Trumpet/French horn doubling

PrematureLipFry101 · Regular Member Joined: 24 Mar 2003 Posts: 16

Please forgive my ignorance/naivete, but I was wondering why trumpet players rarely/never double on horn. Is the embouchure difference the primary reason?

Thanks

EBjazz · Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2003 9:39 pm Post subject:

It's not unheard of, but I've had nothing but trouble with students who want to double on horn.
Their horn playing is usually fine, but their trumpet playing often suffers.
I think the reason for this is that the horn is usually played "from above" forcing the student into an embochure that is often quite different from the trumpet embochure. Although I don't really get into the different classes and types of embochures, I think this is called the Farkas embochure. Since Farkas played horn this seems to make sense, although Batmann and Tossed Salad can flame me into oblivion if I'm wrong.

Eb
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Eric Bolvin
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tims9999 · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2003 7:04 pm Post subject:

I double as a horn and trumpet and I have only one major problem because of doing both: my high notes on trumpet suffer. I have to choose either low notes on horn or high notes on trumpet, and since I am more serious about horn, I chose the low notes. Right now I am trying to get it so I can have a pretty good range on BOTH instruments. I play horn on the more classical type of music, and trumpet strictly for jazz. I think I went off on a tangent - sorry.

The best reason I can come up with for not very many people doubling on the horn and trumpet is that they don't see a reason to. Trumpet and flugal horn can come in nicely together for jazz, different types of trumpets are usefull for orchestral work, but horn and trumpet usually don't mix. Hopefully what I have said is helpful, and hopefully I didn't sound stupid

Tim

yamo17 · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2003 7:14 pm Post subject:

Actually, I'm planning on doubling the horn for next year, since there will be one horn player in the band and orchestra. I had a little trouble the first few times I tried to buzz on the horn mouthpiece, but then it got a lot easier. I don't think my trumpet playing has gotten worse. Personally, I like being able to play such a mello sounding instrument as well as the trumpet, a little more variety in sounds.

Bryan
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Bryan
Capital Regiment '04 Mello
University of Michigan Marching Band Trumpet

trombapaul2 · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2003 7:18 pm Post subject:

I actively double on trumpet and horn, just not in the same sitting. I was
lucky when I started taking horn lessons. My teacher saw I was able to get
around on the horn just fine so he let me use my normal trumpet embouchure.
My trumpet playing has never suffered but I don't have much of a low register
on horn because of that. Generally speaking, the horn and trumpet mouthpieces
are just similar enough to cause problems and yes, the NORMAL horn embouchure
does not lend itself to doubling on trumpet. There is an up-side to being able to do
this. It's always gratifying to win an argument with the horn player in my quintet by
asking them to give me their horn and playing the passage better than they ever will
or ripping into one of the Strauss horn concertos. It ticks her off to no end.

Paul