Studies in Legato - Reginald H. Fink

When I was studying at Baylor University, my professor Jeffrey Powers used this book as an intermediate low horn text and therefore I didn't have to play from it, but I always meant to come back to it. Originally written for bass trombone and tuba, it is therefore read as old notation bass clef for the horn. The etudes are all lyrical in nature, covering approximately two octaves from low G - g', and are adapted from works by Concone, Marchesi and Panofka. The metronome markings and playing suggestions included before each etude are helpful, whilst the keys can occasionally be a little challenging.

Low Horn Kopprasch - Ed. Schantl/Ericson

Revisited these 12 etudes extracted by John Ericson from Josef Schantl's Große theortisch-praktische Horn-Schule, that was originally published in 1904 - just for something different to play.

Horn Matters

30 Fantasien für tiefes Horn - John Carter

This was a new publication to me, even though it dates from 2014. I really appreciated the variation in styles that it contains, it seems to cover just about everything. The etudes are generally a page or two in length and cover a good range of two and a half octaves from low B up to f#''. They are all written completely in treble clef, and with the key signatures containing flats somewhat favoured throughout. The indicated tempos certainly add to the level of difficulty, I think a few of them are a little questionable.

30 Fantasien

Sixty Selected Studies for French Horn - Georg Kopprasch

Just finished playing through both books of the good old opus 6 "low horn" etudes, using the Gumpert/Frehse edition published by Carl Fischer. I actually quite enjoyed going back over these after really only using them as a teaching resource for the last couple of years (AMEB Grades 5 through 7, List A).....It is somewhat annoying to realise that I still find several of the same exercises a real challenge even now though!

25 Studies for Low Horn - August Prée Ed. Timothy Quinlan

What a great set of etudes, and to think that I just stumbled upon them whilst I was actually looking at something else on the publishers website! Originally written in 1911, these studies are very melodic and full of challenges; the range extends over 3 octaves and they also utilise hand stopping and transpositions. Old notation is used when written in the bass clef, and several of the studies also make use of motifs from well-known classical works which is quite nice.

25 Studies for Low Horn

Earworms for Low Horn - Franz Kanefzky

Three volumes of etudes that are largely reminiscent of old folk tunes etc. that gradually increase in difficulty whilst alternating between treble clef, old notation bass clef and new notation bass clef - which is great! The etudes in Volume 1 (50 etudes) obviously start quite simply with an accessible range of between a 5th and an octave in each etude, relatively simple key signatures with few accidentals, and reasonable time signatures and rhythmic patterns. Volume 2 (51 etudes) extends the range out and uses more difficult keys, before Volume 3 (51 etudes) takes it up another level with slightly more complex keys and more creative time signatures being used. The metronome markings added to this final volume are largely responsible for the added difficulty. All the etudes in these volumes are quite short, the longest being a single page in length.

Earworms

Low Horn Kopprasch - Ed. Schantl/Ericson

12 etudes extracted by John Ericson from Volume IV of the Große theortisch-praktische Horn-Schule of Josef Schantl (1842-1902), that was originally published in 1904. These are very different to the "usual" versions horn players know, being transposed into lower keys and using vastly different markings - an interesting take on familiar material.

Horn Matters

10 Jazzy Etudes for Low Horn Op.9 - Thomas McConochie

What better way to start this project than with a set of low horn etudes! Written by Canberra based composer Thomas McConochie in 2018 and 2019, these etudes are now published by Wirripang Music and available via their website (which is included below). Predominantly inspired by early trad jazz there's a few fun ones in here! Several of these etudes appear in the AMEB Grade 8 (List A) syllabus.

Ten Jazzy Etudes for Low Horn