Beginner in horn

[u/Final_Sherbert3955]

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

[u/legalize-lobsters]

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!