Welcome to Brass in Color! French Horn Book One of the Brass in Color Beginner Method Series introduces a color-coded tablature (Color Fingerings) to help students learn the fingerings of the French horn and apply them to notes in the Middle Range. In this beginner method series students will first learn the note’s pitch by listening to his or her instructor, and then by using the Color Fingerings students will be able to easily match the note’s pitch with the fingerings of the French horn. Standard music notation has also been included with each lesson to help the instructor know which notes to play, and to teach students how to read the notes as they match them with the fingerings of the French horn. Breath marks, articulation, dynamics and tempi are not noted in the lessons and may be added by the instructor as needed. Also, key signatures are not used so that students will focus primarily on listening and learning the fingerings associated with the notes. There are three main sections in Brass in Color. The first section is Lessons that introduces new fingerings, notes and music concepts. The second section is Technique Exercises that consists of two-measure exercises to help students practice and review the material. The third section is Songs that gives students the opportunity to practice playing longer melodies. This beginner method series for French horn also has a companion website (www.brassincolor.com) On the website you will find audio for each lesson as well as different activities, videos and other resources to help students learn to play the French horn.

Primary attention was given to the selection of melodies and the writing of exercises which, when properly presented, will develop in the beginning student the most desirable musical habits, particularly in the matters of melodic taste, and instinctive feeling for correct phrasing.

The Belwin Student Instrumental Course is a course for individual instruction and class instruction of like instruments, at three levels, for all band instruments. Each book is complete in itself, but all books are correlated with each other. Although each book can be used separately, all supplementary books should be used as companion books with the method.

First to be published in the series was The Art of French Horn Playing by Philip Farkas, now Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Music at Indiana University. In 1956, when Summy-Birchard published Farkas's book, he was a solo horn player for the Chicago Symphony and had held similar positions with other orchestras, including the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and Kansas City Conservatory, DePaul University, Northwestern University, and Roosevelt University in Chicago. The Art of French Horn Playing set the pattern, and other books in the series soon followed, offering help to students in learning to master their instruments and achieve their goals.

This book aims to help beginners play the French horn. The book includes 45 diagrams with fingering positions and staff notation for 3 different types of French horns. The musical notes cover almost 6 octaves. The most basic type of French horn (because of its lightweight, easy playability, and low cost) is the single horn. Also, it is the most popular choice for beginning students. The main difference between single and double French horns is the number of valve slides per rotor. In general, single horns have one valve slide per rotor, while double horns have two. Two tubing sets make the double horn heavier and more complicated to use than the single French horn. These fingering charts are suitable for F and Bb single horns and F/Bb double horns. While the F single French horn has 3 buttons, both the F/Bb double French horn and the Bb single French horn have 4 buttons, the extra being for the thumb. The numbers of buttons that are colored are those that need to be pressed to play the given note. You can cut out the charts or use them directly from the booklet. The size of the cut-out is 6.5x10 inches (16x25 cm).