DON'T FEAR THE HORN

The French horn. A complex, tangled mess of an instrument. An instrument so inefficiently designed that its sole purpose often appears to be to confuse and frustrate. Why bother at all with the most troublesome of brass instruments? Well, because of the quite wonderful pay-off: its glorious sound. In this book, Richard Steggall systematically untangles the French horn’s web of mystery, one strand at a time. This unique and groundbreaking manual will give you the understanding needed to approach the French horn with confidence and clarity. In short – Don’t Fear the Horn!

Reviews:
“Wow, what a terrific book! I have long thought something like this would be a godsend to non-specialist teachers; I even thought of having a go myself. So glad I didn’t; it wouldn’t have been half as good as this. Bravo!” - Michael Thompson, Aubrey Brain Chair of Horn, Royal Academy of Music; former Principal Horn, Philharmonia Orchestra; Principal Horn Emeritus, London Sinfonietta

“What a wonderful initiative! We horn players have hidden behind our instrument’s reputation of being ‘difficult’ for way too long, and now Richard goes ahead and reveals so many of our secrets in such a clear and logical way, totally dispelling this myth. I’m certain that such an eloquent and authoritative manual will be a real asset for any general brass players grappling with the thorny issue of teaching the horn and I would also certainly recommend it to all horn specialists as it contains so many gems for us as well.” - Anneke Scott, international historical horn player

“Don’t Fear the Horn is an exceptionally informative and helpful book: it de-mystifies the complicated evolution and performing conventions of the instrument, and in wonderfully clear and succinct language. Highly recommended!” - Amos Miller, Head of Brass, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire; Principal Trombone, Royal Ballet Sinfonia

“‘It can’t be that hard’, I once said to the Head of Music on being asked to include the French horn in my teaching day. It didn’t take long for me to realise that there were fundamental nuggets of knowledge missing from my teaching expertise and a wariness of the unknown. Don’t Fear the Horn succeeds in plugging these gaps, offering an armoury of explanations from transposition tips to holding the instrument and the position of the right hand. Topics such as which horn to start on and a child’s progression through different instruments are addressed clearly and are easy to understand. I wish I’d had a book like this to help me when I started teaching. Thanks Richard.” - John Hutchins, Director of Junior Academy and Director of LRAM, Royal Academy of Music

“I was delighted to be asked to review this excellent book as it fills a very long-felt need for brass and horn teachers. There is no doubt that in the current state of music education, with large group teaching and non-specialist teachers, the horn has come increasingly to be seen as something of a nuisance. I know from many conversations with brass teaching colleagues, and the frequency of requests for advice on what to do with their horn students, that many non-horn specialists genuinely find the prospect of teaching the horn a real worry. As a result we are suffering a decline in numbers taking up the horn. Richard’s book is a wonderful resource which, as its title suggests, aims to demystify the horn and equip such teachers with the wherewithal to approach teaching it.
Crammed full of clear, sensible and carefully considered advice it covers all the major areas one would expect: instrument choice, embouchure, posture, right-hand position and much, much more, and is extremely well – and amusingly – written. It is also profusely illustrated, and the combination should help any aspiring brass teacher to make more sense of our instruments special qualities and needs. It should certainly be required reading for any brass teacher.
There is also admirable advice – allied to an excellent potted history of the horn and its place in the orchestra – for anyone coaching horn sections, and thoughts on how best to work with horns in mixed-instrument teaching groups. Even horn players themselves, whether teaching or not, will find much fascinating material to ponder here. The chapters dealing with the right-hand position and hand-stopping for instance, whilst requiring careful and attentive study, are the clearest exposition of the way the horn actually works and the effects of the hand on pitch and tone I’ve ever read. Indeed, the clearest I’ve seen since Pip Eastop’s remarkable lecture at the BHS Festival at Dulwich College, and any horn player will find many other parts of the book equally thought-provoking.
I really cannot recommend this book highly enough and Richard is to be congratulated and thanked for adding such a splendid resource to the brass and horn players’ armoury.” - Review by Simon de Souza for The Horn Player magazine

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