French Horn Music

Here is a partial (and continuously updated) list of some French horn music for students,including etudes, technique studies, and solos, all sorted by approximate dif;culty level. Thelinks take you to SheetMusicPlus, Amazon.com, or to Woodwind & Brasswind.com topurchase. If SheetMusicPlus has any sales going on, click the banner below to takeadvantage of them:

If you’re ordering titles from Amazon, don’t forget that if you sign up for a free 30 dayAmazon Prime trial, you can get free 2-day shipping along with access to Prime Video andPrime Music!

Titles in bold italics are strongly recommended. Keep in mind that this is a work in progress– any suggestions or thoughts, let me know!

Reference/Studies BooksMusic for Beginning Horn PlayersMusic for Intermediate Horn PlayersMusic for Advanced Intermediate Horn PlayersMusic for Advanced/College Horn PlayersOther Music Resources

If you’re looking for basic exercises to improve tone, lips slurs, scales, or any other technique,head over to my own collection of horn exercises: scales, slurs, long tones, and more – all forfree!

Reference/Studies Books:

1. Art of French Horn Playing by Phil Farkas – this was pretty much the “Bible for HornPlayers” for a long time. It’s still a great book for any aspiring horn player, although

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Colin DormanHorn Player, Tech Enthusiast

Farkas himself wasn’t a fan of everything in his book!Art of Horn Playing - SheetMusicPlus.comArt of Horn Playing - WWBW.comArt of Horn Playing - Amazon

2. Collected Thoughts on Teaching and Learning, Creativity and Horn Performance byDouglas Hill – A collection of thoughts on a wide range of topics – beginning hornplayers, audition preparation, improvisation, composing, and more.

Collected Thoughts on Teaching and Learning Creatively - SheetMusicPlus.com3. Brass Playing is No Harder Than Deep Breathing by Claude Gordon – Covering some of

the most important topics and concepts of brass playing in a fairly quick-reading 35pages. Written by a trumpet player, this book is extremely useful in developing andre;ning technique.

Brass Playing is No Harder Than Deep Breathing - SheetMusicPlus.comBrass Playing is No Harder Than Deep Breathing - Amazon.com

4. Embouchure Builder for French Horn by Joseph Singer – a great book for improvingembouchure strength and overall technique. Only recommended for Intermediate orstronger players.

Embouchure Builder for French Horn - SheetMusicPlus.comEmbouchure Builder for French horn - Amazon.com

5. Technical Studies for Solving Problems on the Horn by William Brophy – Some niceexercises and explanations for ;xing common problem areas among all levels of hornplayer. Things like low and high register, stopped horn, multiple tonguing, and more!

Technical Studies for Solving Problems on the Horn - SheetMusicPlus.comTechnical Studies for Solving Problems on the Horn - Amazon.com

6. Mastery of the French Horn by Michael HoeltzelMastery of the French Horn - SheetMusicPlus.com

7. Pares Scales for French Horn by Gabriel Pares – A great resource for learning andreviewing scales in all sorts of different rhythms and patterns. A great resource to useas a part of your warm-up!

Daily Exercises and Scales for French Horn8. Daily Drills and Technical Studies for Trombone by Max Schlossberg – While written for

trombone, this book has some excellent /exibility, harmonic, and scale exercises. Plus,it’s great for keeping your bass clef reading in shape!

Daily Drills and Technical Studies for Trombone - SheetMusicPlus.comDaily Drills and Technical Studies for Trombone - Amazon.com

9. Lip Flexibilities for All Instruments by Bai Lin – These run the gamut from useful tocrazy, and many can be modi;ed and extended for horn to challenge your /exibility indifferent ways.

Bai Lin Lip Flexibilities - SheetMusicPlus.comBai Lin Lip Flexibilities - Amazon.com

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French Horn Music for beginning (5th-7th grade) horns:1. Rubank Elementary Method – French Horn in F or E-Flat and Mellophone – essentially a

beginning band method book. If you have a different one from your band (EssentialElements, Standard of Excellence) don’t worry about this book.

Rubank Elementary Method - SheetMusicPlus.com

Rubank Elementary Method - WWBW.com2. First Book of Practical Studies for French Horn – a nice addition to a typical beginning

band method book. This is in an easier range for the beginning horn player.First Book of Practical Studies - SheetMusicPlus.comFirst Book of Practical Studies - Amazon.com

3. A First Book of Etudes for French Horn by Arthur Goldstein – Very simple exercises in amore comfortable range than most beginning band methods.

First Book of Etudes for French Horn - SheetMusicPlus.comFirst Book of Etudes for French Horn - Amazon.com

4. A Second Book of Etudes for French Horn by Arthur Goldstein – Slightly morecomplicated rhythms and a larger range make these a little more challenging forbeginning students.

A Second Book of Etudes for French Horn - SheetMusicPlus.comA Second Book of Etudes for French Horn - Amazon.com

5. A First Book of Exercises for French Horn by Arthur Goldstein – A good companion tothe book of etudes by Goldstein, the exercises in this book are more focused on basictechniques to promote good playing habits.

A First Book of Exercises for French Horn - SheetMusicPlus.comA First Book of Exercises for French Horn - Amazon.com

6. The Horn Collection – Easy to Intermediate Level: G. Schirmer Instrumental Library 14Pieces by 11 Composers – a collection of several classical tunes arranged for horn andpiano (both piano part and a CD recording of it are included). A nice book of easy tointermediate solos.

The Horn Collection: Easy to Intermediate - SheetMusicPlus.comThe Horn Collection: Easy to Intermediate - WWBW.comThe Horn Collection: Easy to Intermediate - Amazon.com

7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Selected Themes from the Motion Picture :French Horn Solo, Duet, Trio (Instrumental Series) – a collection of themes from the ;rstHarry Potter movie. All the music can be played by one, two, or three horns.

Harry Potter Themes - SheetMusicPlus.com8. Favorite Movie Themes! – slightly more challenging than the Harry Potter music, this

contains themes from some popular movies.Favorite Movie Themes - SheetMusicPlus.com

 

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French Horn Music for Intermediate (8th – 10th grade) horns:1. Kopprasch Sixty Selected Studies for Horn – Book 1 – a classic horn etude book for

intermediate to professional horn players. Auditions for Kentucky All-District and All-State often come from this book. You can ;nd some recordings I’ve done of selectedetudes here.

Kopprasch Book 1 - SheetMusicPlus.comKopprasch Book 1 - WWBW.comKopprasch Book 1 - Amazon.com

2. Preparatory Melodies to Solo Work for French Horn (from Schantl) – this collection ofetudes provides more variety in style and key signatures than Kopprasch without being

too technically demanding in range or endurance.Preparatory Melodies from the Schantl Collection - SheetMusicPlus.comPreparatory Melodies from the Schantl Collection - WWBW.comPreparatory Melodies from the Schantl Collection

3. Melodious Studies for French Horn by Edwin Miersch – A collection of etudes that startmoderately easily and progress to relatively challenging using a variety of key and timesignatures. There are also some nice duets that follow a similar progression that keepthe book from getting too monotonous.

Melodious Etudes for French Horn - SheetMusicPlus.comMelodious Studies for French Horn - Amazon.com

4. Maxime-Alphonse 200 Studies in 6 Books for Horn #1: 70 Very Easy and Easy Studies –don’t let the “Very Easy and Easy” fool you, these aren’t super-easy beginner studies.Very well written and notated, they encompass a fairly wide variety of styles anddynamics, and the range extends from below to above the staff. The author alsoprovides little notes to help avoid common pitfalls!

Maxime Alphonse Book 1 - SheetMusicPlus.com5. Maxime-Alphonse 200 Studies in 6 Books for Horn #2: 40 Easy Studies – Continuing on

from the ;rst book, the etudes here are a little bit more challenging and a little bit moremusically intricate. Despite the “Easy” label, these are still challenging for most highschool and college players.

Maxime-Alphonse Book 2 - SheetMusicPlus.com6. 335 Selected Melodius Progressive and Technical Studies for Horn: Book

1 Pottag/Andraud – A collection  of many different etudes and a few solos as well. Ifyou can only get one etude book, this is probably the most well-rounded, and will keepyou busy for a long time!

335 Selected Melodious Progressive Etudes: Book 1 - SheetMusicPlus.com335 Selected Melodious Progressive Etudes: Book 1 - Amazon.com

7. Solos for the Horn Player by Mason Jones – a great resource for solo and ensembleand other auditions that let you choose your piece. This collection has pieces that canchallenge a horn player from 9th grade to college.

Solos for the Horn Player - SheetMusicPlus.comSolos for the Horn Player - WWBW.comSolos for the Horn Player - Amazon.com

8. The Horn Collection – Intermediate Level: G. Schirmer Instrumental Library 12 Pieces by12 Composers – another good collection for Solo and Ensemble. A little bit easier overall than theMason Jones book, there are a couple of pieces that are in both.

The Horn Collection: Intermediate Level - SheetMusicPlus.comThe Horn Collection: Intermediate Level - WWBW.comThe Horn Collection: Intermediate Level - Amazon.com

9. Masters Solos Intermediate Level – several solos arranged for horn, with some helpfulpractice and performance tips for piece written by Louis Stout.

Masters Solos: Intermediate - SheetMusicPlus.com10. Four Horn Concertos and Concert Rondo by W. A. Mozart

– Not a great edition, but it is all 4 concerti, and it’s cheap! A much better edition can befound below.

Mozart Horn Concertos - SheetMusicPlus.comMozart Horn Concertos - WWBW.com

11. Four Mozart Horn Concertos, Concert Rondo, and Fragments (Tuckwell Edition)  – Thisis a great edition of all 4 Mozart Horn Concertos, a newer (and longer) edition of theConcerto Rondo, and fragments of an uncompleted concerto. Includes original key andtransposed solo parts. If you want to play in college and beyond, THIS is best all-aroundand all-in-one Mozart edition!

Mozart 4 Horn Concertos and Concert Rondo: Tuckwell Edition -SheetMusicPlus.comIf you want the most accurate Mozart editions, you can’t go wrong with an urtextedition. There are two main publishers of urtext editions of Mozart concertos:

G. Henle Verlag:Concerto 1 (K412/514) Henle-Verlag - SheetMusicPlus.comConcerto 2 (K417) Henle-Verlag - SheetMusicPlus.comConcerto 3 (K447) Henle-Verlag - SheetMusicPlus.comConcerto 4 (K495) Henle-Verlag - SheetMusicPlus.com

Baerenreiter:Concerto 1 (K412/514) Barenreiter - SheetMusicPlus.comConcerto 2 (K417) Barenreiter - SheetMusicPlus.comConcerto 3 (K447) Barenreiter - SheetMusicPlus.comConcerto 4 (K495) Barenreiter - SheetMusicPlus.com

12. Star Wars I-VI Instrumental Solos: Horn in F – not really suitable for Solo and Ensemble,but fun for just playing around during the summer!

Star Wars I-VI French Horn Solos - SheetMusicPlus.com13. Disney Movie Hits for F Horn – similar to the Star Wars, not for “serious” solo

performances, they are fun if you like Disney!Disney Movie Hits for French Horn - SheetMusicPlus.com

14. Lord of the Rings Instrumental Solos – more fun music to play between practicing All-District and band music!

Lord of the Rings Instrumental Solos - SheetMusicPlus.com

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French Horn Music for Advanced Intermediate (11th – 12thgrade) horns:

1. 335 Selected Melodious Progressive and Technical Studies for Horn: Book2 Pottag/Andraud – Similar to book 1, this contains a large number of different etudesby different composers, as well as a few solos at the end. A good all-around collection,that can keep you practicing for awhile!

335 Selected Melodious Progressive Etudes: Book 2 - SheetMusicPlus.com2. The Horn Collection – Intermediate to Advanced Level: G. Schirmer Instrumental Library

9 Pieces by 7 Composers – a collection of movements from several challenging worksfor an advanced high school or college undergraduate horn player. Although severalpieces only have one movement included, this is still an inexpensive way to play a widevariety of challenging horn solo repertoire.

The Horn Collection: Intermediate to Advanced - SheetMusicPlus.comThe Horn Collection: Intermediate to Advanced Level - WWBW.comThe Horn Collection: Intermediate to Advanced - Amazon.com

3. 40 Characteristic Etudes for French horn – Henri Kling40 Characteristic Etudes for Horn - SheetMusicPlus.com

4. 12 Characteristic Studies for 2nd Horn by Jacques Francois Gallay – Covering basicallyfrom the G above the staff down almost 2.5 octaves, this book features lots ofchallenging leaps and register changes characteristic of classical-era 2nd horn parts.

12 Studies for 2nd Horn - SheetMusicPlus.com5. Maxime-Alphonse 200 Studies in 6 Books for Horn #3: Average Dif;culty Studies –

Continuing the same basic formula from the other two Maxime-Alphonse study books,these are even more challenging, both in terms of length, range, rhythm, and musicaldemands.

 Maxime Alphonse Book 3 - SheetMusicPlus.com6. 6 Cello Suites for the Horn by J.S. Bach, arranged for horn by Wendell Hoss – This

arrangement of the Bach Cello Suites challenges a very awkward register for the horn.Breathing spots are added and this can be extremely rewarding and bene;cial music towork on for both /exibility and general musicianship.

6 Bach Cello Suites for Horn - SheetMusicPlus.com7. Horn Sonata, Op. 17, Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven Horn Sonata (G. Henle edition) - SheetMusicPlus.comBeethoven Horn Sonata (Tuckwell Edition) - WWBW.com

8. Horn Concerto No. 1, Op. 11 in E-Flat Major, Richard StraussSchirmer Edition - SheetMusicPlus.comSchirmer Edition - WWBW.comInternational Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

9. Nocturno Op. 7, Franz StraussUniversal Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

10. Hunter’s Moon – Gilbert VinterBoosey and Hawkes Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

11. Alla Caccia, by Allan AbbotWeiberger Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

12. Reverie, Op. 24, Alexander GlazunovBelaiff Edition - SheetMusicPlus.comWiltshire Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

13. Morceau De Concert Op. 94, by Camille Saint-SaensInternational Edition - SheetMusicPlus.comDurand Edition - SheetMusicPlus.comBelwin Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

14. Romance, Op. 36, by Camille Saint-SaensG. Henle Edition - SheetMusicPlus.comDurand Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

15. Villanelle by Paul DukasInternational Edition - SheetMusicPlus.comDurand Edition - SheetMusicPlus.comG. Henle Edition

16. Horn Concerto, Op. 8 by Franz StraussSchirmer Edition - SheetMusicPlus.comTuckwell Edition - WWBW.com

17. Mel Bay’s Anthology of French Horn Music – a collection of horn orchestral excerpts.There are more complete collections available, but this is one of the least expensive.

Mel Bay Anthology of French Horn Music - SheetMusicPlus.com18. Horn Player’s Audition Handbook – another compilation of orchestral horn excerpts.

Some overlap with the Mel Bay anthology, but there are somethings in here not in there.

Still not an all-in-one excerpt compilation.Horn Player's Audition Handbook - SheetMusicPlus.com

 

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French Horn Music for Advanced (college level and beyond)players:

1. 40 Preludes, Op.27 by Jacques Francois Gallay – this collection of preludes featuresboth measured and unmeasured works – the latter challenging not only technique, butalso phrasing.

40 Preludes - SheetMusicPlus.com2. Maxime-Alphonse 200 Studies in 6 Books for Horn #4-6 These etudes get both longer

and more challenging, and offer both musical and technical dif;culty. Many of theseetudes will bene;t from added rests, however, as some have little to no rest written in.

Book #4: 20 Dif;cult Etudes - SheetMusicPlus.comBook #5: 20 Very Dif;cult Etudes - SheetMusicPlus.comBook #6: 10 Virtuosic Etudes

3. 48 Etudes for French Horn by Verne Reynolds – 48 etudes that are written in a verycontemporary style, the ;rst 24 cover each interval, from the half-step to the octave,while the last 24 cover a variety of other technical challenges often encounter in modernmusic (extreme range, articulation, dynamics, etc.)

48 Etudes - SheetMusicPlus.com48 Etudes - WWBW.com

4. 21 Characteristic Etudes for High Horn Playing by Martin Hackleman – These etudescover the upper register, up to high C and beyond, in a very melodic and often lyricalfashion. Adapted from clarinet studies.

21 Characteristic Etudes for High Horn - SheetMusicPlus.com5. 34 Characteristic Etudes for Low Horn Playing by Martin Hackleman – These are similar

to the high horn etudes, except covering the low register. Most include at least somebass clef, written in old notation.

34 Characteristic Etudes of Low Horn - SheetMusicPlus.com6. Sonata by Paul Hindemith

Schott Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com7. Sonata for Alto Horn by Paul Hindemith Originally written for an Eb alto (or tenor) horn,

this piece is also performed by French horns and alto saxophones.Schott Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

8. Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70 by Robert Schumann – One of the ;rst piece written for thevalved horn, this piece is both a technical challenge and an endurance challenge.

G. Henle Edition - SheetMusicPlus.comTuckwell Edition - SheetMusicPlus.comTuckwell Edition - WWBW.com

9. Laudatio by Bernhard Krol for horn aloneSimrock Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

10. Intrada by Otto Ketting for horn aloneDonemus Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

11. Parable for Solo Horn by Vincent PersichettiTheodore Presser Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

12. En Foret by Eugene BozzaAlphonse Leduc - SheetMusicPlus.com

13. Concerto for Horn and Strings – by Gordon JacobSchirmer Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

14. Horn Concerto #2 in Eb Major by Richard StraussBoosey & Hawkes Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com

15. Concerto in Bb Major Op. 91 by Rheinhold  Gliere – A long and very challenging Russianhorn concerto. This edition includes the cadenze written by Valery Polekh.

International Edition - SheetMusicPlus.com16. Concerto for Horn and Orchestra by John Williams – Keep in mind, this is not like John

Williams’ movie music.Hal Leonard Edition

This is not a complete list of French horn music for younger students – you can ;nd a lot ofother music over at the French horn music result list at SheetMusicPlus.com

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Other Musical ResourcesThe Internation Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) has a large amount of public domainclassical music. A list of pieces on IMSLP featuring the horn can be found here. A word ofcaution, though. While there are some good things to be found, many of these editions areold, out-of-date, or inaccurate. They are ;ne to use as an introduction to a piece, but youshould be sure to purchase a good edition sooner rather than later! If you’re looking fororchestral excerpts, there are two great resources:

The International Horn Society has taken on the old HornExcerpts.org web page,which you can ;nd right here. This website has a large collection of orchestralexcerpts – with the relevant sheet music and a several recordings of each excerpt,so you can get a sense of the style (and any traditional variations).The most comprehensive single resource would probably be the The OrchestralAudition Repertoire for Horn: Comprehensive and Unabridged, compiled by DavidThompson. It’s not cheap, at almost $100, but it is over 1,000 pages, and completeparts – not just the popular excerpts.

 

    Although SheetMusicPlus.com does have a very wide selection and is pretty easy tonavigate, there are a few other good sources for horn music. Some of my other favorites are:

Robert King Music: Now part of Alphonse-Leduc, they have a wide variety of hornmusic (as well as just about every other ensemble). The website is a bit of a pain tonavigate, though.G. Henle Verlag: A German publisher with some excellent urtext (an edition writtento reproduce the original as closely as possible, with minimal editorial editions)editions of Classical and Romantic era horn music. Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann,Dukas, and others. I linked several Henle editions above – buying these editions

Apps forMusicians

Choosing aMouthpiece

Old vs NewNotation Bass

Clef

French HornAccessories

French hornlessons

Kopprasch #18from 60 Low

Horn Etudes, Op.6

from SheetMusic.com has generally faster shipping than buying direct from thepublisher.Thompson Edition: In addition to the above-mentioned orchestral repertoire book,Thompson Edition does have some other music for sale.RM Williams Publishing: Specializing in new chamber works for horn, this is a goodplace to ;nd a lot of new works by Paul Basler.Robert  Ostermeyer Musikedition: A good source for all manner of Classical andRomantic era French horn music. A lot of lesser-known or hard-to-;nd music isavailable here. They also have scores for horn concerti as well as offering rentalparts for performances.

 

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