It slightly changes the horn from a closed to an open pipe. Ideally, the frequencies between a fully open and closed pipe have a ratio of 2:1. Having the hand in the bell lowers some of the overtones enough by a factor of 1/2 so that it's easier to hit the notes because they are 'notchier'. At least that's how I was taught.
This is also why stopping the horn is very counter intuitive and causes trouble for a lot of beginning players. From a nice little wiki article about this thing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_horn_techniques " The pitch lowers gradually when the hand is placed in the bell andslowly moved inward. When the bell is completely covered (stopped), thepitch falls to a half-step above the next lower partial (harmonic). Forexample, playing a middle C (F-horn, open) and gradually covering thebell into stopped horn, the pitch will lower a major 3rd to A♭(or 1/2 step above G, the next lower partial). However, playing a 3rdspace C (F-horn, open) and repeating the stopped horn, the pitch willlower a half-step to a B-natural (or 1/2 step above B♭,the next lower partial). The hand horn technique developed in theclassical period, with music pieces requiring the use of covering thebell to various degrees to lower the pitch accordingly. Mozart's 'FourHorn Concertos' and 'Concert Rondo' were written with this technique inmind, as was the music both Beethoven and Brahms wrote for the horn. Practically, it is too cumbersome to keep track of what partial isbeing played and what the "1/2 step above the next lower partial" wouldbe. As such, when playing stopped, horn players over blow one partialwhile playing stopped, play the partial above the note then intended,cover the bell completely and thereby arrive at 1/2 step above theirintended pitch, and then compensate by fingering a half step below thewritten pitch. Thus most horn players are taught that stopped horn"raises the pitch 1/2 step". It is crucial to understand the difference (between practicalapplication by the player and the acoustic theory behind it) becausesome modern composers have incorrectly notated that the horn is to bendan open pitch upward to a stopped pitch. This is impossible. The hornpitch can only be bent downward into a stopped pitch. In the middle register, try F-horn fingers when playing stoppedhorn. In the upper register, however, experimentation withtraditionally flat fingerings on the B♭ horn (For example, 1st valve G) can yield more secure notes without sacrificing good intonation. Some B♭ horns have an a stopping valve that compensates for this, allowing the player to use normal fingerings with the stopping valve. There is also an effect that is occasionally called for, usually inFrench music, called "echo horn", "hand mute" or "sons d'écho" (seeDukas Sorcerer's Apprentice) which is like stopped horn, but differentin that the bell is not closed as tightly. The player closes the handenough so that the pitch drops 1/2 step, but, especially in the middleregister, this is not closed as tightly as for stopped horn.Consequently, when playing echo horn, the player fingers one half stephigher. The difference between stopping and "echo horn" is a source of muchconfusion to younger players, especially ones whose hands are not bigenough to close the bell all the way for stopped horn. Instead ofstopping properly, they erroneously close the bell insufficiently andfinger 1/2 step higher." -William -----Original Message----- From: Xerocool9 <[email protected]> To: The Horn List <[email protected]> Sent: Fri, Jul 9, 2010 9:46 pm Subject: [Hornlist] Another question Hello everyone. I have another question. If someone has to push their hand farther in the bell to make the high register solidify what causes that? Can it be corrected without sliding the hand in farther? Is the bell flare not long enough? Any thoughts or ideas? Thank you in advance. Robert _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/valkhorn%40aol.com _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
