horn notes
The French horn reads notes on the treble clef. You have probably played the trumpet or flute before this, and know the treble clef notes quite well. If so, you should find it easy to learn the French horn fingerings. If you have not played trumpet before, you will just have a bit more memorizing to do, but it should not be a problem for you as a horn player.
First of all, let's get a reminder of the note names in the treble clef. The notes on the lines can be memorized by
saying the sentence, "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" as shown below:
To memorize the notes in the spaces, simply remember that "Spaces spell FACE."
You can tell that the notes within the staff are quite easy to memorize, but you also need to learn the notes above and below the staff. You should start with the ones below the staff, because your music will ask for those notes sooner than it will ask you to play high notes above the staff. There is no trick to memorizing these other than to remember all notes are in alphabetical order, from A to G, then starting over with A again.
Now let's look at fingerings. First of all, you need to know if you have a single horn or a double horn. Is there a little hook for your left hand thumb to grip, as in the photo on the left below? If so, you have a single ("F") horn. Is there no hook but instead an additional key for your thumb to depress, like the photo on the right? You have a double horn (an "F" side and a "Bb" side).
Let's start with the notes for the F horn, as many new players will start off with a single F horn. If you play trumpet, it is pretty easy to memorize the F horn fingerings: simply look at the note, and finger it like you would on a trumpet if that note was one octave higher. Here are some examples:
F fingering vs. Bb fingering
As we mentioned before, if you have a double horn it has an F side and a Bb side. This can be confusing if you let it! However, according to renowned horn player and professor J.D. Shaw, "We always consider ourselves playing the horn in F. Putting the B flat thumb key down is just another way of fingering the F horn." The fingering chart below reflects professor Shaw's choice for fingerings. Therefore, if you have a double horn and a T is listed, you should depress the thumb key (also called the "trigger" key) to play those notes. The other notes are listed for you in case you are playing a single horn, which again, many horn players use when they are beginning.
As we mentioned before, if you have a double horn it has an F side and a Bb side. This can be confusing if you let it! However, according to renowned horn player and professor J.D. Shaw, "We always consider ourselves playing the horn in F. Putting the B flat thumb key down is just another way of fingering the F horn." The fingering chart below reflects professor Shaw's choice for fingerings. Therefore, if you have a double horn and a T is listed, you should depress the thumb key (also called the "trigger" key) to play those notes. The other notes are listed for you in case you are playing a single horn, which again, many horn players use when they are beginning.
Can you play notes lower than G# with thumb key depressed? Yes. Can you play notes higher than G# without the thumb key? Yes. However, following professor Shaw's expertise and advise, I have only listed the thumb key notes where he recommends you use them. If you have a double horn, use the thumb key whenever indicated in the chart above. However, if you do not have a double horn, you should simply use the fingerings listed first. If you remember, these are simply the trumpet fingerings for notes one octave higher.