Tip: Centering the D

  The fourth line D in treble clef can be a pesky note on the horn, especially when you're playing something for Horn in Eb. Is there a way to work out this tricky note, because there are quite a few major pieces in Eb? Just take a look at most of the Mozart horn concertos, a lot of the Beethoven symphonies, and countless other excerpts. Luckily for us horn players, there's is one little trick that can really save us in these times...

What's the Problem
  The reason our fourth line D in the treble clef is a problem note is because it's the leading tone in a Eb major scale. This means that is needs to by brought down a little lower than usually so that there's more space between the D and Eb, which will make it sound less dissonant melodically and harmonically. The problem with this is that the D on our horns is already going to be sharp because of the T12 combination.
  After adding these two issues together you get one heck of a problem. You could try use the hand lower the pitch, or even attempt the lip pitch down, but both these will distort your sound because of how much lower the pitch needs to be. On that same note, it might be nearly impossible to correct this pitch with the hand or lips when it's in a faster melodic passage.


One Possible Solution
  One option that some of you might be thinking of is using T3 instead, because this shouldn't be as sharp as T12. And while maybe it is true that  T3 won't be nearly as sharp as T12, it actually usually turns out to be too flat. Why's this?
  In our normal days of playing we don't think about using the 3rd rotor alone, and instead we pull it out a little further to compensate for 23, 13, and 123 combinations. Since this slide is pulled our farther for these it would just make sense that it would then be too flat to use by itself.


"The" Solution
  Luckily, Jon Boen taught a few of us in his studio a little trick for getting those D's in tune. It turns out that on the Eb horn overtone series, (F horn with 1st finger down) if you go to the fourth line D, and play in the center it'll be exactly where you need your D for the key of Eb major.
  A few of you smart cookies out there are already starting to see these through this trick and are saying, "Wouldn't be a huge hassle to use this one note on the F horn, and won't it make the accuracy suffer?" Good thing that we still have that T3 fingering for D from earlier!
  Since you now have a D that's in tune, and you have a combination that only requires one rotor, you can now tune your 3rd slide on your Bb side until the D on your Eb horn and T3 match perfectly. This will take the guess work out of where the slide should be and will leave you with Mozart concertos that will sound much prettier.


Related Posts
Getting Chords in Tune
Centering the High Bb
Centering the High G
Using the Right Hand
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