french horn

Because it was made in france? lol I have no idea.

well, I play the french horn, and everyone believes that its called the french horn because supposably it was generated in france but thst not true. the french horn comes from a long tradition of instruments first used in china, egypt, and scandinavia. These instruments were used for signaling and ceremony. However, because they had no valves, only few notes could be played. By Roman times, and for centuries thereafter, valveless “natural” horns were common at military and civilian events. In the 1600’s, the natural horn was used in the royal mounted hunt. The instrument was colied and fit over the arm of the player were rode with the hunt, playing fanfairs and horn calls.

The horn became a regular member of the orchestra during the 1700’s. Early in the century, a horn pitched in F was made in Vienne. This instrument had five detachable pieces of tubing called crooks. Crooks lengthened or shortened the horn so it could be played in best key for the music. By employing crooks and using the right hand in the bell to stop certain notes, a skilled musician could play any note on the scale.

The invention of valves in 1815 made the awkward crooks obsolete. Two types of valves were developed: rotary (revolving cylinder) valves, and piston (up and down) valves. The French made smaller bored horns with piston valves, while the Germans created larger bored horns with rotary valves. It is the German version that is reffered to in America, as a French horn.