We hornplayers are most often drawn to the horn because of its glorious sound. Thus, begiinning with an F horn is most generally a good idea - especially since C thru G on the staff are among the earliest notes a beginner learns and they sound much better on the F horn. I admit to bias as, not having money for a double, I played a Carl Geyer Chicago F single for several decades before acquiring a double.
I played on F horn for 1 year before being allowed to use Bb. We had the shared horns with 4 students, and my favorite was a Yamaha single in Bb, light, responsive, just great!
There is another aspect of enjoyment. We keep trying to play such a difficult instrument because of beauty. The old school motivation was directed to the richer harmonic overtones of the f side. I recall being forced for 6 months as a kid to play a (hoyer) resting Bb double horn by a teacher who played an alex in an orchestra, whose view was you could not get a position playing F horn style. I despised the sound it made and almost quit horn. It was not until the school replaced those hoyers with 6Ds that i started to enjoy horn playing again.
That’s interesting to read. I think you must have been very musically mature to have valued beauty of sound over ease of playing! (Valuing the quality of sound is not something that I always manage to instill in my pupils.) I think that’s also the reason that many adults turn to trying historical instruments (hand horns/piston horns etc) and Vienna horns to find that overtone-rich quality of sound. 📯❤️
I started on the F side and only after playing for about 8 years started to introduce notes from the Bb side because I didn't want to get confused by different fingerings. Nowadays, I've been playing for 13 years and I'll interchange between both. If i have a solo or a prominant passage, during practice I'll experiment with both sides of the horn to find which fingering is easier, or if there's an alternate fingering to use. I can notice a much richer tone quality on the F side, so its definitely my preferred side up to C in the 3rd space. Beyond that, Bb is playing it safe.
Wow, 8 years is great going on just the F side. I remember being “allowed” to use the Bb side after about a year of learning, and was mightily relieved about how it made my higher notes easier!
Hey, thanks for watching my video! I think you might be making a common mistake. Yes all band music is in F BUT you can play that on either horn. Both the F and Bb horns read music is F. I know this sounds very strange to non-horn players. Check out my videos on “Bb single horn”and “Horn in F and the Harmonic Series” for a full explanation. 🙏📯👍🏻
Very much looking forward to your new video!
hope your new chapter，it's so helpful
We hornplayers are most often drawn to the horn because of its glorious sound. Thus, begiinning with an F horn is most generally a good idea - especially since C thru G on the staff are among the earliest notes a beginner learns and they sound much better on the F horn. I admit to bias as, not having money for a double, I played a Carl Geyer Chicago F single for several decades before acquiring a double.
I played on F horn for 1 year before being allowed to use Bb.
We had the shared horns with 4 students, and my favorite was a Yamaha single in Bb, light, responsive, just great!
There is another aspect of enjoyment. We keep trying to play such a difficult instrument because of beauty. The old school motivation was directed to the richer harmonic overtones of the f side.
I recall being forced for 6 months as a kid to play a (hoyer) resting Bb double horn by a teacher who played an alex in an orchestra, whose view was you could not get a position playing F horn style. I despised the sound it made and almost quit horn. It was not until the school replaced those hoyers with 6Ds that i started to enjoy horn playing again.
That’s interesting to read. I think you must have been very musically mature to have valued beauty of sound over ease of playing! (Valuing the quality of sound is not something that I always manage to instill in my pupils.) I think that’s also the reason that many adults turn to trying historical instruments (hand horns/piston horns etc) and Vienna horns to find that overtone-rich quality of sound. 📯❤️
I started on the F side and only after playing for about 8 years started to introduce notes from the Bb side because I didn't want to get confused by different fingerings. Nowadays, I've been playing for 13 years and I'll interchange between both. If i have a solo or a prominant passage, during practice I'll experiment with both sides of the horn to find which fingering is easier, or if there's an alternate fingering to use. I can notice a much richer tone quality on the F side, so its definitely my preferred side up to C in the 3rd space. Beyond that, Bb is playing it safe.
Wow, 8 years is great going on just the F side. I remember being “allowed” to use the Bb side after about a year of learning, and was mightily relieved about how it made my higher notes easier!
I think F is better cause all the band music uses F horn
Hey, thanks for watching my video! I think you might be making a common mistake. Yes all band music is in F BUT you can play that on either horn. Both the F and Bb horns read music is F. I know this sounds very strange to non-horn players. Check out my videos on “Bb single horn”and “Horn in F and the Harmonic Series” for a full explanation. 🙏📯👍🏻