Wednesday, December 9, 2009

On the 3rd day of the 2 weeks before winter break, my band director gave to me...


Three French horns!
A two-headed turtle,
And a piccolo in the key of C.


So why is the horn called a "French" horn? According to Grove Music Online, the circular, coiled hunting horn (without valves) developed in 17th-century France, but it didn't really become the modern orchestral horn until it was refined in the 18th and 19th centuries in German. It could probably just as easily be called a German horn, but music snobs like myself refer to it only as "the horn." I'm sure our student teacher, Mr. Morden, would agree. At least it's not as bad as the English horn, which is neither English nor a horn.

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