French Horn Scales Finger Chart

The French horn is a tricky instrument to learn to play. To help you improve your skills, a new virtual instrument plays scales while displaying the required fingering for French horn.

There are two methods of interacting with this instrument. The first is to just tap the note grid with your mouse or trackpad. The second option is to move around the notes using the keys on your computer keyboard, and then press them to hear what sound they make. That way you get the best feel for how you want to practise during any given session.

How to Use the Virtual French Horn Tool

On the main screen there’s a grid of notes laid out according to scale. The little circle contains a number corresponding to the scale degree; for instance, one or eight is the tonic, while the letters are the written out note name. Tap any cell you choose. It will highlight the correct valve combination in the large diagram to the right and play the note through your headphones or speakers.

The buttons above is for selecting various common major and minor scales. You click on one of the buttons, which then changes the whole grid to match that key. This means the notes on the tonic change their position in relation to available partials. The ability to do this is helpful for comparing fingerings in different keys and how the patterns travel around harmonic series.

Most moddern French horns come in two tuning systems. You can change from one to another by using the horn side toggle, which turns the instrument from the B-flat side to the F side of a double horn. These two sides has different fingering for any single written note. When you choose the B-flat side, the valve indicators will adjust to match. This reflects how it feels physically to change from thumb valves or crooks. You then practise keeping your fingers in the same places as on the other side regardless of which you are playing.

You can see from the big diagram on the right where to depress the valves to get your chosen note. Then there is the three circles representing valves 1, 2 and 3, where a full circle means to press the valve. An empty circle indicates leave it open. Below the circles, the word combination is confirmed. You will also find some notes high up on the instrument where no valves are needed at all. This is key to learning horn.

You can then use the play scale button which automatically runs through the scale you are on, and also the play note button to hear a single pitch. These is really useful as it means you don’t have to manually play the notes yourself but just simply hear how they work together as part of a scale. The play scale button will play the notes from the tonic up to the octave and then back down. This lets you hear the flow of the scale without having to play it yourself. Clicking the button again stop the play function.

The play note button repeats only the note you are currently playing. This is helpful if you want to check how the valves respond or the intonation of a particular tone. There’s no realism here in terms of modelling instruments but rather clarity which means it loads quickly and has a small file size. There’s also a volume slider on the right-hand side that you can adjust based off your listening situation. You might lower it during late night practice sessions. The audio engine then produces a basic tone to indicate the pitch.

To show/hide this information you simply click on the how to play button; it’s like the help panel but for the basics of how things work. Because the French horn is a transposing instrument, it explains that too. It also summarizes the essential interactions. What you see written down isn’t always the same than what you hear (the sounding pitch). This widget shows you the concert pitch so you know what you’re actualy hearing.

The second option, Fullscreen, uses your whole screen (which is useful when working on smaller laptops and tablets). Removing the other items around the page make the interface easier to focus on. Click the button again or use your usual browser controls to exit fullscreen. In both modes, the layout adjusts itself to fit the available area.

If you don’t like using a mouse, you can navigate around easily using the keyboard. Focus moves to the next interactive element as you press Tab. Activate buttons by pressing Enter (or Space). That makes it accessible to all, but it also accelerates the workflow when you get used to where things are.

Tap out a scale yourself; do it by hand and pick out the notes one at a time as you follow the change on the valves. It consolidates the link from the abstract to the real, then attempt to play the same scale in both minor and major modes within the same key. Observe that there is only a slight difference in the fingerings which further shows the make-up of scales. For scales, you play around with the various sides of the horn and find that certain ones favour the B-flat side and other keys, the F side. Ultimately, professional players will choose based off the range they need, and you can experiment with their preferences using the widget. This shows you which notes are more open higher up the instrument. It also gives you a clearer idea of how to make technical choices when performing.

As you play along, you listen to how fast the scales run. You use the automatic playback to test your timing, and then you attempt to match that tempo while playing your choice of material. This develops a sense of consistency and internal rhythm. During the playback, you can also watch the fingerings alter in real time as they do in practice. It is double sensory information that supports memory.

The volume control is easy to use with a slider that enables fine tuning and allows you to keep the volume at a comfortabley level for long periods of practice. Distortion is kept to a minimum even at higher levels and the sound produced synthetically means it remains clear at all volumes. Unlike traditional paper charts which can be lost or even torn up, this thing is meant to be used on the go, for fast lookups, and as a learning tool. It has all of the popular scales pre-programmed in there, instantly selectable by key change. Everything happens right away. Since there is no setup time, you could of played around with keys and experiment more. It reacts right away to everything you do.

Because the minor scales can pose unique challenges in comparison to the major key, you spend some time on them. Playing flat notes requires different valve combinations, so you must work hard to make sure your technique is equally good throughout the repertoire. The widget treats both major and minor scales the same way and gives an equal amount of visual feedback for each. The benefit is that you embed this widget into your day. Spend a couple of minutes going over your fingering prior to picking up your instrument, so you prime your muscle memory. If you engage with it regularly, the visual representation will stay in your mind longer. That’s how you master the French horn: consistency.

The interface is simple yet powerful. It gives you all the information you need to practise scales effectively. Using this tool helps build confidence and reinforces technique. Adding something you can see to what you hear makes it a helpful study aid. So now you’re picking a scale that you’ve been having trouble with, and today you begin using the tool, to see if it can fit into your workflow. And you run through it on the widget, and notice some of the weak points, so you take those findings and use them in your real practice. With focus you’ll get better at your technique. And you like learning about these basic patterns.