The French horn is interesting in many ways. One of these is the setup which orchestral, and more professional wind symphony, horns use. Which raises one big question?
This answer stems back Baroque and Classical French horn, when certain players either specialized in high or low playing. High players were known for their light sound, endurance, and accuracy in the upper register. Low players had a very warm tone, their agility with large intervals, and in the Classical period pristine right hand technique.
High and low horns were then paired together, like a duet, and usually it works out where the high horn plays a melody and the low horn is there to accompany them.
- Usually 1st horn plays the solos and most the melodies.
- 2nd horn accompanies the 1st horn and usually had some fast, larger jumps
- 3rd horn doubles the 1st horn part for the most part, except the solos
- 4th horn accompanies the 3rd but plays lower than the 2nd, and it's usually just longer low notes
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| Iraqi National Orchestral |
Nowadays we still use this same setup and have a similar philosophy. Except now every horn player is expected to have a solid, full range and be able to solo confidently. This may make it a bit harder when practicing since you have to truly cover all aspects of your playing, but when you look at pieces like Mahler's 5th, Strauss's Alpine Symphony, and Shostakovitch's 5th, it's amazing what the horn section is capable of doing.
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