Thank you to everyone who participated in this. My concern is not with experienced hornists, who I am sure will not buy such a horn by mistake, but it is for the well-meaning but ignorant parent or grand-parent, aunt, uncle, or neighbor who might waste their money buying such an instrument for a child, only to discover that it is of no use in today's school band or orchestra. Unless some one else beats me to it, that is why I send this informative note to EBAY sellers who don't know the difference: "This is not a French horn. It is a mellophone, a type of alto horn made to resemble a French horn. They were commonly used in bands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are no longer used and are considered obsolete. You can tell the difference by the mouthpiece. If it is larger than a French horn mouthpiece, it is a mellophone. Piston valves, which your horn has, are usual with mellophones, and rare with French horns, which usually have rotary valves. The horizontal orientation of the second valve slide is common in mellophones, and is almost never seen in a French horns. Also horns are usually played with the left hand, and mellophones with the right."
Almost always I receive a note of appreciatuon in return; and usually the listing is modified. Only twice have I received maledictions. It may not be entirely correct, and I welcome suggestions for improvements to my message. I intend to post this as a users guide on EBAY, along with my guide on how to pack a horn for shippimg. I have a Cavalier mello made by Conn which was given to me by a viola player on which I once played a solo arrangement, with band, of an opertatic aria from the 19th century as a demonstration in a concerrt celebrating a centennial of music in a small town in north-eastern Washington. The reasons why the horn has supplanted the mello became obvious. It is possible to play them in tune, but not always easily, and the tone quality, is of course, coarse. Carl Bangs Fenwick Parva Press http://www.fenwickparva.com </DIV -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [SPAM] [horn] Re: J W York&Sons Silver Plated French Horn on EBAY From: "Dana T" <[email protected]> Date: Sat, August 14, 2010 6:51 am To: [email protected] Carl, I know you mean to be helpful, and I certainly am not going to discourage you from contacting sellers to help correct their information-I myself do it from time to time. The reality is that there are so many of these mellophones out there that have been listed as "French Horns" that to attempt to get every seller to correct their listing would take more time than most of us have available. I see these in other auction listings every day (not just Ebay), right along with incorrect listings for everything else under the sun. Someone the other day listed a 3-valve post horn in the musical antiques section as a rare, civil war rotary valve cornet. You could even see in the pictures where the leather wrapping had been removed. Further, it had modern (clearly 20th century) mechanical linkage on the valves. The seller thanked me for my information but continued the listing without correction and without putting the Q&A in the listing. Some sellers/auctioneers/dealers appreciate the correction, some don't want to be bothered, some even seem to feel threatened when approached. I've come to the conclusion that I have better things to do with my time. If I see a listing that is grossly misrepresenting something (like an extremely rare stradivarious hand horn from 1865) I might say something, otherwise I figure that those who need to know the correct information, such as collectors and players, already do. As with everything on Ebay-buyer beware. Frankly, I NEVER take the seller's word for anything they are selling. If I don't know what it is, and I'm not willing to risk that I may be buying a white elephant, then I don't buy. Period. Dana Twiss __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (3) Recent Activity: New Members 3 Visit Your Group MARKETPLACE Hobbies & Activities Zone: Find others who share your passions! Explore new interests. Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now. Get great advice about dogs and cats. Visit the Dog & Cat Answers Center. Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use . __,_._,___ _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
