The Whole Horn
A transposing instrument is one whose written notes do not match the concert pitch that sounds. The french horn is one of them: it sounds a perfect fifth (seven semitones) lower than written. Read a written C and the audience hears concert F.
That is why it is called a F instrument: a written C produces the pitch F, the key the instrument is built around.
The most useful version of this in a rehearsal is the reverse direction — the director names a concert pitch and you need to know what to read. Add a perfect fifth:
| Concert pitch (sounds) | French Horn reads |
|---|---|
| Concert B♭ | F |
| Concert E♭ | B♭ |
| Concert F | C |
| Concert C | G |
| Concert A♭ | E♭ |
| Concert G | D |
| Concert D | A |
The pattern never changes: the french horn reads a perfect fifth above the concert pitch. Internalising this table is one of the fastest ways to feel at home in a concert band or jazz ensemble.
Modern horn parts are written in F, and that is what a player expects on the stand, whether the instrument is a single F, a single B♭ or the double horn that carries both. Older orchestral parts are written in whatever key the piece is in — horn in E, in D, in basso F — which is why horn players read transpositions at sight more often than anyone else in the ensemble.
The standard written range of the french horn is F♯2 to C6 — sounding a perfect fifth lower. That is the range parts are scored in and the range these pages and the app both use.
Because the french horn transposes, every scale you practise has a written name and a sounding name. The fastest way to build fluency is to practise the twelve major scales in the instrument’s own written pitch, hearing each note as it truly sounds. See the full french horn fingering chart — every note with its written and concert pitch — or read the method behind mastering all twelve keys.
The french horn is in the key of F. A written C sounds as concert F, a perfect fifth lower than written.
It sounds a perfect fifth — seven semitones — lower than written. To put a concert-pitch melody on the french horn, write it a perfect fifth higher than it sounds.
A written F. Concert B♭ is a perfect fifth below written F, so that note sounds concert B♭.
Yes. Written and sounding pitch are different: the french horn sounds a perfect fifth lower than the note on the page.
The standard written range is F♯2 to C6. That is what appears on the page; the sounding pitches are a perfect fifth lower.
The Whole Horn plays all twelve major scales in the french horn’s written pitch, so you hear concert pitch while you read french horn.
Get the app → The full transposition chart