That doesn't solve the problem of horns that aren't in Bb or F. There are:
A horns Eb horns F horns Bb horns E horns (Schmid) F# horns (Schmid) B horns (Schmid) G horns etc. One could write G12 or F#12, but the G could be misread if the writing is poor and the octothorpe (#) could be misread, too. One could propose a system where Greek letters are different horns (alpha is F, beta is Bb) but why Greek? Why not Egyptian Hieroglyphs or Babylonic Cuneiform? One could also propose to just learn the fingerings for ALL horns (yes, wipe the dust off of Kopprasch and practice it in different keys) and know what partial you're supposed to be on, but some composers like SPECIFIC keys. Then again, why would Esa-Pekka Salonen write the Concert Etude the way he did and not write "F/Bb Double Horn" instead of "Horn in F" (The last time I saw it I think it was written that way, and I'm not fond of playing it, so I never did.) There are descant horns in F/Eb you know... If we really REALLY want to get specific why don't composers write "Kruspe Wrap F/Bb Double standing in F, preferably made in the 1930s with a low copper content and little, if any, red rot. NO AMADO WATER KEYS." I suppose it's just too much to worry about, and anyone with any resourcefulness can either (a) figure out the fingerings anyway if they aren't written down, and (b) figure out what they meant. I mean, really, there's only really 4 valves to worry about here... or 3... or 5... or 6... or 7... or even 8 on the bi-valve McCrackens. Also, what about the thumb? The thumb could be actuating a change valve, an F extension, a stopping valve, twiddling, or festering an itch you've been dying to scratch since it decided to present itself conveniently at the start of your Brahms 2 first movement solo, etc. At least we don't have 88 + 3 buttons like pianists, or perhaps 500 like Organists. Can you imagine their 'button fingerings' written down? "Left Foot, Heel to Left Foot Toe, leather shoes only, tie your shoelaces" "Left Side, Row 17, Column 6, Stop marked 16', Left Index Finger. Gentle Pressure. Stop when you hear a click." Eventually, I'm sure one could figure it out. I mean, really, we don't have to get that specific do we? Whatever happened to just 'making music'? Meanwhile, -----Original Message----- From: Steven Mumford <[email protected]> To: horn <[email protected]> Sent: Tue, Jun 7, 2011 1:29 pm Subject: Re: [Hornlist] Interesting IHS Forum post Louis Stout got tired of writing all those Ts so he had his own convention. Bb horn fingerings were written above the line of music, F horn fingerings below. String your thumb valve as you wish! I had just a couple of young students over the years who only had a single Bb horn. The thing I found with them was that all the beginner books had F horn fingerings written into the music. I had to cross them out, really obliterate them, because otherwise they would play that fingering no matter how many times I explained it! - Steve Mumford _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/valkhorn%40aol.com _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
