Horn History: Pedagogues

I had to do a lot of research for my comps, and I thought everyone could benefit from my findings on a few of the most important pedagogues in the history of the horn.

Anton Joseph Hampel (1710-1771) was one of the first teachers to make landmark pedagogical strides in teaching the horn. He is credited with the development of the hand-stopping technique in the 1750s, though others had been experimenting with altering pitch through the use of the right hand since the early 1720s. In an era of natural horns, the ability to raise and lower the pitch increased the versatility of the instrument and made a new realm of tonal coloring available. This newfound ability to play diatonic and chromatic tones between the overtones made virtuosic solo horn performance possible. Unfortunately, Hampel taught within the context of a teacher-apprentice system, so he wrote no method books detailing his theories.

Louis-François Dauprat (1781-1868) also made a significant contribution to horn pedagogy. Dauprat was a teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, and in 1824, he published his Methode de Cor Alto et Cor Basse. This method remains one of the most detailed and comprehensive tutors on horn technique. The method has independent lessons for cor alto and cor basse appearing side-by-side (cor alto on the left page and cor basse on the right). He precedes preliminary exercises on the horn with detailed discussions of the role of the horn orchestrally, mechanical subjects, such as the use of crooks, music notation, embouchure and mouthpiece placement, breathing, and the alteration of pitches according hand horn technique. With the acceptance of the modern valve-horn, Dauprat’s method, which concerns primarily natural horn, has become a history book and is little used as a resource today. Nonetheless, the thorough and articulate treatment of a variety of subjects and developmental exercises concerning horn technique is something to be admired.

Joseph Émile Meifred (1791-1867) was a pupil of Dauprat at the Paris Conservatoire, and eventually became a colleague on the conservatoire staff. Meifred is most well-known for his contributions to the improvement, teaching, and performance of the valve horn. Given his strong advocacy of the valve horn, it is unsurprising that he gave the first known solo performance on the valve horn. He served as the first valve horn professor at the Paris Conservatoire, and during this time he produced the first comprehensive valve horn tutor, Méthode pour le cor chromatique ou à pistons. In this tutor Meifred advocates the use of the full range of the horn, rather than the restricted cor alto and cor basse distinctions which were prevalent at the time. He also developed a complex technique for combining hand-stopping practices with the use of the valves. Despite his strong advocacy, the valve horn class at the conservatoire was disbanded upon his retirement, and it was not reinstated until 1903. Meifred clearly saw the potential of the valve horn in both solo and orchestral contexts, looking towards the future while others continued to cling to the use of the natural horn.

A modern pedagogue, Philip Farkas (1914-1992) was a prominent orchestral horn player in the United States of America. Farkas was well known for his prominent positions in several major orchestras, including Cleveland, Boston, and the Chicago Symphony. His writings on both the horn and brass playing in general resulted in several books, including The Art of French Horn Playing, The Art of Brass Playing, and A Photographic Study of 40 Virtuoso Horn Players’ Embouchures. The Art of French Horn Playing is an excellent resource, and is a required text for almost every college horn student. Farkas discusses common problems encountered on this very difficult instrument, and he provides solutions to these problems from both his experiences and those of his teachers. Farkas succeeded in bringing the influences of symphonic orchestral horn playing to future students, and by doing so, helped to define the expectations of what being a modern symphonic horn player entailed.

Douglas Hill (1946), who is currently Professor of Horn at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is one of the leading pedagogues of our time. He has explored the many ways in which the horn can be used, and in doing so has pushed the boundaries that define what is possible on the horn. His book, Extended Techniques for the Horn: A Practical Handbook for Students, Performers and Composers, explores and teaches the many extended techniques possible on the horn. Some of the presented techniques are fairly known, such as the flutter-tongue, but other, more exotic techniques, such as half-valve and vocalization techniques, are also addressed in Hill’s book. One really fantastic feature of this book is that an accompanying audio CD provides examples of what each effect sounds like when performed correctly. Rather than being satisfied with the current limits, Hill has pushed the envelope of what the horn is capable of doing, and has opened a whole new series of possibilities for horn use in the future.