Why notes crack on French horn (and how to hit them)

Every horn player cracks notes sometimes. It isn't a sign you're doing something badly. Horn music sits high in the horn's family of notes, where they're close together, so a small miss can land on a neighbor. Hearing the note before you play it helps you choose the intended partial. This guide shows why notes crack and habits that help them land.

The examples are for an F horn, or the F side of a standard F/B♭ double horn (thumb lever up on most double horns). Notes are written as they appear in your horn part, and they sound a perfect 5th lower: the G on the 2nd line (written G4) sounds concert C4.

Why horn notes crack

When a note cracks, these are good things to check:

• Were you aiming at a neighbor? The buzz may have been set for the note above or below, then slid over.
• Did the tongue and air line up? The note may have started before the air was ready, or the air came first.
• Is something tense? A tight throat or a lot of mouthpiece pressure can make it harder for the lips to settle on a note.

Partials sit close together

Each fingering plays a family of notes, called partials. Low partials are far apart, and high ones crowd together. Much horn music sits where they crowd together. On F horn, these are all open:

Trumpet music mostly uses lower partials, where the notes on one fingering are farther apart. The B♭ side of a double horn helps for the same reason: the same written notes sit on lower partials there, a little farther apart. See when to use the thumb trigger.

Hear it before you play it

Listen to the target note before you play. You can hum it, play it on the piano tool, or listen to a drone. Hearing the pitch helps you choose the intended partial. Try it: listen, then pick which open notes you heard.

• Sing or hum it (optional). Singing or humming a passage before you play it is one way to hear it in your head. If singing doesn't work for you, listen instead.
• Use a reference. Play the note on the piano tool or the drone first, then match it. Use the concert pitch: written G on the 2nd line is the first C on the piano tool (C4), or C in the High register on the drone.
• Practice intervals. Knowing what a 3rd or 4th sounds like helps you land the next note. See recognizing intervals by ear.

Buzz the pitch on the mouthpiece

Mouthpiece buzzing is an optional exercise. The mouthpiece alone doesn't have the horn's long column of air to help center the note, so you can hear more clearly what pitch your lips are aiming at. Tap a note below, hum it, then buzz it on the mouthpiece. Then put the mouthpiece back in and play it.

Clean note starts

• Air and tongue together. The tongue lets the air go, like releasing a valve. Breathe in time and move straight from the breath into the note.
• "Too" or "doo." Tip of the tongue behind the top teeth. "Doo" gives a softer start for quiet entrances.
• Hear the note before you start. Listen to the pitch, set your embouchure, then start.

Lip slurs for accuracy

Slurring slowly through the open notes helps you learn how each one feels and sounds.

Common mistakes

Practice

• Every day: listen, hum or buzz, then play five notes.
• Slur through the open notes, slowly, with every fingering you know.
• Pick one hard entrance in your music. Listen to it, hum or buzz it, then play it five times in a row.

Then use Play the Note in Brass Trainer. The microphone tells you whether your pitch matches the note or a neighbor.