List of Horn Techniques - Stopped Horn

Stopped Horn

This is the act of fully closing off the bell of the instrument with either the right hand or a special stopping mute. This results in producing a somewhat nasal sound. When required, in the sheet music the usual notation is a '+' above the note followed by a 'o' above notes that are to be played open. For longer stopped passages, the word indicating a stopped horn is written out. Below is a list for different languages:

• English: stopped ... open
• German: gestopft ... offen
• Italian: chiuso ... aperto
• French: bouché ... ouvert (not to be confused with cuivré which means brassy.)

The pitch lowers gradually when the hand is placed in the bell and slowly moved inward. When the bell is completely covered (stopped), the pitch falls to a half-step above the next lower partial (harmonic). For example, playing a middle C (F-horn, open) and gradually covering the bell 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 3rd space C (F-horn, open) and repeating the stopped horn, the pitch will lower a half-step to a B-natural (or 1/2 step above B♭, the next lower partial). The hand horn technique developed in the classical period, with music pieces requiring the use of covering the bell to various degrees to lower the pitch accordingly. Mozart's four Horn Concertos and Concert Rondo were written with this technique in mind, as was the music both Beethoven and Brahms wrote for the horn.

Practically, it is too cumbersome to keep track of what partial is being played and what the "1/2 step above the next lower partial" would be. As such, when playing stopped, horn players over blow one partial while playing stopped, play the partial above the note then intended, cover the bell completely and thereby arrive at 1/2 step above their intended pitch, and then compensate by fingering a half step below the written pitch. Thus, most horn players are taught that stopped horn "raises the pitch 1/2 step".

It is crucial to understand the difference between practical application by the player and the acoustic theory behind it because some modern composers have incorrectly notated that the horn is to bend an open pitch upward to a stopped pitch. This is impossible. The horn pitch can only be bent downward into a stopped pitch.

In the middle register, try F-horn fingers when playing stopped horn. In the upper register, however, experimentation with traditionally flat fingerings on the B♭ horn (For example, 1st valve G) can yield more secure notes without sacrificing good intonation. Some B♭ horns have 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 in French music, called "echo horn", "hand mute" or "sons d'écho" (see Dukas's The Sorcerer's Apprentice) which is like stopped horn, but different in that the bell is not closed as tightly. The player closes the hand enough so that the pitch drops 1/2 step, but, especially in the middle register, this is not closed as tightly as for stopped horn. Consequently, when playing echo horn, the player fingers one half step higher.

The difference between stopping and "echo horn" is a source of much confusion to younger players, especially ones whose hands are not big enough to close the bell all the way for stopped horn. Instead of stopping properly, they erroneously close the bell insufficiently and finger 1/2 step higher.

For more information on stopped horn see "Extended Techniques for the Horn" by Douglas Hill (ASIN: B00072T6B0) — Professor of Horn at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, http://web.archive.org/web/20091027115656/http://geocities.com/Vienna/3941/stopping.html also has more information about stopped horn and the physics behind it; for more information on hand horn see A modern valve horn player's guide to the natural horn by Paul Austin (ASIN: B0006PCD4A).

Note that whenever one is using stopped horn, that the player should only use the F side. When one uses stopped horn on the B Flat side of the horn, the partials are not as accurate, even in ranges where a player would normally use the B Flat side. Also, the F side will give more of a full tone. Also note that when one sticks their hand into the bell, it affects the sound and the quality tremendously.

Also, the hand can be partially inserted into the bell in such a fashion as to lower the pitch of the horn one quarter tone, an extended technique used in some modern compositions today.