Welcome to the year 2020, we're in a pandemic, half the world's on fire, and we're all still waiting for part 2 of Trent's French horn series.

The French horn. The only brass instrument that gets lumped together with the woodwinds.

By taking our hand and R U M M A G I N G up the back side of an instrument.

all about french horn - part 2 - Year 2056

Something that really helped me when I was learning brass instruments was putting every essence of my being into feeling a certain pitch. You then make your body produce that note through the instrument. This can also be achieved with just the mouthpiece, buzzing during your warm up. Horn players have to do this much more than any other brass instrument because of the harmonic series they are inflicted with. This can be helped with a mouthpiece that fits the player, and of course with how you hold your hand. That's not even really a requirement anymore, because of how well horns are made. But, in the end, all of the horn player's suffering is all worth is, because (in my opinion) horn is the best sounding musical instrument.

Okay, if you haven't listened to the intro with headphones you need to right now! It's sounds so good, and the sound travels from the left to the right and it's amazing!

Finally Trent! I've been waiting for you to do the French horn as it is my primary instrument

As a self-taught 69-year-old French Horn player, I’ve got to the point I can play scales and simple melodies after only three months, and have seen this great video at least three times, like many, skewing the view count. If you are waiting on me to catch up so I can intelligently understand Part 2, thank you for your enduring patience as I think I’m there.

As a horn player, I appreciate you doing this finally. It is a very misunderstood instrument and I think it's nice somebody that's not a horn player typically is doing this.

Watching this makes me think that the French horn must be the hardest of all the brass instruments to play, even Trent was struggling to play in tune. Love the sound of it.

6:04 I'm glad French Horn players can contribute to society. LOL

Ya know what else is French? A baguette like me

Watching this video to celebrate part 2's release, It only took three and a half years guys calm down!

I heard that the instrument isn't actually called a French horn and that that was a misunderstanding of an article wrote about some horn players that were French, yet people read that as the instrument being a "French horn" instead of the musicians, lol Nice to learn how the horn evolved over time to become what it is today and the tidbit on the Wagner tuba as well.

The way I was tought to play the proper pitches and to avoid playing the wrong note was to play the notes as if you were singing them. This sounds strange, but if you think about it when you are singing you arent concisely changing the pitch by thinking about how you move your body to produce the notes. It just comes naturally. if you apply this to your playing and trust in your instincts it helps, at least in my case. maybe it would be worth giving that a try. also another important thing is to practice recognizing the intervals of the notes when you play so that in a peice of music it is already in your mind what the note should sound like. based on the last note you played. Anyway im excited to see more videos on the french horn on your channel and i hope you get the repairs for your double horn funded.

I only ever faffed about briefly on a single French horn in my school orchestra, which would have been about 3 billion years ago. I was also learning the tenor horn at the time and would eventually switch just to the trombone. I found the (undoubtably cheap) French horn mouthpiece very sharp on my lips when compared with the flabby sofa of a trombone mouthpiece and that's what put me off the most. It wrecked my embouchure for weeks. I would imagine it's challenging to be someone that switches between French horn and either lower or higher brass regularly. More so than alternating between just lower and higher brass. This left me viewing the French horn as an intestines-style coil of medieval torture and the trombone as a sluice pump. Perhaps that is just an outsider's perspective though.

For a composer who never blew into a French horn, this is very valuable info. Thanks for sharing!

I live for the day you do a 1:1 discussion with some guy with a deep-Southern US accent. "Valves" "Vavs" etc.

"Sit down shut up and let's get on with it" I love this guy XD

2 mistakes: (1) the next harmonic isn't doubling the frequency of the previous one. (2) the French horn playing an octave higher doesn't mean that the harmonics are an octave higher, but that it uses higher rank harmonics (hence closer harmonics).

"so sit down and shut up and let's get on with it" 😂😂

yay finnaly you did the french horn!

You need to make sure you mention stopping the horn, as well double horns, of course, and TRIPLE HORNS, as well as a stopping valve (I play f horn)

my ears are very satisfied by your intro

When is part 2 coming?

I play the French horn :) good to know its history

As a double horn player, I am thankful for this video (although its a single horn) Because no one remembers french horn in the brass family. About time some light has shine apon the french horns

Thanks for this video. I think my old pitted student conn is the same model - I’m just getting back to playing and it’s refreshing to hear an accomplished brass player pretty much getting the same tone out of that horn that I do. I’m playing mine Easter morning with some hymns along with my fifth grader on his trumpet and my eighth grader on the pipe organ! A craigslist “frumpet” ad led me to a search that landed me on tour enjoyable videos. Cheers.

Could you make a part 2?

Just discovered your channel and I love it! Just the right amount of wit and sarcasm for me :)

"Rummaging up the backside of the instrument" - Ha haaa! I love your British choice of words. Accidentally discovered your videos tonite. Comments from an amateur horn player. Subscribing!

I like this video, makes learning about French horn an interesting subject.

I've been watching you for over a year and I don't understand why I haven't subscribed to you for such a long time. Great content, Trent. I wish I could help you with the fund raiser, but I'm tight on money myself.

Part 2? Please I play the French horn and want to know more

I used to play this in band I loved it so much and I completely forgot about how much I over it and actually lots about it this has gotten me to love it again and interest me again

This may be well out of your area of expertise but I was wondering if you had any experience with very old and no longer common instruments like the cornett (with two Ts) or the serpent? They're interesting instruments as they're part of the brass family but made of wood, and use finger holes like a recorder rather than valves or keys.

I knew these horns were different but not in what sense. Thanks for educating me!

In lots of french horn parts, you actually play on those lower harmonics and even lower, I understand that they are difficult to play though if you're not accustomed to playing low notes with a relatively small embouchure...

When I picked up the Horn it came natural to me (hahaha JOKES are great!). Even now I still fumble a little, but when I play I feel different vibrations and tension on my lips. Because of that I'm able to fine tune myself because I know how it feels no matter the octave. Like you said, you HAVE to be aware, even your hand position in the bell could screw up that gorgeous solo. So much to it and beautiful instrument. It's a very intense, but emotional instrument. It gets the message across in any form perfectly and it's great when you finally hit that G in Bass Clef or that horn stop you've worked hard to perfect!

I got one of the small ones ( 1:17 ) but in my country its called a "hunting horn" because they are used to signal the hunters when you have to begin, when you have to stop, what kind of animals have been shot and so on

YES, FINALLY!

The French Horn is my favourite instrument. I was introduced to it by my music teacher Lt. Col. Sam Rhodes, who had been Director of Music of the Scots Guards. He was a pretty mean brass player. Sadly my parents couldn't afford to buy me an instrument, and in those days it was the only way I would ever get to play one. I'm now nearly 70 and just have to listen.

It was quite fun switching from Tuba to Horn for my concert season in band. It was really a challenge, the only way you can get those notes right is to practice harmonic slurring. A lot. I had my first solo and it was awful.

Thanks for the information! I'll send my studio French Horn students this way!

When I saw this i clicked right away. I play French horn and all of my French horn friends call it the impossible instrument, my director included. I just realised he had a single horn not a double so it didn't have a trigger key.

Played French Horn in school, Flugelhorn in the Air Force. Two of my favorite instruments.

Fun fact, modern horn is more of a German Horn than the French Horn.

0:21 when you you get to band class and you walking around talking to you freinds then yhe bell rings and the teacher says...

Lovely video! Was coincidentally at a french horn recital this very evening where they "demonstrated" the natural horn with a homemade one made out of a long garden hose to play a part of one of Mozarts horn concertos. What looked like a normal garden hose fitting acted as a mouth piece holder for the french horn mouthpiece and a metal funnel as a bell, so that he could just use his finger to manipulate the pitch. It actually played in tune aswell, albeit sounded a bit thin. Anyway, great video as always!

I played the French Horn in my 8th grade advance band, its my favorite brass instrument. But now I play the bass guitar. F H will always be special to me!

1) Still waiting on Part II - Is it still on the schedule as of Sep 21, 2020? 2) Why does the French horn have so many alternative fingerings? 3) It is counter-intuitive to me why putting ones hand in the bell further would lower the frequency with a shorter wave path, can you explain why? 4) Would there be any utility in building a 2-stroke motorcycle expansion chamber based on musical horns and valves? 5) I live at an altitude of some 1700 meters. How should this affect the tuning? 6) I practice with a tuner. It seems like my horn goes sharp as I warm up. Is it me or the horn? Thanks!

Do a part two, please, Mr. Hamilton.

French horn pro tip- Don't press the mouthpiece so hard onto your lips. The horn makes a delicate sound thus you need to play gently. And when you press it up hard against your lips it takes more room in the mouthpiece. P.S. Super excited for more horn videos.

I play the double French horn, ive been playing French horn since 5th grade, I was the first person to learn my scales in my whole band class, and I was the first person to transition from a different instrument.

In high school band, I tried to be the guy that could play all the brass instruments. It turned out to be all except french horn, which I never got. I'm mainly a string player now, but 35 years after high school I got a renaissance cornetto and a solid 2 months of work and I could just barely play a badly-out-of-tune scale, and it took me back to trying to to learn French horn in the 80s. It all comes down to an incredible embouchure, I think. All other brass players just pretend to have good embouchure.

8:40 Slidey sounds are fantastic when they’re intentional - I’d love to hear some jazz with slidey French Horn 😎

Heck yeah I'll support that horn!

I love watching these videos even though I don't have an instrument.

Delighted to find out about the fist insertion in french horns Always good to hear a kiwi F too UK F = Eff NZ F = Eiuffh (is nicer accent than much of UK)

Like if you play french horn I play it too

Whoa there! "Not designed" to play the lower notes? As an orchestral French horn player I know first hand that we have to play those low notes and even lower all the time.

Wow, I learned more about the French horn in 11 minutes than I did in the entire school year I played this in 7th grade! I thought I just sucked at it, but turns out it is a difficult instrument to master (and also the one I used in school needed major repairs, a fact I was unaware of at the time) As I was coming from playing clarinet, I didn’t think anything about playing within the left hand, cuz that’s what I was used to anyway. If anything, that was the only thing that was easy to adjust to.

I’m actually a guitar player, not a brass player. However, I was given a French horn by a friend of mine, since I’m fascinated by its lack of usage in rock ‘n’ roll. Since a guitar player does all of the note fingering in the left hand, the position of the valves is not so unusual to me. If only I could produce musical tones that are affected by touching the valves. When I blow into the horn and work the valves, one isn’t affected by the other.

Thanks for this amazing lessons. I have one question: What are the pedal tones in Bb and F divisions on Double horn?

I love your videos!

Lets agree with the statement that the 2-valve soprano bugle is the 2-valve sopranino tuba.

love the vids

First instrument i learned to play... i feel special

Did you put anymore thought into what a good E-flat alto horn mouthpiece would be... thanks man. Love you content!

Trent, I’m learning how to play the trumpet, can you give me some tips plz

could you do a video of you reviewing "off" brand euphoniums like jinbao or schiller. im looking to buy one but i dont want something that has tuneing problems

I tried one and there's a whole lot of partials down in there. At a local semi-legit music place/pawn shop/place for "bandies" to hang out between gigs. I think the mouthpiece than handed me was from shortly after WWII. Maybe one of Dennis Brain's old ones. Good hornists, for that is what they are called, are in demand. You could do worse in life to learn it. But like any horn, you have to have a good "internal ear" because as I like to say, if you don't know just where you're going, you might end up somewhere else.

Ive spent near to three years on a French horn w/ a double horn though but I still have to figure out some little tweaks it is a interesting instrument I do say

If you look at horn players are always uptight because if they make one wrong move then everything hits the fan

3:26 area OMG THAT WAS AN EPIPHANY FOR ME THANKS TRENT

Why do you suppose Franz Strauss couldn't play his son's horn concerto?

I have a question. I purchased a baritone off eBay about 2 months ago. It is a 1910 Buescher with U.S.N on the bell (United States Navy) The only problem is it has a high pitch tuning slide. Is there any way I could somehow aquire a longer tuning slide without modifying the instrument?

I would like to mic a double fhorn, and line that into an amplifier with distortion.

I tried (as trumpet player) a double French Horn too and I like something sounding like in LOTR or so. But in reality the instrument was rather stuffy and singing a slow tune on it was possible but so it just didn't sound like I wanted. Yet a horn is expensive. I get by now the impression that the Conn 8D gives more that majestic open and dark sound.

Should I switch to French horn km on trumpet but I don’t know if I should switch

Whenever I hear your outro music, I wonder if it's a chorale on "How Dry I Am".

Great! I love your vids as I am a composer - and I only play Strings - so your site is an invaluable rescource on Brass instruments. I am wondering why you have not got round to Part 2 Yet??

@Trent - If the horn were redesigned from the ground up, ignoring the history, could the instrument be made far easier to play and still produce that lovely golden tone?

you really started late in the history of the Waldhorn. I like how you mention three of the Horn family: first the Posthorn you showed, then the Waldhorn, and then the Wagner tuba. might I also point out that the Horn was actually designed for both low and high registers, you just need more control in your face than bumbling around on trumpets and trombones gives you ;) (much love to fellow brassians)

As a trumpet player, french horns scare me, having only attempted to play one, once, lol. At least this video helped explain why I felt so bewildered trying to play it XD

You shouldn't discredit the lower harmonics, that range is really important for a lot of horn playing

I played the horn at one time and liked to call it "The Coil of Toil". Many years later I heard a trumpet instructor call the trumpet that. I said "not hardly as compared to the horn."

OI WHERE IS PART TWO

Are you going to be doing this for more brass instruments? Trumpet, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba etc.?

5:18 he has such a way of explaining things

lol when he said it's not designed to play low. tell that to stostakovich in his 5th symphony.

You actually can play those lower harmonics on horn, there are many many professional low horn players and all composers since Beethoven (and even before), ask for them regularly :) I loved the video besides that! Thanks for not dissing the natural horn haha

Are you going to make more of these? You labeled the video part one.

Hello trent, I have been playing trombone, trumpet and alto saxophone for about 2 and 1/2 years . I have recently picked up a French horn. However it has not been going so good, do you have any tips? It would help a lot!

Still waiting for part 2!

"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP NOW" -Trent Hamilton hehe hehe heh

This is the problem with being a student and watching your videos I can't donate money...

What is that wonderful giant Flugelhorn in Eb you are playing called?

I'm going from trombone to b horn so this video helps, now I know a bit more about what I'm getting into.

Nice my father has a similar model, also from lidl.