a problem for horn players

It was for many years a tradition that horn parts did not have key signatures. It is a somewhat unfortunate tradition.

Besides this making it harder for us to find places in a rehearsal (“start at the key change” means nothing, if we have no key changes!), for players who perform a lot of orchestral music, the skill of reading key signatures can actually get rusty!

Tradition? Why?

To the topic of that tradition, there is a great quote from Richard Strauss in his annotations to Berlioz’s Instrumentationslehre [Treatise on Instrumentation] (1905). Strauss, in the following passage, makes observations on both his compositional practices and on the choices of equipment by horn players of the period. You will see that he assumes that players regularly used the E and F crooks on single horns — which explains a lot about why he calls for horn in E so much too.

Although horn players now use almost exclusively the horns in E, F, high A and high B-flat (incidentally, it requires practice to change the bright and sharp tone of the horn in B-flat into the soft and noble timbre of the horn in F), it is nevertheless advisable to retain Richard Wagner’s method of indicating the key of the horn according to the changes of key in the music. It is true that horn players do not observe these different keys any more; but they are accustomed to transpose any key instantly into the key of the horn they are using, and they much prefer this method to being forced to read all the time in F, for instance, with a great number of accidentals (sharps, double sharps, etc.). Hence, composers should indicate: horn in E-flat, D, D-flat as they see fit. In my opinion, this has the advantage of a clearer appearance of the score. Personally I prefer to read the horns in the different keys and to transpose them (habit may have something to do with this, too). The score is much clearer on first sight, since the staves of the horns and trumpets at once stand out plastically in contrast to the staves of the wood-winds and strings with their transpositions and numerous accidentals.

[For a longer version, check that book or my article in The Horn Call Annual 4 (1992).]

[What about valved horns in F/E etc? To learn more about a horn built with crooks that could be crooked in multiple keys (like a natural horn) see this article.]

The staves … stand out plastically?

That is the key thing in the quote — Strauss liked (as a conductor) how it was visually easy to find the horn and trumpet parts in a score as they did not have key signatures. But that tradition is dead now.

You do need to read key signatures well

What I personally find to be helpful for working on key signatures are the etudes of Maxime-Alphonse. But you can work on anything with key signatures really. Back when I was a student one of my early teachers had me use the venerable Pares Scales book; there are many resources for technical study that have key signatures and work systematically through all the keys. Use a few and get up to speed! I might boldly suggest my own book as a possible resource.

When the series returns, we turn to the topic of sight reading.

Continue reading the Fundamentals series

New Recordings of Two Works for Horn and Fixed Media from the 1970s

John Ericson
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There were two Doctoral graduates from the ASU horn studio this year. The first of the Doctoral projects was described here, and the second one, completed by Isabella Kolasinski, is titled “The Genesis of Horn and Tape: Examining and Recording Hildegard Westerkamp’s Fantasie for Horns II and Janet Beat’s Hunting Horns are Memories.”

It is always a process to find a good topic. As we discussed possible projects it was fascinating to learn that two of the earliest works written for horn and fixed media were by women composers — and one of them had never been recorded! It was a great topic for a research project.

Hildegard Westerkamp – Fantasie for Horns II (1979)

The first of these two works to come to her attention was the Westerkamp. I personally was really taken by the musique concrète fixed media, it is very distinctive and evocative, reminding me of works studied as contemporary works in music history classes when I was in college. Bella describes the work as follows.

Hildegard Westerkamp incorporated sound material from boat horns, foghorns, train horns, and other sources from Canada’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts into the electronic component of “Fantasie for Horns II.” The horn interacts with the electronics in three distinct ways: through musical expression, by imitating fog and boat horns, and by evoking the style of the Swiss alphorn — collectively creating a sonic landscape. Westerkamp’s musical works guide her audience to recognize sound as an important part of the world and how it can focus the listener’s ideas across social, political, artistic and scientific practices of environmental respect and concern.

This has been recorded previously – give her version a listen below.

Janet Beat – Hunting Horns are Memories (1977)

Two years before Westerkamp, Janet Beat composed the very evocatively titled Hunting Horns are Memories. It seems that this work may not have been performed since the premiere, but now it may be heard in full in the first recording ever! It is a substantial work, one that would require real commitment to perform, but certainly a challenge worth taking on. Bella describes it as follows.

Composed in 1977, Hunting Horns are Memories by Janet Beat blends natural and artificial sounds to create a mechanical soundscape rooted in the environment of her home in England. The piece explores the origins, repertoire, and mechanisms of the French horn, with all electronic elements derived from French horn sounds. Beat’s work examines both the technical capabilities of the instrument and the expressive potential of sound manipulation, weaving diverse horn timbres with industrial textures to evoke memory, place, and transformation.

Check out both recordings! I could not be more pleased with her project and the one completed by Bailye Hendley (described further here), and I wish both the very best in their future endeavors.

Two Recent Works for Horn by Aliyah Danielle

John Ericson
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With the graduation of two DMA students this semester I wanted to feature here the works associated with their projects. First up is Dr. Bailye Hendley, who as part of her research project, “Unaccompanied Horn Works for Developing Horn Players: An Examination of the Current Repertoire and Commissioning a New Work,” commissioned a new work from hornist and composer Aliyah Danielle.

But before I get to that …

Luna: A new work for horn, tuba, and fixed media (2023)

Looking back in Horn Matters, I don’t know how I did this, but Deanna Swoboda and I commissioned and recorded a work by Aliyah Danielle for horn, tuba, and fixed media — and I inadvertently have not reported about here. This is such a nice work, and I think has all sorts of possibilities for programming on recitals. Horn and tuba is such a great combination. Check it out below!

Beyond her unique and engaging musical style, part of why we were excited to work with Aliyah as well is because she is a graduate of the ASU horn studio, working with myself on horn and with Dr. Swoboda on music entrepreneurship — skills she has certainly applied as her career has gone forward!

Expansions, Volume 1 for unaccompanied horn (2025) [Poem for unaccompanied horn]

Back to the Hendley Doctoral project, completed this semester, the basic idea was that there is a body of works for unaccompanied horn, but most of that music is really difficult. There needs to be more works written at a technical level that is approachable. As part of her project Bailye formed a consortium; the following is drawn from text associated with those efforts.

I am excited to announce that I am partnering with the incredibly talented composer and horn player, Aliyah Danielle, on a commissioning consortium. This commission is part of a larger project that I am organizing dedicated to expanding the nearly non-existent solo horn literature for developing hornists, in hopes of facilitating a practical introduction to unaccompanied horn repertoire for these young musicians. This consortium will commission Aliyah Danielle to compose a solo horn work geared towards developing horn players. In addition to the solo horn work, Aliyah will also be composing a set of etudes to facilitate the study and performance of this new work.

The final composition developed by Aliyah is a short work for unaccompanied horn, titled Poem for unaccompanied horn, with three short etudes. Poem is a very approachable work, and the concept of the overall project is really solid pedagogically. If you teach horn at all I think this work is one to seek out. The etudes and the solo horn work are both highly worthy of emulation; perhaps they will inspire you to compose or commission similar works.

And again, for more on Aliyah Danielle check her website and follow her on social media. She is an emerging artist to watch, and someone I am very happy to have been able to work with here at ASU. If you have the chance to hear her live, be sure to; she is among the featured artists as the IHS Symposium this summer, for example.

Continue to the Doctoral project of Isabella Kolasinski

Does your horn spark joy?

John Ericson
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Very recently I went through a round of testing various horns in a nice space. One had come in that I was testing for a former student, and I was pondering also the topic of possibly selling a horn or two.

It ended up that I began to think as I played the various horns about the line from Marie Kondo, about if an object sparks joy.

Can a horn spark joy?

Looking at her website, I found this nice summary.

Rule 6: Ask Yourself If It Sparks Joy

In the KonMari Method™, your feelings are the standard for decision making – specifically, knowing what sparks joy. To determine this when tidying, the key is to pick up each object one at a time, and ask yourself quietly, “Does this spark joy?” Pay attention to how your body responds. Joy is personal, so everyone will experience it differently; Marie describes it as “…a little thrill, as if the cells in your body are slowly rising.”

Through the process of selecting only those things that inspire joy, you can identify precisely what you love – and what you need.

Which horn sparks joy for me?

I have several horns that really did not spark joy, but also several that did. Surprisingly, the two that sparked the most joy were a Kruspe single F that is a current restoration project and also my Kruspe double described further in this article:

How exactly?

It is a body response on some level, much as stated in the quote above. The way a horn feels in the hands, the way it resonates and sounds. Good intonation, good ranges, slurs, etc. If it just feels fun to play relative to other horns.

For sure I’ll be playing the two Kruspe horns a lot in the coming months, they make me want to practice.

Practical application: maybe you need a different horn

To a point of course you just need to love (or at least come to terms with) the horn you have. I did love I’m sure my original double horn, but it was all I had. I’m sure if I had it now, it would not spark joy.

That said, a horn could spark joy and not actually sound that great or be practical to use in the ensembles you play in. Still, you might consider using that horn for personal practice, especially if that little spark you feel is a motivation and keeps your horn playing momentum going.

Equipment is always a moving target, but a fun one to reevaluate over the years.

Fundamentals 18A. Bass clef: old (and new) notation bass clef

John Ericson
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Number 18 on the list of fundamentals in the Douglas Hill book, which I have used to guide this series, to my mind involves multiple topics deserving of separate articles. For the present series we will start with bass clef and the horn player.

Bass clef?

First, I’ll share a personal story. When in high school I first had to play pieces with bass clef in the horn parts, and I was so confused. I could not read bass clef. Well, I could laboriously figure it out, but then I thought it was in C like a trombone part and had to be transposed further, which was not right. Finally I learned — probably as a freshman in college! — how to read it, and that the pitches were in F or D or whatever the horn part was in.

Old notation? New?

One fun fact in the wacky world of horn playing is that we have not one but two ways that bass clef is notated in horn parts.

Traditionally the notes are written an octave lower than we play. By the early 20th century things began to shift, and composers wrote with the horn parts in the correct octave. Although some composers still used old notation, including, famously, Shostakovich.

Then in high horn parts you often gets notes in bass clef that don’t really need to be. If in doubt, check the 2nd and 4th parts; if they have notes that are too low to play it is almost certainly old notation in your part too.

Why?

The perineal question is why have two different notation systems for bass clef in horn parts? There is an answer to this question, and it has to do with score notation of horn parts in the Classical period. The “problem” it solves (for the composer) is that of putting two horns on the same line of a score when low notes are involved in only one horn part. This article tries to make more sense of the topic:

Music to study

I always suggest the Neuling etudes as the best place to learn old notation well as an advanced student of the horn. Work out six or eight Neuling etudes and you will never ever have trouble reading old notation again.

When the series returns the topics include sight-reading, key signatures, and more.

Continue reading the Fundamentals Series

My Mellophonium Mood

John Ericson
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This 2008 article, very slightly updated here, originally appeared in the Horn Articles Online website 

One thing I became very interested in during the summer of 2007 when I began a project of looking at the mellophone was “classic” jazz Mellophonium playing from the late 50s and early 60s by Don Elliott and also the Stan Kenton Orchestra, one 1962 Kenton recording being Mellophonium Moods, which inspired the title of this article. I had always liked jazz, and I had actually been generally aware of the Mellophone as a jazz instrument for a long time as my high school library had a copy of the Leonard Feather jazz dictionary and I had noticed a couple of mellophone players in it.

What really intrigued me the most as I looked into it more was Don Elliott and his sound on this almost forgotten instrument, which slotted in sonically somewhere between a Flugelhorn and horn, a bit like valve trombone and similar to descant horn in ways–but unique. I especially liked what I heard from Don Elliott on the CD release The Paul Desmond Quintet/Quartet, perhaps his best recording. It became a bit of a quest to try to figure out how exactly he produced that sound, as it really is unique and effective in the context. It was not at all the sound I associated with modern marching mellophone.

After a few weeks of trying every variation I could find for mouthpieces on modern marching mellophones and only getting close to “the sound” I came to the conclusion that I better find an actual Mellophonium, an instrument I had never had in my hands, and figure this out once and for all.

What is a “Mellophonium?”

The Mellophonium was an instrument developed by Conn in the late 1950s for use in marching bands. Pitched in F alto (like a modern mellophone) the 16E has a unique, almost iconic form, and was manufactured by Conn for over twenty years. Thanks to eBay I am now the proud owner of this fairly late example that left the factory in 1976.

The mouthpiece question

The first order of business was to try to figure out if I could get the sound and articulation quality I was looking for to happen. And I believe I got very close right away with a Bach 6 mellophone mouthpiece. It has good focus to the sound but is not overly bright or dark, with a good crisp articulation quality.

It should be noted that this instrument is the last “true” mellophone, as it was designed to take a standard, “classic” mellophone mouthpiece. A modern mellophone mouthpiece with a trumpet shank will not fit this instrument; the 16E was made for a mouthpiece that uses a smaller, cornet-style shank like the Bach 6.

I should mention that a cornet mouthpiece will also work but it really is not a good choice. Does not have “the sound” and the intonation is worse. This instrument was clearly designed to use a mouthpiece with a larger cup volume and a wider inner diameter, which was what Don Elliott always used and the Kenton players used early on. Initially they utilized the stock Conn mouthpiece, which was similar to the Bach. Ultimately the section settled on something different, as revealed by former Kenton Mellophonium player Tony Scodwell in an interview in the Middle Horn Leader site.

At this point we were thinking “There’s got to be something better.” …. So at that point I started looking around for better mouthpieces.

Basically, we were all trumpet players at that time (until Dave Horton joined the section–he was a French horn player). I had been playing Schilke trumpets and I knew “Ren” pretty well and I went in to see him. He suggested a “Farkas” cup with our trumpet rims and a shaved down flugel backbore. It’s a funny mouthpiece, but it works really well.

Internally the instrument is a bit different than a modern marching mellophone. As noted, the receiver of the mouthpiece is smaller so it starts a bit smaller but grows to a larger bore, as through the valves it is a full half inch! The throat of the bell is also a bit bigger than that of a King 1120 mellophone.

The intonation is not great but fairly manageable actually, as there is a good bit of flexibility of pitch to the horn. Part of the problem is the valve slides are too long; I had to cut them down. The second slide is about 1/4 inch too long and the first and third slides are about 1/2 inch too long.

On any mouthpiece the high range is, well, not very good. Anything above a written G at the top of the staff is pretty difficult to play and has an unstable quality. But at least the top F is stable on any mouthpiece, as on some mellophones it is not.

As I tried mouthpiece options I found that I could play into the high range with improved stability on my normal Laskey 80G horn mouthpiece (18mm inner diameter) with an adapter. Sound wise it is surprisingly close to the Bach 6 and it retains the focus and articulations; the cup volume and bore are similar. It is interesting to note that Dwight Carver is known to have used a horn mouthpiece on the Mellophonium in the Stan Kenton Orchestra early on and that the Laskey is similar to the Farkas cup mentioned by Scodwell as being used later in the history of the section.

Performing on the Mellophonium

This testing was all well and good as I developed my publication A Mello Catechism, available through Horn Notes Edition. However, in early 2008 I did something that I never expected that I would do; I played the classic jazz tune Misty on Mellophonium in front of a large audience!

This was not something I saw coming but I welcomed. What I performed was a version of Misty slightly re-arranged for brass band (thank you Michelle Kalo) with the Salt River Brass Band. It was a lot of fun. Intonation was a bit of a struggle but the one memory that I can’t shake of the performance was this, the sensation felt while playing it that if I put down the right fingerings I was not going to miss any notes. Mellophonium must be around 30% easier to play accurately than horn. I have never before on a horn solo felt confident to this same level about accuracy; it is not a feeling horn players I think sense often at all. The recording of the performance may be heard at the end of episode 44 of The MelloCast, a podcast for middle brass players.

Is it over? I am not switching over to Mellophonium full time (!!!) but I do hope to play it again at some point, especially if possible the actual original arrangement of Misty with a jazz band. If you are looking for a soloist for a group out there I am available!

I did in fact play Misty again at the 2009 IHS Symposium in Illinois, an experience I describe further here. 

Fundamentals 17. Transpositions

John Ericson
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Lightning quiz: What is the most popular page in the entire Horn Matters website? That article is by Bruce Hembd on the topic of transposition, with a link to his PDF chart of how to transpose by interval. It has certainly saved many rehearsals and concerts by now. That article is here:

Fundamentals 17. Transpositions: E-flat, E, D, C, G, B-flat basso, C alto, A-flat, F-sharp, D-flat (approximate order of use)

Returning to our series after a bit of break, I shortened the title this time. The full prompt (above) from the list of fundamentals in the Douglas Hill book (which I have followed for this series), is quite a mouthful — and transposition is quite an important topic.

More than one way to do transpositions

In the modern, USA context that I teach and play horn in, almost universally people transpose by interval as described in the Hembd article. However, there is a classic book you may have heard of, The Art of French Horn Playing, that encourages transposition by clef. Maybe this was popular back in the day, I don’t know. But I don’t think very many people do this these days.

As to transposing by interval, the downside is that, at least initially, you are looking at and playing “imaginary” notes some interval away from the printed notes. Fortunately, after you begin to get the skill down it actually (believe it or not!) becomes a fairly automatic process. Let’s say your are in D, you see a C, and play an A. Simple.

(By the way, our world is in F, if you are a non-horn player reading this article to help a hornist. We think of all transpositions as being to F, our home key).

When I taught for a year in Taiwan some years ago I was interested that my students used a system of transposition involving solfeggio. I could not describe it to you now other than it certainly worked and might actually have been a better approach.

Learn transpositions with Kopprasch?

My own teachers did this and it is one way to do it, but in my own teaching I tend to work on transposition with solos and excerpts. Real music.

I actually considered publishing a book for transpositions that was based on relatively simple natural horn music, which is what you have to actually play most of the time in reality — especially for the average player out at a church gig or in a community orchestra.

Tip for all transpositions: Figure out the key signature

A brief, useful tip would be that you will find it helpful, at least initially, to figure out the key signature.

For example, if you are playing horn in D, the music is in the written key of C. The key signature for horn in F will move by the same interval as the transposition, so go down a minor third and the the (imaginary) key signature will be A. With the key signature in mind you will be more likely to play the correct notes (E is C#, etc.).

Pro tip for horn in E: Think in sharps, not flats

Many students come up with a plan for horn in E that involves putting flats in front of everything. While technically that plan does work, I would propose that you are better off thinking of a written C as a B (and G as F-sharp), with a mental key signature of sharps rather than flats.

It really does get easier

To close, seriously, it really does get easier with practice, and becomes a fairly automatic process. Trust me!

When the series returns I think I may need to break topic 18 in the Hill list into multiple articles! More on that in a few weeks.

Keep reading the Fundamentals Series

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