The French horn for kids: how it works and what to hear

The French horn is a brass instrument made of a long tube wound into a circle. If the tube were pulled straight, it would be more than twelve feet long. The player holds it at the side, presses valves with the left hand, and rests the right hand inside the wide bell. Its sound can be soft and round or loud and wild. Most players call it the horn.

Quick facts

• Family: brass
• Size: more than twelve feet of tube, coiled into a circle about a foot across
• Made of: brass
• Sound is made by: the player’s buzzing lips
• In an orchestra: four or more

How it makes sound

The player buzzes the lips into a small mouthpiece shaped like a funnel. The long tube turns the buzz into a note.

The horn plays high up in the range of its tube, where the notes sit close together. A small change in the lips lands on a different note. This is why the horn has a name for being hard to play, and why even fine players sometimes miss.

The left hand works three or four valves, which add lengths of tube.

The hand in the bell

The right hand sits inside the bell, cupped. It holds the horn steady, and it does more. By opening or closing the hand, the player can make the sound darker or brighter and nudge the note up or down.

The bell points backward, away from the audience. The sound bounces off the wall behind and reaches the listeners a little softened.

Where it came from

The horn began as a hunting horn. Riders blew it to signal each other across a forest. Composers brought it indoors in the 1600s and 1700s, and they still use it for hunting calls and outdoor scenes.

Early horns had no valves. Players changed the notes with their lips and with the hand in the bell. Valves were added in the 1800s.

The word “French” is used in English. The modern orchestra horn was developed in Germany.

Its job in the orchestra

The horns sit behind the woodwinds. They are the bridge between the woodwinds and the rest of the brass. They blend with either group. They fill the middle of the orchestra’s sound with long, warm notes, and they step forward for heroic tunes.

Pieces to hear

The wolf in Peter and the Wolf, by Prokofiev. Three horns play dark, growling chords. See the guide.

Horn Concerto No. 4, last movement, by Mozart. A bouncing hunting tune.

Finale from The Firebird, by Stravinsky. One horn plays the calm tune that ends the ballet. See the guide.

Symphony No. 5, second movement, by Tchaikovsky. A long, tender horn solo.

“Hornpipe” from Water Music, by Handel. Horns and trumpets call back and forth. See the guide.

Film scores lean on the horn for bold themes. Listen for it in the music of any space or adventure film.

Starting to play

Many players start the horn at about ten or eleven. Some begin on the trumpet and switch. A full-size horn is awkward for a small child, and smaller horns made for children are available.

A private teacher helps in the first year, because finding the right note is tricky. Bands and orchestras are glad to have horn players.

Things to do together

Be the wolf. Play the wolf’s music and prowl.

Hose horn. Coil a length of garden hose into a circle and tape it. Put a funnel in one end for a bell. Buzz into the other end.

Hunting call. Play the Mozart and gallop.

Find the hand. In a concert video, look for the players with one hand hidden in the bell.

Print and play

Tick the brass on the instrument families listening chart. For the rest of the family, read brass instruments for kids. For all four families, see instruments of the orchestra for kids.