On Thursday, October 7, 2004, at 11:59 AM, Steve Freides wrote:
A question: why is the fingering for concert D above middle C (written
as A
above middle C for horn in F if I've got this right) not given as open
(no
valves) in the fingering chart in my beginners horn book for B-flat
horn?
Hi, and welcome, even if you do think in concert pitch. In a nutshell,
there are lots of alternate fingerings all over the horn and you need
to know them. The concert D, written a' for horn in F, played on a Bb
horn is a fifth harmonic of the open Bb horn. This note is about 14
cents flat because of the acoustic laws in force. It will be
beautifully in tune with a concert Bb, f' played on the Bb horn but out
of tune with the piano, a consequence of our out-of-tune tuning of a
tempered scale. The pitch will be higher, closer to the piano if
played with valves 1-2 as that note is a sixth harmonic of the root,
concert G. What is extremely important for you is to learn the
harmonic series of overtones from a root or pedal tone of each
fingering on the horn. You will learn that an open dominant 7 chord is
lovely on four open horns, but quite raunchy if forced into equal
temperament. One of the great beauties of this beast of an instrument
is that you can control pitches with valve choices, with your right
hand in the bell, and with your lip, enabling you to bend notes into
tune with the instruments you are playing with. All the fifth and
tenth harmonics are flat. Sometimes they are the best way to go, and
sometimes they must be altered. Don't give up, though. Keep going and
you shall be rewarded with some interesting experiences and have fun on
the way! (Have you noticed yet, that the 1st line e', eb', and the d'
under first line are also flat on the F horn? That is because they are
fifth harmonics on the F horn.)
CORdially, Paul Mansur
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