French Horn Fingerings

[Anterux]

hello!

I need to see a fingering chart of a double french horn (F/Bb).

Thanks

[greatk82]

http://boerger.org/horn/finger.shtml

[ai698]

or here:

http://www.atkinsonhorns.com/fingerchart.pdf

[corbasse]

As a french horn player I prefer the Atkinson pdf chart. On the one hand, it clearly makes a difference between normal and alternate fingerings by placing the alternates between ( ), and on the other hand it doesn't assume your (double)horn stands in F when not using the thumb valve. (Which is normal for a lot of horns, but by no means all of them!)

[Anterux]

Thank you!

You are life savers.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

Although both of these charts are quite complete and accurate, they don't tell you the one thing you really need to know when playing the double horn:

All notes above Ab second space should be played on the Bb (trigger) side of the horn.

This is a good rule of thumb - nearly all serious horn players adhere to this rule, as the partials are much more stable and in tune with the trigger side in the high register.

Wow, the things you learn teaching high brass techniques as a grad ***...

[corbasse]

Although both of these charts are quite complete and accurate, they don't tell you the one thing you really need to know when playing the double horn:

All notes above Ab second space should be played on the Bb (trigger) side of the horn.

This is a good rule of thumb - nearly all serious horn players adhere to this rule, as the partials are much more stable and in tune with the trigger side in the high register.

First, not all double horns have the thumb valve set to swith to Bb when pressed, especially outside the U.S. It's best not to give instructions about pressing it above a certain note unless you now for certain which way the valve operates.

About swithing at an Ab in the staff: As a gross generalization, some,mostly American players do this. It's at its best a reasonable rule of thumb if you're a band instructor in the U.S.
In most of Europe it's complete nonsense.
There are, many, many, very many serious horn players who find this rule of thumb a load of B*&& S#!%

[MaryAnn]

You're right about the Ab-on-up-use-Bb-side being pretty strictly American. And not all Americans too; Phil Myers commonly goes way below that using the Bb side of the horn. (Info on Phil Myers from two sources: Louis Stout, who I believe was Phil's teacher at one point, and myself, watching the NYP on TV and seeing what fingering was being used for notes below the afore-mentioned Ab.)

I would like to add that you need to thoroughly know the fingerings for all notes on both sides of the horn....you need F fingerings for stopped notes higher in the staff, in order to have them in tune, and often you will find that fast passages work best ergonomically with intelligent use of cross-fingerings.

MA