FRENCH HORN
How Do I Tune My French Horn?
Follow these steps below before tuning.
- Make sure your instrument is in good working condition. All valves should be properly oiled, and your slides should have a small amount of grease and move easily when pulled out or pushed in.
- Have a reliable fingering chart for french horn. Click HERE for a fingering chart.
- Warm-up your instrument using the long-tone exercises provided below with a relaxed embouchure. Your instrument should be room temperature by the time you are done playing the long tone exercises. Focus on having steady tone throughout the exercise. Before you can be in tune, you need to be in tone!
Longtone Exercise
Tuning Notes
The notes below are the best tuning notes for french horn. Use a tuner or the tonal energy app to tune each note. Most bands will tune to Concert Bb or F, but tuning all the notes below will ensure your instrument is in tune with itself.
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How To Adjust French Horn Tuning Slides
When you tune your instrument, using the main tuning slide, you are either making the instrument longer to lower the pitch or shorter to raise the pitch. If you are out of tune, but unsure whether you are flat (too low) or sharp (too high), just adjust your tuning slide one way or the other. If your note sounds better, then you are going in the right direction, but if the the note gets worse, go the opposite direction.
Most schools will have double horns. Double horns have a F-side and a Bb side. The graphic above shows how to fully tune a french horn with itself. Many models of horns will have the Bb and F tuning slides in different places. A general rule is that the Bb slide (black in the picture below) leads to the trigger of the horn, and the F tuning slide (red in the picture below) is the other main tuning slide on the back. On professional models, there is also a tuning slide for the trigger. Below the table, you'll see a diagram of two french horns (Conn 6D and 8D). The first video above can be used to tune the main tuning slides and the third slide (root and 5th). The second video can be used to tune the first valve slide, and the third video can be used to tune the second valve slide.
Below are directions on how to adjust your instrument. Remember SOFI. Sharp Out, Flat In.
Most schools will have double horns. Double horns have a F-side and a Bb side. The graphic above shows how to fully tune a french horn with itself. Many models of horns will have the Bb and F tuning slides in different places. A general rule is that the Bb slide (black in the picture below) leads to the trigger of the horn, and the F tuning slide (red in the picture below) is the other main tuning slide on the back. On professional models, there is also a tuning slide for the trigger. Below the table, you'll see a diagram of two french horns (Conn 6D and 8D). The first video above can be used to tune the main tuning slides and the third slide (root and 5th). The second video can be used to tune the first valve slide, and the third video can be used to tune the second valve slide.
Below are directions on how to adjust your instrument. Remember SOFI. Sharp Out, Flat In.
If You Are Sharp |
If You Are Flat |
Pull the main tuning slide out slightly |
Push the tuning slide in slightly |
Pitch Bending
Pitch bending involves using just the embouchure to lower the pitch by a half step. Use the exercise below to practice pitch bending. Observe proper fingerings in the first measure before using just the embouchure to bend pitches in the second measure. Only bend the pitch in the next measure. This exercise will allow you to make micro-adjustments with the embouchure to adjust pitch for better intonation.
Factors That Affect Pitch
Pitch Tendencies and Remedies
We are now ready to learn the specific pitch tendencies and some solutions to fix these issues.
To continue on, click the "Pitch Tendencies and Remedies" button below.
To continue on, click the "Pitch Tendencies and Remedies" button below.