bHere are some basic horn exercises that I use a lot in my current teaching. These exercises can be used both as a warm-up and to solve specific technique or musical problems. Remember that there is no “magic bullet” exercise – make sure your brain and ears are engaged while doing all of these!
All the bass clef in these exercises is written in new notation. If you don’t know what that means, I’ve got a short summary of the differences between new and old notation over on this page.
This list is not final or complete. More things will be added as I write them out for students. If you have a specific exercise you’d like written out, or a problem in your playing that you want to address, feel free to contact me – I may be able to help you out! I also offer lessons both in-person and online, so if you are interested in one-on-one help, see my French Horn lessons page.
Everything on this page is provided for free. However, running this site costs both money and time. If you’ve found these things useful, please consider a small donation via my Paypal page.
French Horn Instruction/How-To:
These links will take you to in-depth articles about a specific aspect of playing the French horn. If you have any requests for specific topics or have questions about anything on these pages, don’t hesitate to contact me.
- French Horn Fingering Charts – Fingering charts for all horns – single, double, and triple horns, and the hidden danger of all fingering charts. Just added!
- French Horn Buzzing – Exercises and tips for mouthpiece buzzing and free buzzing!
- French Horn Long Tones – How to get the most out of long tone practice!
- French Horn Lip Slurs – Practice tips for both my basic and advanced lip slur exercises!
- French Horn Lip Trills – Practice tips for the (sometimes) mysterious and (initially) frustrating technique of lip trills.
French Horn Exercises:
Each link below will take you to my Google Drive page, where you can view, download, or print these PDF files.
Basic Horn Information
- F Horn Fingering Chart
- Bb Single Horn Fingering Chart
- Mellophone/F Alto Horn Fingering Chart
- F/Bb Double Horn Fingering Chart
- F/Bb Horn Harmonic Series
- Bb/F Alto Descant Horn Fingering Chart
- F/Bb/F Alto Triple Horn Fingering Chart
Warm-up Horn Exercises
- Long Tone Exercises
- Buzzing Exercises
- Basic Lip Slurs
- Advanced Lip Slurs
- Harmonic Series Studies (use with Harmonic Series sheet)
Scale & Arpeggio Sheets
- Major Scales – 1 octave
- Major Scales – 2 octave
- Natural Minor Scales – 1 octave
- Natural Minor Scales – 2 octave
- Harmonic Minor Scales – 1 octave
- Harmonic Minor Scales – 2 octave
- Melodic Minor Scales – 1 octave
- Melodic Minor Scales – 2 octave
Other Horn Exercises
Other Information:
- Transposition chart – see my Transposition page for more information
- Mouthpiece Comparison Chart – See the specs of hundreds of mouthpieces all in one place!
- Choosing a Mouthpiece – Changing or upgrading your mouthpiece can be overwhelming. This page can give you some tips on what’s important (and what isn’t) when you’re on the hunt for a new mouthpiece.
- Practice logs – Wondering why you should use a practice log? Here are a few reasons that practice logs can be one of the best practice upgrades you can make!
Everything on this page is provided for free. However, running this site costs both money and time. If you’ve found these things useful, please consider a small donation via my Paypal page.
Even More Horn Music!
If you’re looking for horn solo music for solo and ensemble or an audition, I’ve got a whole list of solo music for horn sorted by difficulty over on this page. I’ve also included many of the most common etude books used by horn players, from Kopprasch, to Gallay, to Verne Reynolds – there’s something for every level of player from beginning to college!