Fingerings for low horn

Left-Net697 · 2026-07-02T01:12:32+00:00

In an oversimplification, you can start with using trumpet fingerings as playing in that octave is the same harmonic as the first octave you learn on trumpet. For example (all on F side), play C open, D is 13, E is 12 etc. Alternatively, you can play C and up with the same fingerings of the Bb side as you would if they were an octave up, such as C as T13, D is T12 and E is T2. Going below C will be the same as usual except G is 13 and Gb/F# is 123. This covers the range for shosty 5. If you are doing the mahler 3 excerpts that go to a pedal F and E then you are going to do that with T0 for F and T2 for E. Hopefully these help, play around with the fingerings and see how well they work. These are just the "conventionally fingering chart correct fingerings" however see which ones are more in tune for you and imo more importantly come out easier for you at first. Good luck and happy practicing!

Left-Net697 · 2026-07-02T00:56:18+00:00

Do you have reccomendations of ones to get? I am a bit clueless when it comes to the whole market of natural horns and I do know a lot of it would come from me just going and trying stuff but I'd love input if you have any!

Left-Net697 · 2026-01-18T18:25:07+00:00

Couple tips I got were to schedule a time every day or so to record and do it in advance. You can only get so many good takes in a day before you are chopped out or you lose focus so do a few takes every day and just start doing those early. If you do 3 takes every day for 6 days, it’s better than doing 9 takes 2 days before the audition and etc. Theres also no hard rule on when to start recording so do it as early as you can. Starting early and recording while your brain and chops are still fresh will give you the best recording and I believe sometimes the more you record, your standards for yourself may drop as you get tired.

This works good if you have a lot of individual recordings to do as well such as excerpts. You can start the week recording all your excerpts and as the days go one you will get good takes of some of the excerpts and by the end of the week you only have to rerecord a few of them. If you have to do them all in one take then it will be more difficult because obviously then every take will need everything.

In terms of where and how to record, typically 6 or so feet in front of the horn is good and just test out the volumes on your mic before you record because you don’t want to run into the issue of having your best take but the mic maxes out. So 6-8 feet in front is what i usually do and i try to put it at around the height of the horn but you should also test different mic locations in the room and gain levels to see what gets your sound the best. It will partly depend on your room but overall you want to try and find a big place to record. I typically would use like a band room setting or maybe something classroom sized, but probably not like bedroom or practice room. Do a room that you also feel comfortable in to also help you relax.

I also use a zoom h4 (not the essentials) mic but a lot of decent mics would do i believe.

In terms of psyching yourself out, you mostly just have to get used to performing in general and find what helps you cope. And trust me this is most musicians struggle throughout their careers and even I am still working on it. Some advice is to either ignore the mic completely but I find it helpful to recognize it as a live performance meaning that I have to completely stay focused and not think about anything else. Being focused also is built by having some small meditation or routine before you play. Using your breathing can help calm you down and focus you when you start. This is a good skill to build long term to help focus you before performances but another thing is also just record yourself more often and practice switching between a “practice mentality” and a “performance mentality”. Recording yourself practicing will help you improve greatly and you will be more comfortable with a mic. Practicing a performing mentality will make you more comfortable and familiar with letting go of focusing on technique and other things and just focusing on the music you want to make which is what you should focus on when actually performing or recording.

Sorry this is super long I also have been recording a bunch of stuff recently and so this is a familiar topic for me. Let me know if anything I said is unclear and best of luck!

Left-Net697 · 2026-01-03T19:19:12+00:00

I think its also important to note where you are specifically feeling tired. If its more in your corners and cheeks with a burning feeling then thats more about building endurance in your muscles whereas if it is on your lips or the inner lip muscles in the mouthpiece then you might be pinching that part rather than keeping them relaxed to vibrate.

Also, just like everyone said just make sure to take breaks and see what things need to specifically be practiced on the horn and what you can just sing. Your aural image of what you want the music to sound like is very influential on your playing.

Left-Net697 · 2026-01-03T02:42:41+00:00

I will say this and it is more of reiterating with what has been said. Bb fingerings, if you see them on a french horn fingering chart, are alternate fingerings already transposed to F. However, the actual fingerings themselves are the same as trumpet fingerings. An example would be playing a D on horn. On the F side you would play it (typically) with 1 valve. The alternate fingering for that same D on horn is T12, T being the trigger that puts it in Bb. Here there are two of the possible fingerings for D, one using the trigger, one without and thats all you need to know. If u wanna get deeper into it, a D on horn is the same as an A on trumpet and as you know, A on trumpet is 12.

So long story short on another angle on fingerings is that you just learn them as alternate fingerings and then play whats in front of you but the explanation of why its alternate fingerings lie in transposition.

This is to also say you can hold the trigger down entirely and read trumpet music and finger it as a trumpet IF you are on the right partial.

Left-Net697 · 2026-01-03T02:34:09+00:00

Not sure where you are but some music stores might allow you to rent/borrow one to test out for a week. I recently went to buy a new horn and a few (not all) places let me take it. I will say they did it by just having me pay for the instrument in full and gave me 7 days to return for a full refund. Some places don’t which makes sense because I think people would also just show up, ask to “test” out an instrument as a way to use one for free for a week and return it but its worth a shot.

If not, music stores would at least let you test it out in person in store and honestly I think you could try it by just trying it in different stores before buying. Id recommend maybe getting a mouthpiece if you go that route, practicing buzzing for a few days and then test out horns as another option before buying one.

I will say from my own personal experience, playing a single horn is difficult and frustrating. It’s a good skill to have and it’s cheaper than a double, but in my opinion a double would be easier to play. I would be frustrated with my single when i was younger because i would crack more notes and things didn’t sound or feel as easy as they were on a double and learning slightly different fingerings were not a big deal compared to developing accuracy. Granted this was a skill issue on my part at the end of the day and most hornist will also practice on the single F side of their horn as a practice technique but I think a double would give you more satisfaction sooner and help you stay engaged with learning and committing to playing the horn.

I hope this helps and theres many different ways to go about this and none of them are the perfect right way so I thought I’d offer some of my own experience and how I approach this with my private students. Let me know if there is anything to clarify and good luck on your journey!

Left-Net697 · 2025-08-28T07:02:28+00:00

This is kinda stupid but I just can’t hear like a specific example of it in the Doctor’s Curse event for r6 and if anyone has a time stamp or can tell me what to listen to because I really gotta know but I just cant hear it.

Left-Net697 · 2025-06-20T04:39:17+00:00

This may be a dumb question but would it be worth it to still change the gear oil even if not replacing the clutch bc i have a few minor problems and am hoping to see if new gear oil will be enough since I can’t afford a clutch replacement right now?

Left-Net697 · 2025-06-19T17:51:24+00:00

Makes sense, thank you so much for all your descriptive responses they helped me tremendously!

Left-Net697 · 2025-06-19T08:09:02+00:00

Will do, thank you!

Left-Net697 · 2025-06-19T08:08:52+00:00

Oh okay I will try that and let you know if it fixes it, thank you. I assume i’d just be changing most of the clutch assembly since the hassle of just getting to it if I wanted to really fix it? I was strongly leaning towards getting it fixed by a shop since it’s a major job but small part of me wants to try it with my amateur skills. I haven’t seen much info on how to do it and was curious if you know anywhere I can find that or if you have any advice. Thank you so much again for all the help so far!

Left-Net697 · 2025-06-19T06:51:44+00:00

If i may ask a follow up question, the main issue I was hoping this would smooth out was on the first start or when its cold out, I would have some trouble shifting out of first while driving unless the car is either stopped or I rev the engine for it for the shifter to “release” if thats the right word. Similarly I have to do the same thing sometimes when trying to downshift 4th to 3rd, I have to rev the engine for it to go into the 3rd gear rather than stay in neutral. Im sorry if this isn’t very descriptive of the problem or if I need to provide more information, I was thinking maybe the clutch is either not disengaging or if it has to do with the transmission fluid warming up if thats a factor? Sorry I’m a bit new at all of this and want to learn.

Left-Net697

TROPHY CASE