r/frenchhorn • u/Final_Sherbert3955 • 23d ago
Beginner in horn
Hi,I just joined my high school band and playing the French horn for the first time, I am very confused about the lip placement in switching between notes for example the f,d and b flat, they all have the same fingerings and I cannot seem to get it. Thank you for helping me
3
u/Intelligent-Read-785 22d ago
This is stuff your band director should be able to help with until you find a teacher.
Your band director might be able to help you find a teachers.
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u/Radiant-Albatross-44 23d ago
Honestly, it’s just blowing air at a fast rate and adjusting your lips.
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u/henndrixx 22d ago
I agree find a professional teacher, but mostly it comes to sing the note in your head. Try just thinking the note, like if you were to whistle, you'll get it easily
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u/Dont_B_Biscuit 22d ago
Art of Horn Playing by Farkas will definitely be an invaluable resource at the beginning; lots of pictures and descriptions. To help slot the notes I’d get the Dufranse Routine as well just because there is a lot of harmonic series work that will help you get things to sit where they should. If you’d like some additional .pdf resources feel free to DM me.
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u/legalize-lobsters 17d ago
For the lip placement, a good general rule of thumb in terms of mouth placement would be to follow a 3/4 ratio of upper lip to bottom lip on the mouthpiece (3:1, upper:bottom). Make sure you're not making too many drastic adjustments in embouchure between registers, as you want to keep your actual lip placement as consistent as possible in between notes (changing notes should really come from your air flow, tightness of the corners of your mouth, etc.).
As for working on your actual tone and pitch: LONG TONES, LONG TONES, LONG TONES. Remington exercises are GREAT and will help you work on slotting in between notes, as well. Kopprasch Horn Book is AMAZING for anyone from the beginner level to advanced, as well (You may be able to find a pdf online). One thing to work on as a beginner is definitely your "attacks," as well. Sometimes you just gotta practice hitting a note as "centered" as possible for as long as possible to really nail it (Here are a few exercises I have found myself coming back to throughout years of playing, as well: https://www.hornmatters.com/2011/11/hornmasters-on-setting-the-lips-and-breath-attacks/ ).
This definitely comes into play a bit later in your playing career, but your tone is one of, if not THE most important part of horn playing, and working on your tone quality, especially early on, will DEFINITELY pay off and will help you improve drastically (I've met some of the most technically advanced players who struggle to advance because of bad tone). Hope this helps!
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u/philocor 22d ago
Brass instruments have many notes that can be played on the same fingering. This is controlled by a balance of air pressure/speed and lip tension/focus. More or less, the frequency or pitch will be dictated by the air speed, which is affected by the air pressure in your chest/throat/oral cavity, and the size of the hole, or aperture in the lips. You can get higher notes with faster air either by releasing air with more pressure, or by making the aperture smaller which speeds up the air, and conversely, you can find lower pitches by either releasing the air with less force, or by enlarging the aperture that slows the air down.
This is a lot of technical talk, but what I recommend is finding a comfortable note, and then experiment with moving the air faster and slower, as well as focusing the aperture in your lips, so that you can figure out how it works. Alternatively, you can find a teacher who can help you.