French Horn
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
The French Horn is an archaic brass instrument viewed as having one of the most classical orchestral sounds, revered for its ability to rouse majestic, harsh and triumphant emotions but also mellow, pure and romantic feelings. Discounting various unusual musical nasties mutants, hybrids and foreigners, the French Horn is widely accepted as being the most difficult instrument to play in the galaxy. Without going into too much physical details that non-brass players simply won't appreciate, the French Horn's difficulty stems from that regardless of hand position or valve combinations it is possible to achieve virtually any note on the detectable register, and this is why on dodgy film music such as 'The Cable Guy', or 'Jurassic Park', the Horn section sounds like muffled elephants being violated by curious toucans. Yes after that Im sure that 96% of you now realise what the French Horn sounds like. A good player might be able to achieve a degree of clarity, but most (including professionals) can't, and make up a load of mechanical nonsense about the Horn being "Oh so very complex" and "on a higher plane from ordinary brass". Their snotty nosed 'Oh so superior' attitudes annoy you and you think to yourself I'm glad you're crap. The various adjectives at the beginning of the entry are only obtainable by the real legends of the Horn playing world like Denis Brain, Steve Roberts and Pete Dyson, all of whom are true masters of their trade.
Anyone who has seen "Star Wars" or "Scream" or "Armageddon" or any other film with a varied orchestral score will notice the harsh, even evil sounds of muted, ripped or stopped French Horns. It is normally employed by skillful composers such as John Williams or James Horner during periods of high tension or suspense, but unfortunately great composer wannabes have turned this once rare and breathtaking effect and mutilated it into a musical cliche on the level of boy-band ballads.
As you might of deduced this instrument concerns me. It is a fantastic piece of hardware but I feel that poor players, lack of original material and inconsiderate raping of the effect of these otherwise beautiful instrument is making me anxious about its stature in the future. Certain instruments, including strings, trumpets and saxes are having a revival, but the French Horn is not. I hope it didn't die the death of the bassoon
Anyone who has seen "Star Wars" or "Scream" or "Armageddon" or any other film with a varied orchestral score will notice the harsh, even evil sounds of muted, ripped or stopped French Horns. It is normally employed by skillful composers such as John Williams or James Horner during periods of high tension or suspense, but unfortunately great composer wannabes have turned this once rare and breathtaking effect and mutilated it into a musical cliche on the level of boy-band ballads.
As you might of deduced this instrument concerns me. It is a fantastic piece of hardware but I feel that poor players, lack of original material and inconsiderate raping of the effect of these otherwise beautiful instrument is making me anxious about its stature in the future. Certain instruments, including strings, trumpets and saxes are having a revival, but the French Horn is not. I hope it didn't die the death of the bassoon
