Skip to main content

Transposition

Transposition

The purpose of this post is not to completely teach you how or why we transpose, but rather a few ideas on how to work on transposition. The short of it is, we transpose because of our tradition coming from the natural horn where you could just change a crook and be in the right key. The how gets a little more complicated, but with proper guidance and lots of patience is easily achievable. Further reading can be found at: http://hornmatters.com/?s=transposition
I highly suggest that you find a teacher who knows what they are doing when you start learning transposition. It is a tricky matter that if learned incorrectly to being with can hurt things down the road.
When you are first learning transpositions, give yourself some baby steps. First, identify the key you are transposing to and the interval over which you need to make the chance. Take Horn in D for example. This means you are transposing down a minor third. Check the key signature and see if there are any accidentals to be included and then figure out the key the piece is in. If you are looking at something that on paper looks like it is in C major and says Horn in D, you are playing in the key of A major. Play your A major scale and arpeggio. These are the notes you will be transposing to, minus any accidentals.
To apply this, find exercises and etudes that are written in C. Pick any transposition that you are working on and play the etude in that key. Kopprasch etudes are a great place to start with this and some of those etudes even suggest keys for transposition. When you feel more comfortable, move into keys that are not C major and work on transposing when you have something in the key signature. The Horn Matters guys made a handy chart that I like to use with my students: http://www.hornmatters.com/PDF/French-Horn-Transposition-Reference-Chart.pdf

Again, I suggest you work on this with someone who understands the horn and transposition. Having someone that can quickly check that you are doing it correctly and help you in tricky situations when you are getting started can be invaluable.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Section Playing

Section Playing Each member of the horn section plays a different role. From the perspective of a work that is written for four different horn parts, composers tend to follow a standard model to get the sound that they want. It is important to know where you fall within this model and how to be your best self in the role you have been given. The first horn: also known as the principal horn, this position is the leader of the pack. This part is normally written the highest and sometimes requires the use of an assistant. This is your go to reference point for articulations, dynamics, and overall musicality. They usually have the most featured parts and should also help lead the section with breathing and entrances. If you have questions about your music, this is your first point of contact. If the principal does not know the answer, they will usually ask the conductor or have you speak to him after rehearsal or during a break. This person will hopefully lead by example and set the ...

Embouchure

Embouchure The best embouchures are often described as two-thirds top lip, one-third bottom. This comes from the way that we aim our airstream down into our lead pipe. Having more top lip gives us better control with aiming our air and makes shifting between ranges easier. Lips comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and appropriate mouthpieces can aid in finding this balance. Your teeth can also play a role in helping find the proper placement as well. An easy way to find a setting is to place the mouthpiece almost to the lips and then begin a free buzz and slowly place the mouthpiece on your face and allow the muscles to relax around the mouthpiece to keep the buzz going once it is in place. Aperture, the hole your lips make to allow air through, plays a huge part in this setup as well. Aperture should naturally find its way through simple exercises and can also help guide the mouthpiece to proper placement. Check that the corners of your mouth are firm so that air is not slip...

Intonation

Intonation Learning how to play in tune with yourself and others should be a fun process for you. It takes patience and attention to detail, but the end results are life changing for your playing. First off, make sure you have a metronome and a tuner. There are lots of apps that exist today for these, but if you are willing to spend a little money, I recommend the TonalEnergy Tuner. This app lets you have the metronome and tuner going at the same time. You can also have the app play drones, which we will get to shortly. First, make sure that your horn is in tune with itself and a tuner. There are many different types of horns with different tuning systems so it is best to get help from someone with experience tuning the horn the first time you do this. I also have found this video by Matthew Hogan useful for students to get an introduction to tuning the horn. The best place to start is by learning your tendencies. Each note will require a little adjustment to get perfectly in ...