FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

As a professional hornist in an orchestra, what is the average or usual salary?

Answer:

It depends on the orchestra. For full-time orchestras, it can range anywhere from $25,000 to over $100,000/yr. for one of the "big 5" orchestras. Check out the ICSOM and ROPA orchestra pay scales available from your American Federation of Musicians local office (or at AFM.org if you're already an AFM Member) if you'd like more specific figures.

It’s also possible to make a decent living teaching at a college or university full-time or by freelancing- teaching part time at a college/university, teaching in a private studio, playing in a brass or woodwind quintet, and/or playing in a couple of per-service orchestras (not full time).

What would be a good college to go to become a professional horn player?

Answer:

By professional I will assume you mean playing professionally in an orchestra. As a rule the best teachers for a job like that are ones who play in a fine professional orchestra themselves, or who have at one time. Pick a college that has a horn teacher with a proven track record. Many of his/her former students should have jobs as professional horn players. Find out whom the players you most admire studied with. You'll find that the same names keep coming up- that should tell you a lot.

Then take a lesson with the teachers you're interested in to see if they work well with you. Some universities but not necessarily all conservatories fall into this category. Do not base your decision on the reputation of the school, but on the teacher! For example, a school like the University of Wisconsin (my alma mater) has turned out probably 20 professional horn players in the last 20 years, while I can think of a few conservatories (which shall remain nameless!) that have turned out perhaps 5 orchestral hornists who play full-time in the last 20 years. It's because of the horn instruction, not the school's reputation.

Some universities with great horn teachers and good track records are (in alphabetical order by school): Northwestern University (Gail Williams), Rice University (Bill Ver Meulen), Southern Methodist (Greg Hustis), USC (all the top studio horn players), and Wisconsin (Doug Hill). Some examples of good conservatories for horn would be Juilliard (Julie Landsman), New England (Gus Sebring), and Peabody (Peter Landgren). But even studying with a great teacher is no guarantee. Only practice and hard work will give you a chance.

I have a student who is having trouble adjusting to braces. What can I do to help her?

Answer:

I would NEVER tell a student to quit because he/she has braces. If someone told me to quit when I had braces (and I had listened), I would not be playing today.

When the braces come on and then off, that student will have to go through what is essentially two embouchure changes. I have many past and present students who played with braces successfully- currently I have one very talented sixth grader with braces and one advanced student with a 4 octave range. But it will be difficult, and success will depend on how hard the student is willing to work. Just like with normal embouchure changes, some students make it through and some do not. If you feel she will not have the patience, perhaps focusing on another instrument would be best. But if your student truly enjoys playing the horn, sticks with it and makes it through, she will have the added benefit of truly understanding her playing mechanics. A relaxed approach to playing (proper use of air, embouchure, and watching improper mouthpiece pressure) is especially important to a brass player with braces.

Since your student is only in sixth grade, I would look to other reasons, besides her braces, why she is unable to play above a 2nd space A. Embouchure mechanics will be the same whether she has braces or not. If she has toothaches from her braces being tightened, etc. she should lay off from playing for a few days and take ibuprofen or another good over-the-counter painkiller. If her lips get caught in the braces, have her use orthodontic wax (available from her orthodontist) or this stuff called Brace Guard (available from The Woodwind & Brasswind) that is reusable and does not change shape. Good luck with your student!

I have problems performing in public. What should I do?

Answer:

If I told myself "Can you at least try and be musical?!" while I played, which would be sort of like beating myself up mentally, I know I would have the same problem that you do! The fact that you make such statements to yourself tells me that you are not focused 100% on your task at hand, which should be on creating music. When I was in college, I used to get very nervous performing, and reading all those "Inner Game" books never helped me much either.

What I discovered since then is that when I performed successfully, I focused 100% of my energy on creating music and there was no room in my head for any kind of chatter or stray thoughts (for me, even POSITIVE self-statements were distracting). So now when I perform, I think about how much I love the music I happen to be performing before I go on stage- perhaps it's a melancholy legato line, or the harmonic progressions that the composer chose- and how I want to show the audience exactly what I find so special about it. Then while I'm on stage I focus 100% of my energy on playing and sharing that great piece of music with everyone. Since I started to think this way, I have truly learned to love performing in public, because it's like a gift you're giving to the audience. The audience absolutely doesn't care about a missed note if the piece you are performing is played with 100% commitment, and from the heart. Good luck!

I have a ring around my lips when I'm done playing. What can I do?

Answer:

I wouldn't worry about a ring on your lip- lots of people, myself included, get a ring caused by their skin being more sensitive than others and not by pressure. Lots of pros use pressure- if the player is doing everything entirely correctly, pressure is never a problem. If you're struggling with notes, have problems with endurance, and feel like you're pressing too much (a general lack of ease in playing) then that's a problem.

The best thing to be done about this is to make sure the air, not the lips, is doing the brunt of the work, and that a cushion is formed between the mpc. and the lips. This is done by making the lip tension come in toward the center (as with whistling), not by stretching the lips as in a smile. It's difficult to explain proper air support without seeing you (see my Jacobs master class notes for breathing exercises and other good ideas). Farkas speaks of the "whistling embouchure" in his book. As far as exercises, at hornplayer.net there's a Forrest Standley exercise that has been successful for myself and many of my students. It's at: http://www.hornplayer.net/archive/a49.html . At the end of that page there's a great description of the proper breath.

What brand of horn should I buy?

Answer:

You really have to try a horn if you want to make the best decision for yourself. You're the best judge, not anyone else.

I have a couple of recommendations. Pick a horn that’s accepted as “mainstream.” Then you can get a better resale value for it if you eventually sell it. If you’re interested in a Kruspe wrap or the “big horn” type of sound, you can’t go wrong with a Conn 8D or Yamaha. If you can afford it, a Lawson would always be a good bet since they’re always in demand. If you want a Geyer wrap horn that's a little more mainstream, I'd suggest a Yamaha 667 or 667V (which are both fine instruments), a Conn 10D if you're on a budget (also a good horn- see my review of the Conn 10D here), or if you can afford them, a custom Geyer horn made by Lewis, Rauch, Hill or Berg. Since I play a Rauch horn, I recommend them highly- in my opinion it's the best Geyer wrap horn on the market.

Another thing to consider: Why a new horn? For the cost of a new Conn or Yamaha (or just a little more) and a little searching you can probably get a used custom horn- a Lawson, Lewis, Rauch, Hill, or Berg, or even an original used Geyer. In my opinion this would be a much better investment- custom horns are just better horns period (you get what you pay for), and if you decide to sell it someday, you can get more money for a used custom horn.

What mouthpiece should I use?

Answer:

I believe that using a mouthpiece that matches the horn you use is crucial. I believe that if you play a free blowing horn, such as a Conn 8D, you must use a more resistant mouthpiece. And if a horn is resistant, you need a mouthpiece that is free-blowing. I never did understand why so many 8D players use such large mouthpieces, and then they complain about their high registers! You also should not play a mouthpiece just because some famous player plays on one, because that mouthpiece may not suit your physical makeup.

The numbers you see on mouthpiece models refer to the size of the mouthpiece bore, which is usually based on wire gauge sizes. Generally speaking, the smaller the number, the larger the bore size- I've seen them vary on horn mouthpieces from #0 (extremely large) to #20 (extremely small). From my observations, for horn mouthpieces #12-#17 bore sizes are best for most of the playing we do. Some middle-of-the-road mouthpieces I would recommend to average players are the Holton Farkas Models, the Moosewood models, Schilke 27 and 30 (numbers do not refer to wire gauge sizes for Schilkes), the Stork C series, Bach 11.

Although Rauch horns are Geyer wrap models, they actually have quite a large bore size (at .476 mm bore) and are very free-blowing. I've found that smaller bored mouthpieces (like the Stork/Giardinelli C12, Laskey 75G and Schilke 27's) work better with free blowing horns. Generally high horn players play smaller mouthpieces than low horn players. Not only is ease-of-playing affected by the mouthpiece, but also pitch. If you switch to a mouthpiece with a larger inside volume, you can expect your overall pitch to drop.

Whether your horn is made in Europe or the US should also make a difference. European horns have leadpipes which begin wider than their American counterparts. If you play an American horn with an American mouthpiece, there's usually no problem. But if you play a European horn with an American mouthpiece, your mouthpiece may go in too far, causing intonation and/or response to be less than ideal. My Rauch double and my Finke descant have European leadpipes, which cause US-manufactured mouthpieces to fall into the leadpipe too far. So I had Tom Greer at Moosewood add a metal sleeve around my mouthpiece shank so it would fit properly. (Moosewood has excellent customer service and they charge a very reasonable fee for this kind of service- see http://www.hornmouthpiece.com/fit_.htm for more information.) It's much cheaper to alter the mouthpiece than to alter the leadpipe in this situation. To see if your mouthpiece fits into the horn properly wrap a piece of paper or tape around the mouthpiece shank, and observe whether the playing qualities improve or not.

It's also possible for a mouthpiece to not fit into a horn far enough, in which case metal can be removed from the mouthpiece. But, I have no experience in this area!

Screw bell rings- which type should I get?

Answer:

There are a large number of ring types for screw bells, but there is one type that is considered the most "standard" and that is the ring type with Alexander threads. Alexander (of course), Lawson, Rauch, Lewis, Hoyer, and I'm sure a host of other makers use Alexander rings. So if you're getting your bell cut and have a choice between different rings I'd choose Alex rings, because you'll be able to interchange more easily.

Other than Alexander rings, it seems like every other horn manufacturer uses thread rings that are different from each other, which is not very user friendly. Paxman, Conn, Schmid, Finke, and Yamaha all use rings which are not interchangeable with each other. Even between some model numbers, Yamaha bells are not interchangeable with each other, which is really strange. So with your Finke, you won't be able to change bells unless you order a different flare from Finke or remove the Finke ring from your horn and replace it with a different type. So if you're looking to buy another bell, make sure you ask what type of ring threads are on it.

I'm looking to purchase the "right" horn for my son/daughter and I don't know what to look for...

Answer:

I would look into buying a used instrument, and I would definitely stay away from the new horns sold by your local music store. Most music stores that sell new horns sell them at close to manufacturer's list price, and you never have to pay that much for an equivalent used instrument. There are many great used horns out there, and they play just as well (or better) than new horns, at a much lower price. There are a lot of bad horns out there, too, even the new ones, and you definitely have to do some testing to find a good one. If you can, I would enlist the help of a professional hornist (your son's teacher?) who plays for a living to test horns for you. Lots of times they're selling instruments themselves, or know of people who are selling some. These used horns have usually been played by professionals for a period of time, so you know they're good, tested and tried instruments. You may have to pay for a professional's time, but it'd be worth it. Definitely get the opinion of your son, and have your son play the different horns too! You want to make sure he'd be happy with it.

Also, stay away from any horns manufactured in China for the time being...they are usually of very poor quality.

The factory made instruments that I like are made by Conn (the 8D, 10D, 11D) and Yamaha (667V, 668, and any model number starting with 8). If you're able to find a King horn they're also fine instruments, but they're not made anymore. In my experience they're instruments of consistent good quality. I don't like Holtons- they have some quality control problems at their factory, and are very inconsistent. I don't know of a single North American professional who plays one. Never buy an instrument without testing it first- if the seller/music store doesn't let you bring it home for a week for a trial, don't buy from him/her. Depending on your son's preferences, you have nickel silver or yellow brass horns to choose from. Different metals are usually associated with different regional styles, which your son probably doesn't think about. Professionals are usually very adamant about their preferences, but your son doesn't need to be yet- either metal would be just fine.

I personally think that high school students can't go wrong with buying a used Conn 8D. It's probably the most popular horn in North America. There are lots of them out there at a good price, and you will be able to sell it for about what you paid for it if necessary. And if your son ends up going on in music as a career, there are lots of professionals who play 8D's, even the ones that they bought in high school. With the Conn 8D, desirable ones were made in Elkhart, IN- they're older instruments and you'll pay the most for them, but they're considered the best Conn has made. The modern ones made in Eastlake, OH are also very good, but avoid the ones made in Abilene, TX.

If you are open to buying a horn on the internet, there is a lot out there. I'd look into a website at http://www.hornplayer.net/advert.asp or at http://listings.ebay.com/aw/plistings/list/all/category16215/index.html. Hornplayer.net has a lot of great instruments at good prices, and the sellers usually allow for bargaining and a trial period. I've bought and sold several instruments here. Some great buys can be had on eBay, but usually trial periods are not allowed, so you really have to know what you're doing. I wouldn't recommend it unless you've got a professional hornist helping you look for something there.

10.

How do you care for the valves on your Finke descant?

Answer:

Good question. According to Finke the valves are made of some kind of synthetic material and will swell up and not work if a petroleum product comes in contact with them. Or at least they'll get really sluggish and you'll have to take the valves apart and clean them, as I just did a few weeks ago when some slide grease got in. The whole Finke valve problem of a decade ago was caused by the not-quite-perfected new patented valves and by players lubricating the valves with oil.

However, Chuck Ward told me that the oil can't hurt the valves, so I've been using a few drops from time to time, if I don't have time to take the valves apart. The valves seem to work OK!

I don't know if there's corrosion or not in my Finke. I've had mine for about 3 years now and I haven't noticed any. But then, a repair person has never looked at the horn because I've never had any kind of problems with it. I still think it's a great descant. I grease the slides as I would a normal horn, but I use a small amount of thicker valve oil on the Bb/high F piston valve (the one that splits off the leadpipes). I figure it's made of aluminum, not teflon, so it's OK.

11.

In the Jacobs master class notes, what does he mean by "We want weakness, not strength"?

Answer:

He means that to play a brass instrument well you don't need to be a 6'4" weightlifter who can "muscle" their way through the music, but rather someone (of any size or strength) who is able to get their muscles out of the way, relax, and just get the air out and the lips buzzing efficiently. This hardly takes any strength at all, and I really believe this is the most important concept in fine brass playing. I know that the better I get as a player, the easier it is to play. As Dave Krehbiel says, "It doesn't get any easier by working harder," and I think this is what Jacobs meant.

12.

In the Jacobs master class notes, what is the difference between "wind" and "air pressure?"

Answer:

I'll try to explain the difference between wind and air pressure. The way I like to think of it is that wind is air flowing out of the lungs effortlessly, as opposed to pressure, which is forcefully blowing air out of the lungs, with effort. "Wind" is the result of a relaxed inhale, which happens when you allow your lungs to fill with air as a result of suction, with as little effort as possible. Personally, I couldn't really get a feel for this concept until I began practicing Jacobs' breathing exercises. If your inhale is relaxed and free, your exhale can't help but be relaxed and free also (which is wind!). If you try some of the Jacobs breathing exercises (which are in the notes on my website) you might get a feel for what he's saying.

13.

Lip trills

Answer:

I like to think of lip trills as balancing on a tightrope. That is, I don't think of rapidly alternating between 2 pitches, but of actually playing a pitch somewhere between the two and balancing between the high and low sides of that in-between pitch. So if you're trilling between 3rd space C and D, you'd actually be buzzing your lips at about a C# and oscillating the pitch between C and D. This probably doesn't take as much effort as you think.

When I do it right it feels like I'm using mainly my airstream rather than my embouchure, and the trill just floats out effortlessly.

I don't know if I can really help you unless I hear you trill, but have you tried working on lip trills on lower harmonics? You mentioned that you could trill on a 1st line F. That's a relatively high harmonic to be able to trill on for someone who has lip trill problems- most people who need work on lip trills can usually trill on 3rd space C or thereabouts, so it sounds like working on lip trills on lower harmonics could help. I know that for me personally, working on trills on lower harmonics has really helped me figure out exactly what I'm doing when I lip trill and is a less strenuous way to work on them. It helps accentuate that "balancing on the tightrope" feeling.

To be able to lip trill fluently on lower harmonics is more difficult than on upper harmonics, and also helps when you do happen to find low lip trills, like in the 1st Mozart Concerto. For me, trills on the usual higher harmonics become much better after working on the lower harmonics.
Try starting on 2nd line G and work your way downwards. The harmonics as you get lower gradually get wider apart, so the pitches listed are approximate.

The fingerings are in parentheses: G-A (F12), F# -G#(F23), F-G(F13), E-F# (F123), E-G (F0), Eb-Gb (F2), D-F(F1), and so on downwards as far as you want to go. Keep at it- most of us have felt your pain!

14.

Help, I play sharp!

Answer:

It takes a lot of guts to come out in public admitting you play sharp (even though most players actually DO play sharp :), and I think that's really great you can do that. I used to play sharp, and now I actually play low, which I think is a far better situation. I say this because it means that you play in an easy relaxed manner with the best possible tone (lots of both high and low overtones). *** had a good observation about the overtones and thinking about hearing the lower ones; that will help sound but not necessarily pitch.

What I'm about to say might sound like gibberish, but thinking in this way has made all the difference in my playing. Do you ever do pitch bending exercises? What has helped me is to think of the nodes on the horn- the distance that you can raise or flatten a note. I visualize this node as a block, with a top, center and bottom. I believe that a player has only 2 choices- you can put the note only on the top or the bottom of the node and not the center. Putting the note in the center of the node actually causes the pitch to waver. Putting the note on the top of the node will cause you to play sharp, and it's also a lot of work (this is probably why pulling your slides won't work). Putting the note on the bottom of the node will bring your pitch down, and will also require less effort because the horn is doing the work.

15.

Extended range fingerings

Answer:

No one's saying you have to use these fingerings, but for notes from low F (lowest note in Farkas’ “The Art of French Horn Playing) downward, I use:

F= (0)
E= (2)
Eb= (1)
D= (12)
Db= (23)
C= (13), or F0
B= F2, and so on.....I can make it down to low A below that on a good day.

(fingerings surrounded by parentheses (*) indicate Bb horn.)

For notes above high C I usually use the Bb fingerings with 1/2 step less of tubing than the preferred ones listed in the Farkas- I'm not sure why this works better for me, but I think the fact that there's less tubing makes it easier. If I think about it this way too, the fingerings I use for high F (descant) horn are the same so I don't get confused. Here are my fingerings, going upward from C above the staff:

C# = (12)
D= (1)
Eb= (2)
E= (0)
F= (1)
F# = (2)
G= (0)

16.

Tone colors via on or off the leg and hand position

Answer:

I love this subject and think about it a lot. One of the most important things I've learned in the past few years is how we can color our sound by just a slight change in hand position, or playing with the bell on/off the leg in varying degrees. I first became aware of this from John Zirbel, who is a former teacher of mine and the Principal Horn of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He uses a different hand/horn position for practically every piece he plays. Here's what I do with my hand/horn position in different situations:

If I'm playing 3rd in the section (which I do about half the time), I do what the principal's doing.
The few times I play low horn, I usually play on the leg. This dampens the higher overtones and the lower ones project better for me that way, which is good for a low horn sound.
If I'm leading the section, I do what I feel like. I use the classic "Farkas" hand position, which I feel produces a pure horn sound, allows me to switch from open to stopped horn easily, and allows me to play on or off the leg (or standing) without adjustment. Lately I've been playing off-the-leg while changing my hand position slightly to suit the music. For example, for higher transpositions like G, A, and Bb alto (Beethoven 2, Beethoven 7th 1st mvt.) I open my hand position more because a brighter sound is usually implied by the key. For Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner- darker and a bit more covered. Mahler- less covered. Stravinsky and many modern works- very open hand position.
Concertos and solos I always play standing.

17.

What can I do to help me with the high range of Schumann’s Konzertstuck for Four Horns?

Answer:

I have no suggestions on the E's in the piece, other than keep working on them. They will come in time eventually- maybe not in time for the performance but eventually. A comforting thought- a lot of times when you play E's in this piece they are doubled by the violins, so if you miss one sometimes it can be rendered unnoticeable by the violins. :)

Absolutely use a smaller mouthpiece! If you play a Giardinelli or Stork ‘C’ Series this will be no problem. I normally use a Moosewood A model with an 13 bore. Sometimes for descant playing I use a Moosewood B20 with my normal rim when I play Bach, but for the Schumann I use a B16 with my descant, because it has a larger sound.

If you don't have a descant, try taking your F slides out too, to lighten the horn and make the high notes easier. You don't need to use the low F horn for this piece.

18.

Do you have any tips for developing a solid, consistent high register?

Answer:

I've done a lot of studying to figure out how to get my high register to work well. I have always had a strong low register, and I think if you have a strong low register it can work to your advantage. I think that a great high register is based on a great low register- have you noticed that the best brass players have a complete range? When you play high everything should be the same as the low register, except SMALLER. The aperture should be the same shape as the low register but smaller (not closed off or thinner- see Farkas’ Art of French Horn Playing for a good explanation) and the airstream is more focused. Also a more "ee" vowel sound (raising the tongue slightly) when you play up there too- that makes the airstream smaller. Working on the high range harmonic exercises in the Brophy book has helped me a lot.

You know how relaxed you are when you play low? It can be the same way when you play high- the only muscles that should become more tense are the ones INSIDE the mouthpiece...not your shoulders, not your neck. Something that has really helped me up there is making my playing visually more efficient-looking. If you've ever seen Gail Williams play, you've seen that no matter if she plays high or low, her face doesn't change. Horn playing is completely easy for her. If you're watching a video of her and you turn the sound off, you can't tell if she's playing high or low- she shows no sign of strain. I was really intrigued when I first saw her play and then practiced to incorporate her total relaxation into my playing. I can do it now and it's turned me into a completely different player- it takes a lot of practice but it is absolutely worth it!

I don't think strength has much to do with the high range, actually, but relaxation has everything to do with it. I think breathing is a huge part of the total relaxation thing. If you haven’t already, please read my Arnold Jacobs master class notes. I think they will help a lot, not so much for the breathing instruction but for the proper mindset.

19.

The 1st space F on my horn is very sharp. What should I do?- (Intonation and alternate fingerings)

Answer:

The 1st space F being sharp is very common on a lot of horns. Like the G directly above it, it is a (sharp) 6th partial in the harmonic series, which is why. On most of the horns I have played that note has been sharp- and my past 4 horns have been a Yamaha 868, 2 Rauchs and a Berg, so it has nothing to do with a lack of workmanship! You don't really want to solve a problem like that by pulling out the 1st slide more, otherwise the D directly below the staff, which is already notoriously flat on horns (being a (low) 5th partial, like the E above it), will be even more flat. I prefer to use alternate fingerings to solve this problem. Depending on the situation, I sometimes play the 1st space F open on the Bb horn, which is very well in tune since it's one of the tonic notes of the Bb harmonic series. Of course, if I happen to be playing in the key of Eb concert, then I would want that F (horn pitch) to be high, since it's the 5th of the key.

It can be assumed that all 1-2 and 1-3 combination fingerings will be sharp. Horn manufacturers usually compensate for sharp combination fingerings by making the 3rd valve slides slightly longer, and as a result 2-3 combinations are not such a problem. For other possibly out-of-tune notes that are not combination fingerings, there is an easy way to remember which notes they are. Our entire system of just intonation is derived from the harmonic series- sharp 5ths, and low 3rds. Just remember that any notes derived from the 5th and 10th partials (the 3rds, or all of the E's in each transposition of the harmonic series) will be flat, and the 6th and 12th harmonics (the 5ths, or all the G's) will be sharp. Therefore it helps to always know on what partial of the overtone series you happen to be playing- there may be another alternate fingering which will give better, more in-tune results.

20.

What kind of exercises do you do to help you play in the bottom of the node of each note. I know that I usually play fairly sharp with lots of tension. I think this would be a good way for me to relax my playing. Any suggestions on how to practice this?

Answer:

Without actually seeing how you play, I'm just going to guess what is going on. I feel that perhaps 80% of the time, tension while playing is caused by the lack of an easy, free inhalation. After taking this into account by working on breathing exercises (see the Arnold Jacobs notes) to get your inhalations working freely and easily, I would think about playing with warm, diffuse air, which will cause your sound to darken up and be more resonant sounding, and will probably lower your pitch in the process. When someone has a resonant sound it generally means that the horn is taking over a lot of of the work of sounding the note, and it takes much less effort to play. I would then recommend working on pitch bending exercises. In the middle register, the lowest point that a pitch can be bent is the bottom of the node- once you find out how it feels to bend the note to the bottom of the node, try playing every note you play like that during a warmup or two, just to experiment. If you feel like it's helping, really spend a lot of time on it. It'll probably take a few weeks for it to become automatic, but it'll be worth the time if you master the technique.

21.

Are horn players that are proficient in the lower register, but not too proficent in the upper register, of any value to symphonies/orchestras (amateur or otherwise)? Is skill in the lower register a "given", and upper register players the only ones desired?

Answer:

In an amateur group, they would probably love to have you, but in professional circles, my answer to both questions would be "no." While we high horn players definitely appreciate a really fine low horn player, that low register cannot be at the expense of the high register. Every professional horn player must be able to play the complete range of the horn, from at least E below the staff in bass clef (Shostakovich 5) to at least 2nd line C above the treble clef staff. In orchestra the 2nd and 4th horns are often expected to play above the staff.

Generally, at the professional level the main difference between high and low horns is that high horn players specialize in the high register, sound and feel more comfortable up there, and have brighter sounds. Low horn players specialize in the low register, sound and feel more comfortable in the middle/low register, and generally have a darker tone quality. However, we all are able to play every note in the complete range.

22.

Will practicing your low register automatically improve your high register?

Answer:

Practicing your low register will not automatically improve your high register, as you've realized. Assuming your embouchure is correct, in order to improve the high register you must practice in the high register. But, not enough to kill your lip! It is very therapeutic to practice the low range afterward.

If you do a short session of only high register work, you must follow it with a session of only low register work sometime afterward during the day. Or, you can practice both ranges at once by using etudes and exercises covering the complete range of the horn. I like doing glissandi exercises over the entire range, which can be done by players of every level. Or, try Kopprasch in a high transposition and then in a low transposition. Or, any Verne Reynolds etude as written...the possibilities are endless!

You must practice up there if you want to improve the high register, but by also practicing your low register it will allow your sound to open up so it doesn't sound pinched, and so you can play with a characteristic, beautiful sound over the entire range of the instrument. That sound is based on the horn's middle and low register.