Tuned In - French Horn: Horn Method Book

Robert Herrings brings Texas band director experience directly into this book, partnering with a composer who understands what ensemble sound actually needs. The combination of key-specific studies, chorales with block chord harmonic support, and free downloadable drones means you can address intonation systematically without requiring expensive equipment or proprietary software. Most intonation books ask you to choose between comprehensiveness and practicality; this one delivers both.

Honest and unadorned. These are working studies with purpose; each exercise reveals exactly where the intonation problem lives and gives you the tools to fix it. The chorales provide harmonic grounding that makes the work feel musical rather than mechanical, while the drones create a calm, centered quality that helps players develop internal pitch stability.

Horn players in concert bands seeking focused work on intonation through systematic study rather than vague reminders to listen better. Band directors managing sections with inconsistent pitch center or preparing horns to blend cleanly with woodwinds will find the structure and free resource options particularly valuable.

• Start with the drones in the same key you're working in that day. Having all four horns lock onto a fundamental pitch for even two minutes before rehearsal transforms what the section hears in unison passages.
• Move through the chorales as warm-up material rather than as performance pieces. The block chord layout lets students hear their voice within the harmonic context immediately, which builds awareness faster than isolated melodic studies.
• Rotate which horn plays the melody in the chorale studies. First horn doesn't always need the lead line for intonation work to be effective; having second and third horn carry the tune reveals tuning issues throughout the section.
• Use the studies in all keys sequentially over a week or two rather than picking and choosing. The cumulative exposure to fingering patterns and resonance adjustments across the entire chromatic range is what drives real improvement.

Build this into your regular warm-up rotation during the season when intonation drifts, or use it as targeted intervention for your horn section before a concert. The comprehensive key coverage also makes it useful for preparing horn players who are transitioning between different pieces in your program that sit in uncommon keys.

• Intonation matching and centering tone in all major and minor keys
• Reading and executing block chord voicings for harmonic context awareness
• Adjusting embouchure and air support to correct pitch instability
• Listening critically to blend pitch with other horns in a section
• Building embouchure flexibility across the full range of the instrument