How to make your first sound on French horn

A French horn makes sound the same way every brass instrument does. Your lips vibrate as you blow into the mouthpiece, making a buzz, and the air inside the horn helps those vibrations settle into a note. Two things make horn different. Its notes sit close together, so it helps to hear the note in your head before you play it. And your right hand goes inside the bell, where it helps shape the sound and the pitch. Below, you'll go from your first breath to your first note.

The examples here are for an F horn, or the F side of a standard F/B♭ double horn. On most double horns, that's the side you play with the thumb lever up. Notes are written the way they appear in your horn part, in F, and they sound a perfect 5th lower: the G on the 2nd line (written G4) sounds concert C4, which is middle C. If you play a single B♭ horn, or your double horn is set up the other way round, ask your teacher which fingerings to use.

Step 1: Breathe

Take a comfortable, full breath through your mouth. Let your ribs and stomach area expand, and keep your neck and shoulders relaxed. A full breath should still feel easy, not tight.

• Breathe through your mouth with an open "oh," like a relaxed yawn.
• Stay relaxed. Your shoulders can move a little as you breathe in. Just don't tense them or lift them up toward your ears.
• Breathe and blow in one motion. Move smoothly from the breath into the note. A tense hold before the note can make the start late or bumpy.
• Feeling lightheaded? Stop, rest, and breathe normally before you try again.

Practice without the horn (optional): breathe in for 4 slow counts, then blow out for 8 with a steady "hoo," then rest. It's a way to practice moving from the breath into one long, even stream of air. Press Play to breathe along.

Step 2: Set your embouchure

Your embouchure (say "AHM-bah-shur") is the way you shape your lips and face to play. The horn mouthpiece is small. Many horn players start with the rim a little high on the lips: about two-thirds top lip and one-third bottom lip. That's a starting point, and your teacher may move it for your face.

• Say "mmm." Your top and bottom lips touch gently.
• Firm corners, relaxed middle. Don't smile; smiling stretches your lips thin.
• Teeth a little apart, chin flat and pointed down.
• Rest the rim, don't press. Use only enough pressure to keep air from leaking.

Step 3: Buzz on the mouthpiece

Take a comfortable breath and blow warm air through your lips into the mouthpiece. Your lips should flutter and make a buzz. Mouthpiece buzzing is one way to get ready. If the buzz isn't even yet, you can still try the horn in Step 6.

• Start with your tongue. Put the tip behind your top teeth and whisper "too." Don't pop the air out with your lips.
• Buzz a pitch. Hum a note, then try to buzz that same pitch. Matching a pitch you can hear is good practice for horn, where the notes sit close together.
• Buzz for 3 or 4 seconds, rest, and try again. Then try a slow siren: start low, slide up, and come back down.

Step 4: Hold the horn

• Left hand on the valve levers. Fingertips on the three levers, little finger in the hook. On a double horn, your thumb rests on the thumb lever.
• Sit tall, with the horn angled so the mouthpiece comes to your lips. Don't bend or twist to reach it.
• Bell on your leg or off it. Many beginners rest the bell rim on the right thigh. Taller players often hold it off the leg. Ask your teacher which to use.
• Bell faces behind you, away from your body, so the sound has room.

Step 5: Put your right hand in the bell

Your right hand is part of how the horn plays. It darkens the sound and changes the pitch a little. Here's a common starting position. Hands and bells come in different sizes, so your teacher may adjust it.

• Fingers together, slightly cupped, like you're about to scoop water.
• Slide it in, thumb on top. The backs of your fingers rest against the far side of the bell.
• Leave an opening. Your hand covers part of the bell, not all of it.

Step 6: Play your first note

Put the mouthpiece in with a gentle twist. Don't press any valves, and on a double horn leave the thumb lever up for the F side. Listen to the note first, take a full breath, start with "too," and keep the air going. Many beginners start on one of these:

Which note did you play?

Each fingering plays a whole family of notes, called partials. On horn they sit close together, so it's easy to land on a neighbor. With no valves down, these are all open on the F horn:

• Hear it before you play it. Listen to the target note first. You can hum it, play it on the piano tool, or listen to it on the drone. Hearing the pitch helps you choose the intended partial.
• Use the concert pitch on the piano and drone. Written G on the 2nd line sounds concert C4 (middle C): it's the first C on the piano tool, or C in the High register on the drone. Written C below the staff sounds concert F3: shift the piano down one octave and play F, or pick F in the Middle register on the drone.
• Landed on a different note? Stop, listen to the target again, and try once more. If you keep landing above it, check that your lips and corners aren't squeezing. If you keep landing below it, check that your corners are firm and the air keeps moving. Change one thing at a time.
• Check with a tuner. On the tuner, choose Horn / mello under "Show notes for." It then shows the written note, so the G on the 2nd line shows as G4. On Concert pitch, the same note shows as C4. See concert pitch.
• Let the microphone check your pitch. In Play the Note in Brass Trainer, the microphone tells you whether your pitch matches the note or a neighbor.

Common first-day problems

Your first week

Keep it short. Practice about 10 minutes a day, and rest as much as you play. Here's a sample week. Move on when the step before feels comfortable.

For your next step, see why notes crack on horn, and how to hit them.