Whimsical Woodwinds and Boisterous Brass Woodwinds and Brass    

Lesson 29: French Horn - Horn Concerto in D Major, K.412

by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Performer: European Archive

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Listen to the music daily.
• Recite the composer and composition names.
• Read the synopsis.
• Review the vocabulary terms.
• Read about the instrument or topic category.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

This lesson introduces the French horn, a brass instrument. The musical composition for this lesson, 'Horn Concerto in D Major, K.412,' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, features the horn. The painting included in the lesson, 'Still Life with Musical Instruments,' by Nicolas Henri Jeaurat de Bertry, depicts a special kind of still life painting called 'trompe-l'oeil,' which means 'deceive the eye.' Trompe-l'oeil artists use optical illusions to create two-dimensional paintings with the appearance of three-dimensions. The painting prominently features a horn hanging from a black hook, as well as a cello, a violin, bows, an oboe, and a trombone.

Vocabulary

Concerto: A musical composition for a solo instrument or instruments accompanied by an orchestra, especially one conceived on a relatively large scale.
Major (of a key): Based on a major scale, tending to produce a bright or joyful effect.
Trompe-l'oeil: Visual illusion in art, especially as used to trick the eye into perceiving a painted detail as a three-dimensional object.

Category

1. Music lessons over the next two years group musical instruments into five major categories: strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.
2. Brass instruments include trumpets, trombones, horns, tubas, and didgeridoos.
3. Brass instruments are often made of brass, a metal alloy of copper and zinc. Study the components of brass.

4. Brass instruments produce sound through the vibration of air within tubes. See the tubes of a brass instrument called a French horn.

5. Musicians change the sounds made by brass instruments by moving valves or slides to change the length of the tubes in which the air vibrates. See the valves of a brass instrument called a French horn.

6. Brass musicians also alter the sound by changing how hard they blow and the tension of their lips.
7. See a musician holding the slider of a brass instrument called a trombone. The musician can slide it back and forth to change the sound.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Learn the Parts of a French Horn

• Study the parts on the labeled picture of the French horn.

Activity 2: Study How to Hold and Play a French Horn

Examine the picture of the horn player and answer the following questions:

• How does the horn player use his right hand?
• How does the horn player use his left hand?
• What do the horn player's fingers press down?
• How does the horn player use his mouth and lips?
• How does the horn player change which sounds the French horn plays?

Activity 3: Quiz Yourself: Identify French Horn Parts

Quiz yourself, and identify the following parts from memory on the French horn diagram:

• Mouthpiece
• Bell
• Tuning Slides
• Valve Keys
• Spit Valve (Water Key)

Activity 4: Can You Find It?

Study the lesson image, 'Still Life with Musical Instruments,' by Nicolas Henri Jeaurat de Bertry, and find the following:

• Horn
• Horn Mouthpiece
• Horn Bell
• 2 Things Made of Brass
• Keys
• Five of Diamonds
• Glasses
• Books
• Cello and Bow
• Violin and Bow
• Oboe
• Trombone
• Music Stand

Review

Question 1

What are the five major categories of instruments listed in the lesson?

1 / 5

Answer 1

The five major categories of instruments are strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.

1 / 5

Question 2

Which instrument category does this lesson feature?

2 / 5

Answer 2

This lesson features the brass category.

2 / 5

Question 3

Which instrument does this lesson feature?

3 / 5

Answer 3

This lesson features the French horn.

3 / 5

Question 4

What are the major parts of the French horn?

4 / 5

Answer 4

Major parts of the French horn include the mouthpiece, the valve keys, the spit valve, the tuning slides, and the bell.

4 / 5

Question 5

How do musicians create different sounds with French horn?

5 / 5

Answer 5

Musicians press the French horn's valves to create different sounds. They also change how hard they blow and the tension of their lips.

5 / 5

❮ ❯

1. What are the five major categories of instruments listed in the lesson? The five major categories of instruments are strings, keyboards, percussion, brass, and woodwinds.
2. Which instrument category does this lesson feature? This lesson features the brass category.
3. Which instrument does this lesson feature? This lesson features the French horn.
4. What are the major parts of the French horn? Major parts of the French horn include the mouthpiece, the valve keys, the spit valve, the tuning slides, and the bell.
5. How do musicians create different sounds with French horn? Musicians press the French horn's valves to create different sounds. They also change how hard they blow and the tension of their lips.

References

'Brass instrument.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'French horn.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.