German horn

The German horn is a member of the brass (Hornbostel–Sachs 423.232). Learn how it makes its sound and explore related instruments.

How the German horn makes its sound

In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the German horn belongs to the brass (lip-vibrated aerophones): the player's buzzing lips set the air column vibrating – trumpets, horns, trombones, tubas and the didgeridoo.

More broadly it is one of the aerophones (wind instruments), where sound comes from vibrating air.

Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.

From Wikipedia

The horn is a brass instrument in the horn family, made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a large flared bell and rotary valves. The term French horn refers to horns with piston valves, seldom used today; the double horn in F/B♭, a variety of German horn, is the horn most often used by players in professional orchestras and bands, although the descant and triple horn have become increasingly popular. A musician who plays a horn is known as a horn player or hornist.