This is what I thought I knew about the French horn:
There can be either an E flat horn or an F horn, depending on the size of the one tube.
There are single and double horns. Double horns have a trigger for the thumb which you press when using B flat fingerings. If you don't use the trigger, you're using F fingerings.
Apparently there's more to know, or I have something wrong. When attending my first rehearsal of the Blasorchester, I got my instrument from Micha (whom I have to call to find the place, but that's besides the point) and was relieved to find it had a trigger. For you see, every horn I have ever played was a double. So the fingerings I am used to are in F until the A above middle C, at which time I utilize the trigger and play with B flat fingerings. Even the one time when I was 16 and in Germany staying with Florian, and I played his uncle's horn; the fingerings I was used to worked. But of course they didn't this time. I had prepared myself for the possibility of playing a single horn, by printing out french horn fingering charts that I found via google. I printed out two because I found two that were slightly different. Here they are:
Number one
Number two
Upon further inspection of the horn, I see that chart number two has the fingerings I need to use. I can only use the second set of fingerings, the trigger doesn't move back and forth between the sets like it would on chart number one with a horn I played in the states. At least now I know the fingerings, but it still frustrates and confuses the daylights out of me.
Aside from the weird horn thing, practice was good. I jumped right into the performance time of the year (the first one is tomorrow) so during rehearsal we pretty much just ran through things ones, occasionally stopping to fix something. Those are my favorite type of rehearsals. And it was someone's birthday, so as is the German custom, she had brought beer and sweets for everyone. There's one other woman who plays horn (Karen). I was too busy consentrating on figuring out the new fingerings to really pay attention to how well she plays. She's certianly not bad (though during the warmup the band as a whole as the intonation akin to a middle school band). During the first half of practice she played first, and I played second, then after Pause, she asked me to play first. So I'm not quite sure what part I've playing tomorrow. I guess I'll find out when I get there (if I can figure that out too).
After the concert tomorrow (it's at 10:00am) I'm going to Munich to see Uncle Glenn. It's Oktoberfest. You can't have an extended stay in Germany and not go to Oktoberfest. In honor of Oktoberfest, I had my first German Bratwurst the other day from one of the venders by the S-bahn station. It was everything you'd imagine it to be. I took Monday and Tuesday off of work and Glenn is coming back to Berlin with me on Tuesday.
Oh, and I'm sorry to hear about the US economy.
Apparently there's more to know, or I have something wrong. When attending my first rehearsal of the Blasorchester, I got my instrument from Micha (whom I have to call to find the place, but that's besides the point) and was relieved to find it had a trigger. For you see, every horn I have ever played was a double. So the fingerings I am used to are in F until the A above middle C, at which time I utilize the trigger and play with B flat fingerings. Even the one time when I was 16 and in Germany staying with Florian, and I played his uncle's horn; the fingerings I was used to worked. But of course they didn't this time. I had prepared myself for the possibility of playing a single horn, by printing out french horn fingering charts that I found via google. I printed out two because I found two that were slightly different. Here they are:
Number one
Number two
Upon further inspection of the horn, I see that chart number two has the fingerings I need to use. I can only use the second set of fingerings, the trigger doesn't move back and forth between the sets like it would on chart number one with a horn I played in the states. At least now I know the fingerings, but it still frustrates and confuses the daylights out of me.
Aside from the weird horn thing, practice was good. I jumped right into the performance time of the year (the first one is tomorrow) so during rehearsal we pretty much just ran through things ones, occasionally stopping to fix something. Those are my favorite type of rehearsals. And it was someone's birthday, so as is the German custom, she had brought beer and sweets for everyone. There's one other woman who plays horn (Karen). I was too busy consentrating on figuring out the new fingerings to really pay attention to how well she plays. She's certianly not bad (though during the warmup the band as a whole as the intonation akin to a middle school band). During the first half of practice she played first, and I played second, then after Pause, she asked me to play first. So I'm not quite sure what part I've playing tomorrow. I guess I'll find out when I get there (if I can figure that out too).
After the concert tomorrow (it's at 10:00am) I'm going to Munich to see Uncle Glenn. It's Oktoberfest. You can't have an extended stay in Germany and not go to Oktoberfest. In honor of Oktoberfest, I had my first German Bratwurst the other day from one of the venders by the S-bahn station. It was everything you'd imagine it to be. I took Monday and Tuesday off of work and Glenn is coming back to Berlin with me on Tuesday.
Oh, and I'm sorry to hear about the US economy.
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