Editing French horn (section)

==Related horns==
{{Main|Horn (instrument)}}
The variety in horn history necessitates consideration of the natural horn, Vienna horn, mellophone, marching horn, and Wagner tuba.

===Natural horn===
[[File:Natural Horn (instrument).JPG|left|thumb|A natural horn has no valves, but can be tuned to a different key by inserting different tubing, as during a rest period.]]
{{Main|Natural horn}}
The [[natural horn]] is the ancestor of the modern horn. It is essentially descended from hunting horns, with its pitch controlled by air speed, aperture (opening of the lips through which air passes) and the use of the right hand moving around, as well as in and out of the bell. Although a few recent composers have written specifically for the natural horn (e.g., [[György Ligeti]]'s ''[[Hamburg Concerto]]'' and sections of [[Paul Dukas]]' ''[[Villanelle]] for Horn and Piano''), today it is played primarily as a [[Historically informed performance|period instrument]]. The natural horn can only play from a single [[Harmonic series (music)|harmonic series]] at a time because there is only one length of tubing available to the horn player. A proficient player can indeed alter the pitch by partially or fully [[Hand-stopping|muting the bell with the right hand]], thus enabling the player to reach some notes that are not part of the instrument's natural harmonic series – of course this technique also affects the quality of the tone. The player has a choice of key by using crooks to change the length of tubing.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Musical instruments of the world|last=Diagram Group.|date=1976|publisher=Published for Unicef by Facts On File|isbn=0871963205|pages=68|oclc=223164947}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=June 2019}}<!--It seems unlikely that a book of this nature would mention everything in this paragraph (especially Ligeti's use of the instrument).-->

===Vienna horn===
[[File:Viennese horn.jpg|thumb|Vienna horn]]
{{Main|Vienna horn}}
The [[Vienna horn]] is a special horn used primarily in [[Vienna]], [[Austria]]. Instead of using [[rotary valve]]s or [[piston valve]]s, it uses the pumpenvalve (or Vienna valve), which is a double-piston operating inside the valve slides, and usually situated on the opposite side of the corpus from the player's left hand, and operated by a long pushrod. Unlike the modern horn, which has grown considerably larger internally (for a bigger, broader, and louder tone), and considerably heavier (with the addition of valves and tubing in the case of the double horn) the Vienna horn very closely mimics the size and weight of the natural horn, (although the valves do add some weight, they are lighter than rotary valves) even using crooks in the front of the horn, between the mouthpiece and the instrument. Although instead of the full range of keys, Vienna horn players usually use an F crook and it is looked down upon to use others, though switching to an A or B{{music|flat}} crook for higher pitched music does happen on occasion. Vienna horns are often used with funnel shaped mouthpieces similar to those used on the natural horn, with very little (if any) backbore and a very thin rim. The Viennese horn requires very specialized technique and can be quite challenging to play, even for accomplished players of modern horns. The Vienna horn has a warmer, softer sound than the modern horn. Its pumpenvalves facilitate a continuous transition between notes ([[glissando]]); conversely, a more precise operating of the valves is required to avoid notes that sound out of tune.

===Mellophone===
{{Main|Mellophone}}
Two instruments are called a ''mellophone''. The first is an instrument shaped somewhat like a horn, in that it is formed in a circle and is often referred to as a "classic" or "concert" mellophone. It has piston valves and is played with the right hand on the valves. Most are pitched in the key of F, with facility to switch to E{{music|flat}}, either by changing crooks/leadpipes, or by a valve dedicated to this purpose. Older examples often included the ability to be played in the keys of D and/or C as well. Manufacturing of this instrument sharply decreased in the middle of the 20th century, and this mellophone (or mellophonium) rarely appears today.

The second instrument is used in modern brass bands and marching bands, and is more accurately called a "marching mellophone". A derivative of the F [[alto horn]], it is keyed in F. It is shaped like a flugelhorn, with piston valves played with the right hand and a forward-pointing bell. These horns are generally considered better [[marching instrument]]s than regular horns because their position is more stable on the mouth, they project better, and they weigh less. It is primarily used as the middle voice of [[drum and bugle corps (modern)|drum and bugle corps]]. Though they are usually played with a V-cup cornet-like mouthpiece, their range overlaps the common playing range of the horn. This mouthpiece switch makes the mellophone louder, less mellow, and more brassy and brilliant, making it more appropriate for marching bands. Often now with the use of converters, traditional conical horn mouthpieces are used to achieve the more mellow sound of a horn to make the marching band sound more like a concert band.

As they are pitched in F or G and their range overlaps that of the horn, mellophones can be used in place of the horn in brass and marching band settings. Mellophones are, however, sometimes unpopular with horn players because the mouthpiece change can be difficult and requires a different [[embouchure]]. Mouthpiece adapters are available so that a horn mouthpiece can fit into the mellophone lead pipe (some of them are designed to where the end is bent at a 45-degree angle so that they can use the same embouchure), but this does not compensate for the many differences that a horn player must adapt to. The "feel" of the mellophone can be foreign to a horn player. Another unfamiliar aspect of the mellophone is that it is designed to be played with the right hand instead of the left (though it can be played with the left). Intonation can also be an issue with the mellophone.{{Why|date=July 2016}}

While horn players may be asked to play the mellophone, it is unlikely that the instrument was ever intended as a substitute for the horn, mainly because of the fundamental differences described.<ref>{{cite web | title= The History of the Mellophone | url= http://www.alsmiddlebrasspages.com/mellophone/history.html | last= Monks | first= Greg | date= 2006-01-06 | publisher= Al's Mellophone Page | access-date= 2008-07-29 | archive-date= 2022-08-21 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220821074320/http://www.alsmiddlebrasspages.com/mellophone/history.html | url-status= dead }}</ref> As an instrument it compromises between the ability to sound like a horn, while being used like a trumpet or flugelhorn, a tradeoff that sacrifices acoustic properties for ergonomics.

===Marching horn===
The marching horn is quite similar to the mellophone in shape and appearance, but it is pitched in the key of B{{music|flat}}, the same as the B{{music|flat}} side of a double horn or [[valve trombone]] (which is also the same as a [[bass trumpet]], an octave below a normal trumpet). It is also available in F alto, one octave above the F side of a double horn (or the high F side of a triple horn). The marching horn is also played with a horn mouthpiece (unlike the mellophone, which needs an adapter to fit the horn mouthpiece). These instruments are primarily used in marching bands so that the sound comes from a forward-facing bell, as dissipation of the sound from the backward-facing bell becomes a concern in open-air environments. Many college marching bands and drum corps, however, use mellophones instead, which, with many marching bands, better balance the tone of the other brass instruments; additionally, mellophones require less special training of trumpeters, who considerably outnumber horn players.<ref>Mellophones, as indicated, use the same fingering as trumpets and are operated by the right hand.</ref> Some college marching bands use marching French horns when accompanying choirs as to not overpower their singing.

===Wagner tuba===
{{Main|Wagner tuba}}
The Wagner tuba is a rare brass instrument that is essentially a horn modified to have a larger bell throat and a vertical bell. Despite its name and its somewhat tuba-shaped appearance, it is generally not considered part of the [[tuba]] family, because the instrument's relatively narrow bore causes it to play more like a horn. Invented for [[Richard Wagner]] specifically for his work ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'', it has since been written for by various other composers, including [[Bruckner]], [[Stravinsky]] and [[Richard Strauss]]. It uses a horn mouthpiece and is available as a single tuba in B{{music|flat}} or F, or, more recently, as a double tuba similar to the double horn. It is usually played in a range similar to that of the [[euphonium]], but its possible range is the same as that of the horn, extending from low F{{music|sharp}}, below the bass clef staff to high C above the treble staff when read in F. The low pedal tones are substantially easier to play on the Wagner tuba than on the horn. Wagner viewed the regular horn as a woodwind rather than a brass instrument, evidenced by his placing of the horn parts in his orchestral scores in the woodwind group and not in their usual place above the trumpets in the brass section.