Horn in F

The is a brass instrument. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player (or less frequently, a hornist). The most common iteration of the Horn used in concert band and orchestral settings is the Full Double, which is pitched in F with a change valve to raise it to the key of B♭.
== Construction ==
The instrument is made up of approximately 4 meters of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The main tubing on an F horn is about 12–13 ft (3.7–4.0 m) long and that associated with the valves adds additional length to achieve up to about 17 ft (5.2 m) of tubing overall. 
====== Material ======
Horns are made out of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc. The most common variant is "yellow brass", which contains roughly 80% copper and 20% zinc). Some examples are made from "nickel-silver", which is an alloy of roughly 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Less common are gold brass and rose brass, which each contain 85-90% copper and 10-15% zinc. Every manufacturer uses a slightly different formula. The reason for the differences is a matter of timbre. The more copper in the alloy, the warmer and darker an instrument tends to sound. 
For aesthetic purposes, some horns are covered with a thin plastic coating called lacquer. Many hornists are averse to lacquer, as it does have a negative impact on tone quality, and as it peels over time, it is difficult to handle.
Discount instruments are often cut with tin to save on construction costs.
====== Components ======
The tubing is divided into three sections. The leadpipe, corpus and bell flare. The leadpipe is the first branch, which connects the mouthpiece to the rest of the instrument. Historically, these were much longer and interchangeable components called "crooks" which were used to adjust the fundamental pitch of the instrument. The corpus is the center of the instrument. This includes the tuning slides, valve clusters, and all the tubing they connect through. The bell flare is the final branch of the instrument. It is a separate piece that is soldered into the corpus. On many modern instruments, the bell itself is detachable.
====== Bore ======
The Horn, like the Euphonium and Tuba, is conical rather than cylindrical. This means the inner diameter, or bore size, gradually increases between the leadpipe and the bell flare. On trumpets, trombones, baritone horns and mellophones, the bore size is consistent throughout the entire corpus, only increasing in diameter at the bell.
====== Valves ======
Most modern Horns will have three to four main valves operated by the index through pinkie fingers, and one to three "change valves" operated by the thumb. The "first" valve (the rotor closest to the player) lowers the pitch by a whole-step (i.e., E-D). The second rotor lowers the pitch by a half-step (i.e., E-E♭). The third lowers the pitch a whole- plus and half-step (i.e., C-A). Some horns will have a fourth rotor to change the pitch two whole-steps plus one half-step (C-G). This is less common on instruments with change valves, and on many models often is operated by the thumb in lieu of a change valve.
Change valves redirect the airflow in the corpus to a separate series of tubing to enable playing in a different key. 
A single horn, usually pitched either in F, F-alto, B♭, B♭-alto, E♭ or E♭-alto, will have no change valves. Most student models are pitched in F and have only three valves. Professional models may have a fourth valve (often called an F-extension on a single Bb-alto horn) either operated by the thumb or pinkie, and possibly a stopping valve. A stopping valve raises the pitch a half-step. It is used to correct a pitch when a player stops the airflow by shoving his right hand or a stopping mute up the bell, as doing so lowers the pitch a half step. Some modern music calls for this as it has a very specific tone quality.
The standard orchestral double horn will have one change valve operated by the thumb to switch the horn either from F to B♭ or B♭ to F, depending on how the instrument is configured. 
Triple horns, a relatively new invention, are not yet standardized. Most have a third set of tubing pitched in either F alto or Eb alto.
Horns pitched in F-alto, B♭-alto, and/or E♭-alto are called descant horns. Single, double and triple descant models exist. On most triple horns, the third "side" (set of slides only operating when a change valve is activated) is usually a "descant". The purpose of these instruments is to alleviate the difficulty of Baroque and some Classical music which sits at the top of, and often above, the written range of the modern instrument and can be difficult to play for sustained periods on single F, B♭ or orchestral double horns.
The purpose for the different F, B♭ and E♭ "sides" of the double and triple instruments is to make hitting certain notes easier, particularly in the upper register.
There are several different types of valve systems in use. The German rotary system is the most common. A rotor, operated by a string mechanism or ball-bearings, rotates to open or close additional tubing, which lowers the pitch. The French piston and Viennese double-piston (or pumpenvalve) systems operate by vertically pushing one or two cylinders, redirecting the airflow from one set of tubing to another. Vienna Horns, or Pumpenhorns, are still used today in Vienna, though rotary horns are more common elsewhere in Austria. French-style horns, more commonly called Cors à Pistons, were common in both France and Great Britain until the 1970s, when German-style rotary horns started to become more ubiquitous.
== Performance ==
====== Posture ======
Modern instruments are performed standing or sitting upright. The horn is ideally positioned so that the first segment of the leadpipe is parallel to the ground, at least as much as possible, with the bell resting on the right knee, or held above it. A player's left hand operates the valves, while the right hand is positioned inside the bell flare to control intonation and adjust tone quality.
====== Embouchure ======
A player blows air through the center of his lips while keeping the corners tight to affect a buzz. The buzz creates vibrations that the horn translates into pitches.
Contemporary Horn players generally approach embouchure and mouthpiece placement in one of two ways. The more common of the two is ansetzen (De. Apply/attach), in which the performer places the mouthpiece outside the red of his lip. The alternative, einsetzen (De. Insert), is defined as when a player inserts the mouthpiece into the red of his lip. Traditionally, ansetzen is preferred by high players, and einsetzen is preferred by low players.
====== Air ======
Adjusting air speed and shape through the lips allows a hornist to traverse the instrument's overtone series, or "open notes". The written open notes on a horn are pedal C, low C, low G, middle C, E, G, B♭, C, D, E, F#, G, (out of tune) A, (out of tune) B, C. The use of valves allows for a horn to have a full chromatic range between its highest and lowest notes, along with better intonation. On classical- and Romantic-era natural horns (but not Baroque), the right hand would be used to bend the air to allow for some chromatic tones in lieu of valves.
== Scoring ==
In a concert band, the Horns will appear on the score toward the bottom, between the trumpets and trombones. In an orchestra, the Horns will appear in the middle, between the bassoons and the trumpets. A score will usually call for 2 or 4 horns, playing in pairs (1&2, 3&4), and occasionally as a section. The 1st and 3rd parts are typically high, and the 2nd and 4th are low. In many concert band pieces written for students, the horns and alto saxophones are almost always doubling each other, as the two instruments have similar ranges, and many bands have an abundance of saxophones, but no horns. In music intended for professional ensembles, this is far less common.
The orchestral double horn in F/B♭ is the horn most used by professional bands and orchestras. Classical music is often written in any number of different keys, as historical examples had interchangeable parts to allow for different overtones series. Most modern players will transpose for their instruments, but there are ensembles dedicated to historical performance that will use period-appropriate horns.
Modern horn parts are written in the key of F and in treble clef. When the part goes into lower ledger lines (below G) for extended periods, it is common for the music to switch to bass clef for that section.
== As portrayed in Sound! Euphonium ==
There are five students that play horn in Kitauji High School Concert Band including:
* Juri Sawada - 1st horn, horn section leader
* Hiro Kahashi - 2nd horn
* Michiyo Morimoto - 3rd horn/Horn section leader (Sound! Euphonium 3)
* Miru Kishibe - 4th horn/Horn section leader (Our Promise)
* Lala Hitomi
In Sound! Euphonium: The Movie - Our Promise: A Brand New Day, four new horn players join the ensemble:
*Aine Kohara
*Hibiki Tsuchiya
*Sumiko Fukamachi
*Sanae Yashiki
In Sound! Euphonium 3, two new horn players join the ensemble:
*Mino Miki
*Yuki Takekawa
In addition, Noboru Taki played the horn in elementary and middle school before switching to the trombone. 
Chihiro Taki, a wife of Noboru Taki, was also a horn player, and majored in horn in college. 
Shuuichi Tsukamoto also played horn prior to high school, where he switched to trombone.
== Trivia ==
*The proper name of the horn is simply the Horn, or Horn in F (or whatever key the piece calls for). French Horn is a misnomer for the instrument that is not recognized in the professional music world. Most modern instruments actually use a German design.
** There is some dispute as to where the misnomer "French Horn" originated. The prevailing theory is that the Horn was first used as an ensemble instrument in France. Originally the Horn, like the carved animal horns it replaced, was only used as a military signalling and hunting instrument. During the Renaissance, however, when street bands began to form, some horn players would join in. The traditions that led to modern horn performance and construction, however, originated in Austria and Bohemia.
*In Sound! Euphonium, the horn section notably seems to change significantly from being laid-back and lazy to hardworking and serious over the course of the first season; they tend to be used as a showcase of how the band is becoming more determined and serious. As a result, they are arguably among the more well-developed secondary characters.
*Horns seen in Sound! Euphonium are based on Yamaha YHR-567 Full Double model.
==Gallery==
Horn_player.png|Horn members in S1 and S2
S3 horn members.jpg|Horn members in S3
Horn and Trombone Section.jpg|Horn and trombone section
Miru Kishibe4.jpg
Hiro Kahashi5.jpg
Juri.jpg
Michiyo Morimoto1.jpg
Hiro Kahashi1.jpg
Lala Hitomi4.jpg
MnfzKAVA.jpg
Finale Oath 3.jpg
Horn 1.PNG
Horn Art.PNG|Hibike! Euphonium's horn art
== References ==
Category:Brass Instruments
Category:Musical Instruments
Category:High Brass
Category:Aerophones