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Anyone think (Eb or F) alto horns produce better tone in concert bands than french horns??? Heard heated argument on this recently(with no winner)

No. To my ear I think Horns (French) sound better. I know you asked about 'concert bands', but the River City Brass Band that uses F. horns instead of altos or tenor horns always sounded better to me. Probably because the F. horn is more conical AND longer.

If played well, then definitely yes. I'm not a huge french horn fan.

Bob Kolada wrote:If played well, then definitely yes. I'm not a huge french horn fan.

True. A lot depends on the quality of the instruments and players. I've heard French horns played horribly and Eb tenorhorns played beautifully.

Your attitude toward French horns might be changed a bit by listening to "The London French Horn Sound" album (Cala label). They are awesome!!!

Comparing french horns and tenor horns (as we call them in the UK) is a bit like comparing apples and pears - very different instruments.

I love the varied and distinctive tone colour of the french horn, but a tenor horn played well can sound beautiful. It is nice to have both in a band, but if only one, then I would choose french horn for concert band or tenor horn for brass band

Right, it's like "what's better, bassoon or trombone?" The skill thing can cut the other way too - the alto horn can sound a lot better than it often does in the hands of a refugee from some other brass instrument who hasn't really caught on to what it's about.

Ditto to the apples vs. oranges comments.

normrowe wrote:Your attitude toward French horns might be changed a bit by listening to "The London French Horn Sound" album (Cala label). They are awesome!!!

Probably not. I found the English trombone choir almost insultingly unmusical and most of the french horn groups I hear or see on the internet are boring.


-5 on the apples oranges thing. They may be different physically but they're both small bore instruments that play the alto role in "their" groups (I don't agree with french horns in orchestra only and tenor horns in brass band only either). Frankly I'm not really a fan of either and for brass quintet, at least, prefer alto trombone, alto/bass trumpet, or alto sax. Shudder!!!

Bob Kolada wrote:

normrowe wrote:Your attitude toward French horns might be changed a bit by listening to "The London French Horn Sound" album (Cala label). They are awesome!!!

Probably not. I found the English trombone choir almost insultingly unmusical and most of the french horn groups I hear or see on the internet are boring.

The French horn album is WAY better than the trombone one!

normrowe wrote:

Bob Kolada wrote:

normrowe wrote:Your attitude toward French horns might be changed a bit by listening to "The London French Horn Sound" album (Cala label). They are awesome!!!

Probably not. I found the English trombone choir almost insultingly unmusical and most of the french horn groups I hear or see on the internet are boring.

The French horn album is WAY better than the trombone one!

Have you heard the Vienna Horns albums? They make the London Horn Sound seem like a bunch of amateurs...
Impeccable playing from well above the staff to far below, exciting arrangements, and: everything is played on single Vienna F-horns (apart from the percussion parts )

To answer the original question: for concert band I prefer french horn, but then I'm a french horn player. A good french horn section can give an accoustical effect similar to pressing the right pedal on a grand piano. Tenor(alto) horns don't do this as well. But then, mediocre or badly played french horns can completely break a performance, and it's relatively easy to play french horn real bad.

For most french horn players of course the alto horn is considered the instrument of the devil: a bastardized french horn designed for people who can't play. Where I used to live alto horns were nicknamed "Coffee Pots" because of the less than stellar sounds players produced on them. That they were traditionally manned by demoted flugelhorn or baritone players who couldn't cope anymore with the more demanding parts doesn't help.

But, since I heard Owen Farr play live when the Cory Band was in Belgium a few months ago I have a new favourite instrument. I left the concert rather quiet, not sure to be inspired to practice the $#!† out of my horn, or to just give up...
It is truly unbelievable how fantastic a tenor horn can sound in the hands of a true artist.

So what do you think of those corno di caccio or whatever those tiny horns the German Brass trumpeters play?

corbasse wrote: Have you heard the Vienna Horns albums? They make the London Horn Sound seem like a bunch of amateurs... <snip>

I agree. Here's a link:
Vienna Horns videos:

Bob Kolada wrote:So what do you think of those corno di caccio or whatever those tiny horns the German Brass trumpeters play?

They're a reasonable solution to a problem. They have their place in society. They're basically flugelhorns with their bell pointing the wrong way, and since I started my brass playing career on flugelhorn 30 years ago I really can't object to them.

But, unfortunately, I can't listen to them playing baroque music, which is what they do 99% of the time. I'm up to my neck in the historically informed performance practice movement, and listening to them playing that sort of music is somewhat akin to watching a movie full of fantastic German actors trying to speak French.

I understand their purpose, but I also like how they can act like high horns. 4 french horns? Ok whatever. 2 and 2 cornos? Now we're getting interesting!!
Are they in alto F or trumpet Bb?

Bob Kolada wrote:Are they in alto F or trumpet Bb?

They exist in several pitches, F as well, but most often in trumpet territory (Bb, C, D)
I prefer the sound of real horns when horns are needed, but they can become bit boorish if played on their own for too long. There are F alto and Bb alto french hons as well, but I'm not particularly fond of their sound.
As the Vienna Horns have demonstrated it's perfectly possible to play above the staff (concert pitch) on a 12' instrument and sound drop-dead gorgeous, so why should we chop bits off?