What is Horn (instrument)?
[[File:P1084426.jpg|thumb|250px|A natural horn, with central crook: a ''cor solo'', Raoux, Paris, 1797]] [[Image:French horn front.png|thumb|250px|A modern French horn]] The '''horn''' is a [[brass instrument]]. It developed from the [[horn (anatomy)|horns]] that some [[animal]]s have on their [[head]]s. Modern horns are often called '''French horns'''. ==The hunting horn== Horns were often used during [[hunting]]. These early brass instruments were round so that the hunter could put his [[arm]] through it and carry it on his shoulder and blow it while riding a [[horse]]. The riders could send messages to one another by blowing particular [[note (music)|notes]]. ==The horn in the orchestra== In the [[17th century]] the modern [[orchestra]] was developing. Orchestras played for [[opera]]s. Opera stories in those days were usually about [[god|gods and goddesses]] or [[monarch|kings and queens]]. There was often a hunting scene in the story. Hunters were asked to come and play their horns in the orchestra for these scenes. This is how the horn became an orchestral instrument. A brass instrument gives one basic note. Changing the pressure with the [[lip]]s produces a few other notes. Gradually horn players discovered that if they put their [[Position|right]] [[hand]] in the [[wind instruments|bell]] they could change the basic note. This made it possible to play lots of different notes. When [[Mozart]] wrote his horn [[concerto]]s he was writing for a hand horn. When a note is played using the hand in the bell it makes the note sound different: more muffled (a bit like speaking while covering your [[mouth]] with your hand). A Mozart horn concerto sounds very different when played on a modern horn. Another way to change the notes on a horn was to use crooks. These are like extensions to the horn. The longer the tube the lower the note, so adding a crook (an extra [[circle]]) would give a lower basic note. ==The modern horn== [[Image:Mouthpiece horn.jpg|160px|thumb|A French horn [[mouthpiece (bras