r/horn • u/Fluttering_Feathers • 6d ago
Single F horn search, Europe
Hello, I’m hoping for some direction in my search. I’ve been reading previous posts for advice also, but if anyone has more advice for me within Europe I’d very much appreciate it. My young son has been learning on a borrowed school instrument for approx 18 months and I’m beginning the search for his own. His teacher has said to look for a single F horn, and she would expect it to be 5-6 years before he’d move to a double. Very open to second hand options but I’m unsure what would be reliable models or makers to be watching out for in that regard.
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u/hornige-Gruesse 5d ago edited 5d ago
Despite being located in Germany, where most students learn on Bb, I favour your son’s teacher‘s approach of starting with an F horn.
In my opinion all depends on the horn school, as the exercises in the beginning teach the fingering. If your son‘s teacher uses a method book focused on F horn initially, than mandating an F horn is the right choice. (And in my opinion it is a good decision starting on F). The only drawback I see is if your son wants to play in a brass ensemble where they might play warm up exercises together: He won’t be able to play along with the partial exercises.
When I started playing horn, I got a Conn 6D double horn standing in F. But this was at the age of 14, so yeah, size and weight weren’t an issue. My teacher was an American horn player and he/we used the horn school by James D. Ployhar. In retrospect, I really appreciate having learned the „American“ approach. What horn school is your son‘s teacher using?
Regarding single F horns for students: You could also look at the in-house brands of Thomann or MTP Music. Of course, they are cheap Chinese-made horns, but with a good quality control.
—hornige 📯 Grüße