Sunday, February 7, 2010

F - French Horn

French Horn: thing

I played trumpet for most of my Middle/High School years. In my senior year, I decided that I wanted to learn French Horn. I signed up for Concert Band and borrowed a Horn from the school.

French Horn is hard, what with the hand in the bell and the thumb key and the conical-bore mouthpiece. There's even a book about it called Devil to Play. There are almost as many French Horn jokes as there are Viola jokes. (ex. "Q: How do you make a ______ sound like a French Horn? A: stick your hand in the bell and play wrong notes.). I wasn't very good at it, but it was a lot of fun. The dumb substitute orchestra teacher (part of being a horn meant having to play in orchestra) openly ridiculed us once.

Halfway through the year, Torm asked if I could switch to Horn in Wind Ensemble. I thought about it for a little bit and then decided that I could bail on the trumpet section, because percentage-wise, the French Horn section was the coolest in band (Pound for Pound the trombones were coolest). French Horn morning sectionals usually involved breakfast. It also meant a much larger instrument cubby.

French horns sound really cool when played really loudly, or when they get to make the whooping noises.

I haven't played the horn since I graduated.

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