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Re: French Horn Hand Stopping

To: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: French Horn Hand Stopping
From: Ian Phillipps <ian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 1997 17:56:02 +0000
Organization: Diplex Consultants Ltd.
Priority: low
References: <E0vxLaU-0003FI-00@fm3.facility.pipex.com>
Reply-to: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nigel Wears wrote:

> I know the player has to close off the bell, and I know that there is some
> transposition involved.
> 
> The question is - When a French Horn is hand stopped, does the player transpose
> up a semitone or down a semitone?  Can they do either?  Does each get a
> different sound?

This is a Frequently Debated question on the horn mailing list.

What you do is to transpose down a semitone (F side of the horn) or 3/4
of a tone (Bb side) - i.e. the stopped note would be sharp if not
corrected. Some horns, mine for example, are fitted with "stopping
valves" to allow a 3/4 tone drop.

The debate ensues from the observation that progressive stopping
*lowers* the pitch, and my favourite explanation is that in fact you're
playing on the next harmonic above what you think. I.e. play the G - 6th
harmonic - stop the note and you can get G#, but in fact it's now on the
5th harmonic, which was E before you stopped it.

The semitone-down stopping used by natural horn players involves much
less stoppage of the bell; really just a "shading" on some of the notes
(e.g. A played with 7th harmonic, or F played on 11th). It darkens the
tone slightly, except when played forte.

Ian

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References:
- French Horn Hand Stopping
  - From: Nigel Wears

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