davidp Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 If you had a Bb/F brass line, and you were using french horns in lieu of mellophones (I play horn in a wind ensemble, and don't want to screw up my horn chops), would it be best to go with F or Bb? My particular situation would be voicing for a minicorps. I have both a Bb (King 1122) and an F (DEG), and like them both; I get better range on the F, but the Bb sounds better, in my opinion. Any thoughts? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow_7 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 I had a chance to try out the Kanstul Bb and F marching horns in 2007. I prefered the Bb version. It just slotted and sounded better. I don't think it matters much as the horn has an extra octave (down) over any equivalent mellophone. Whatever plays better and doesn't require too much work in terms of intonation. If it looks cool, then that's a bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomnoise Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 It would depend on what you will be playing. If the register is mostly on the staff, Bb would be fine. Top of the staff and above - go with the F. What part will be played? If it is below the mellos and above the baris, Bb would most likely blend better. If there are no mellos, I would consider the F. The F will project (cut) more than the Bb. Why not try both after you have written it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidp Posted March 22, 2008 Author Share Posted March 22, 2008 It would depend on what you will be playing. If the register is mostly on the staff, Bb would be fine. Top of the staff and above - go with the F. What part will be played? If it is below the mellos and above the baris, Bb would most likely blend better. If there are no mellos, I would consider the F. The F will project (cut) more than the Bb. Why not try both after you have written it? I was thinking about possibly having the first part played by the F, and 2nd by the Bb (I imagine there will only be two horn players). I'm primarily looking for a mellophone substitute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornsUp Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Be aware that there are THREE choices. Marching horn in low F, same as a traditional single horn. Marching horn in Bb. Marching horn in high F (like a descant horn) pitched like an F mellophone. The notorious Getzen "frumpet", made with a trombone bell, was also at this pitch. None of them work like a concert horn, because you don't stuff your hand in the bell and you play them bellfront. They're closer in concept to a Wagner tuba. Being cylindrical instruments, they are not a good substitute for the very conical mellophone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidp Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 Thanks for all the input. The F horn I have seems to have the same ranges as a mellophone, and I can just about get the same range on the Bb, but some notes don't come out as well. I'll know more once we get everybody together and start playing (I may try both for a while). Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomnoise Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 (edited) I have never seen a "low" F marching horn. Can you post an example? I think the French Horn section you are talking about (leads of alto F and lowers on Bb) will sound great - I look forward to hearing what you come up with! Edited March 24, 2008 by randomnoise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-horns Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Agree with what is posted here, but will add this... If your first baritones are weak or non-existant, the Bb horn can easily double the part and sound good. The F horn can play the notes, but won't have the sound. "Back in the day" some corps were using two horn parts and adding a mello part above them - Dreitzer did this alot. If I were doing the book, assuming a solid bari line I'd use F horns. Whatever you do (IMO), don't get sucked into using mellos with frenchie mouthpieces and adapters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyboy1177 Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 (edited) I've never played on an F Marching Horn, but I have a good deal of experience with the Bb horn (high school and college). I'm a big fan of the Bb. While there may be some merit to the argument that the F Horn plays better in the high register (as I said, I've never played one), if you have a talented line you can do amazing things with Bb's. My freshman year of college we had a section of 21 horns. For one show we played How the West Was Won, Cowboys, and Silverado. Not only was the double tounging in Cowboys spot on, the Bb in the staff to High Bb rips in Silverado were amazingly clear. In a different show that same year, we played Carmina Burana and had a lick that was echoing the baritones across the field in the same octave - below the staff. So in my opinion, the Bb is a versatile horn and can be an effective weapon, especially in the hands of someone who knows how to play. And, just for the record, this past marching season (2007), I hit a solid G above top of the staff G with fairly descent consistency. A few times I hit the Ab, and once I hit the C (as in the C above the C above the staff). Granted, we never had anything written higher than an A this year (bummer), but it's still fun when you can hit that kind of stuff and then play pedal C in the next breath. Oh, and I should probably throw this in here somewhere - we play on brass colored King 1122 Bb's - the pre-Ultimate Marching Brass series. I would LOVE to get all new horns from the Ultimate line and unleash Edited March 25, 2008 by Flyboy1177 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mello - Benji Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I've played on a Yamaha Bb horn in all of the marching/corps-like ensembles I've been in (Legends drum and bugle corps/winter brass and percussion, marching band, jazz band), and it's been my experience that it is possible to get a really nice, almost horn like sound out of them, and at the same time, they can get really raucous and almost trumpet like sound at extremely loud registers (This varies a lot depending on the maturity of the player). If it's for a minicorps, I think these would be great. I absolutely love the sound my section for Legends winterline is getting out of them this season, and we only have 3 people in my section (There's video on Youtube if you want to hear it. Search "Legends 2008 Alegria"). I can't really compare them to the other alternatives though. I hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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