whenever dennis played his horn is sounded easy and effortless. it had an extraordinary lyrical beauty and was always incredibly musical. he was a very sensitive player who listened very carefully to the other players and blended in with them. at first he played a french instrument, a raoux piston-valve horn, similar to that used by his father. this type of instrument has a lovely smooth tone, but was less powerful than the german-made instruments which had become popular since the 1920s. in 1951 he changed to single b instrument made by alexander, which was not quite as wide as the usual german instruments, still keeping the lighter sound of french horns.