The Horn contains approximately twice as much tubing as the trumpet. The mouthpiece of the trumpet is cupped with a sharp edge or bite, the French horn mouthpiece is conical or funnel shaped. The modern horn is a flexible instrument. It blends well with other instruments of the orchestra and is a regular member of both the woodwind and brass quintets. Because of the length of the horn's tubing the upper notes for the horn player are very close to each other in the harmonic series and need a well trained embouchure, and ear.
Most hornists prefer the double horn, which provides the best features of both single horns.
The double horn in F and Bb has two sets of valve shanks and a thumb valve to change from one set to the other. The valves are usually rotary rather than piston. When the thumb valve is depressed on the double horn approximately four feet of tubing is eliminated and the harmonic series is raised a perfect 4th from F to Bb.