Hey horn players, I'm a middle school band director in a number of small schools who has unfortunately not had many horn students. I arrange for my groups often and am working on re-orchestrating some pieces as flexible quartets. I was wondering where you'd expect a horn player's range to be at a few experience levels:

- What's the typical comfortable range of a middle school student (7-8th grade) on a single horn in F?

- Same question, but the average high schooler (a sophomore or junior)?

- The range of a high school student on the cusp of college auditions (ie a semi-professional range) with a double horn.

Any sort of advice with horn writing is welcome, but I am a bit concerned with the range limits I set. Thank you!

Hi everyone!

I have a Herbert Fritz Knopf Model 16 double horn that’s around 40 years old. It originally had lacquer, but over the years most of it has worn off naturally. There are still a few small patches of lacquer left, but the majority of the horn is now unlacquered.

The brass has become quite dark and oxidized over the years, and I’d really like to bring back a nice, shiny finish without damaging the instrument.

I’ve been considering using Autosol Metal Polish, since it’s easy to get where I live. Is it a good choice for an old unlacquered horn like mine?

A few questions:

Is Autosol safe to use on unlacquered brass?
Will the remaining lacquer patches be a problem?
Should I avoid polishing the lacquered areas?
Is there another product you would recommend instead?

I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from people who own older German horns or have experience maintaining unlacquered brass instruments.
Thanks in advance!

so theres songs i need to play for school, and theres parts in some that go below pedal C. i can hit pedal C 9 times out of 10. how do i play those notes? and not only play them, but play them quickly? because right now i take a second or two to play even near pedal, and it isnt consistently the correct note

I’m using an old school horn and the keys, particularly the thumb key and the first finger key, stick horribly. I can feel resistance, like there’s rust or something. But I can’t see any areas that are rusted. I oil them every time I play, but it doesn’t seem to be making any difference at all.

Usually after playing for about 20-30 minutes the keys will stop sticking, and I can play them as normal.

If there is a way I could fix it myself that would be great! Otherwise I will have to wait for the school year to start again before I can get it fixed.