OSU French Horn Studio

This will be the final post for my Web site. I would like to thank Lanette Compton, the OSU Music Department and all the members of the OSU French Horn Studio for making this site happen. If it weren’t for all of you, I would not have been able to put this site together. I thank each and every one of you for the dedication you show to advancing your skills as horn players and as musicians because it reflects very well on the talent and commitment OSU students have to supporting the fine arts.

Thank you again, and good luck to all the members of the OSU French Horn Studio.

Ryan Lipscomb kicked off his senior year with an excellent recital in October. The music education major chose a tough mixture of pieces to perform.
Read the rest of this entry »

Back when the French Horn started becoming a popular concert instrument, it did not have any valves. Most music was written in arpeggio form (that is, the notes of a chord played in succession) because certain notes of the chord could not be reached without valves. When a written note fell on a pitch that was not within the arpeggio, a horn player would have to “adjust” the pitch it could normally reach to the pitch that was written.
Read the rest of this entry »

Saturday, December 2 at 7:00 pm is the 2006 Horn Studio Christmas party. Each member needs to bring a treat and a present to play dirty santa (you pick a random gift or you can steal other gifts people already have).

In the past, the Christmas parties have been well attended, and this one should be just as fun. People have already signed up to bring peanut butter fudge and chips and dip. So get ahold of Lanette, and get in on the fun.

Funny or not, here are some French Horn jokes.
Read the rest of this entry »

The French Horn was not my first choice of instrument. I remember the first day of sixth grade in band class. We were selecting our instruments, and we got them on a first come first serve basis. I was certain I wanted the trumpet, but I was one of the last in line to get a school instrument. The director, Mr. Curtis, told me that I could try the French Horn because it played a lot like a trumpet and it had the same note fingerings, so I could switch later if I wanted. Turns out that wasn’t true.
Read the rest of this entry »

The horn is a beautiful instrument, and the sound cannot be compared. Even the style of the horn, with its intricate tubing, is attractive. But there is a side of the horn that can detract from its beauty if in the wrong hands, and that is the spit valve.
Read the rest of this entry »

The mellophone is basically a french horn appropriately shaped to function within a marching band. It points forward like a trumpet instead of backward like the french horn, and it’s sound is comparable to the horn. The mellophone is not known for its power or loud sound, and it is usually used as “filler” sound for most marching band songs.

This is true for most bands across the country; the mellophone section typically is not the confident section, and it was the same for the Cowboy Marching Band. Three years ago, however, the mellophone section of the CMB started to take a dramatic shift from a section that played well and in tune to a section that played loud and proud.
Read the rest of this entry »

There is opportunity to join the Horn Studio every semester, though new members are usually added to the music department and studio in the fall. If you are a junior or senior in high school, you should definitely contact Lanette Compton soon to set up a time to audition for the studio.

The Horn Choir is a group of members of the OSU Horn Studio that meet weekly to improve in ensemble playing and to rehearse pieces for mini-concerts during the school year.
Read the rest of this entry »