TRUMPETS

SIDE DRUM

FRENCH HORNS

TROMBONES

BASSOONS

CLARINETS

BASS DRUM

TUBA

OBOES

CONTRABASSOON

FLUTES

BASS CLARINET

PICCOLO

SECOND VIOLINS

VIOLAS

ENGLISH HORN

PIANO

HARP

FIRST VIOLINS

CELLOS

BASSES

• The French horn is a member of the brass instrument family . Orchestras typically feature four horns .

• Horn players control pitch by pressing valves , changing embouchure , and altering the shape of the right hand , which rests inside the bell of the horn .

• Despite appearances , the horn is the longest instrument of the brass family . Uncoiled , the brass tubing stretches to around 13 feet !

Rotary Valves

Bell

Bell Pipe

Mouthpiece

Valve Keys

HISTORY OF THE FRENCH HORN

Before 1500 Since prehistory , humans have fashioned animal horns , antlers , and shells into musical instruments . Some , such as the Jewish shofar , are still played today .

1500 – 1818 16th-century European hunting horns represent the first direct ancestor of the modern horn . Used in early opera , by the 18th century , horns were fully engrained members of the orchestra .

After 1818 The 1818 invention of valves gave greater flexibility for playing in different keys , and these new instruments eclipsed the natural horn by the end of the 19th century .