Katana VentraIP

Horn section

A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the term is applied loosely to any group of woodwind or brass instruments, or a combination of woodwinds and brass.

Symphonic[edit]

In a symphony orchestra, the horn section is the group of symphonic musicians who play the French horn (or German horn or Vienna horn). These musicians are typically seated to the back of the ensemble and may be on either side at the director's discretion. Placing them to the left with their bells toward the audience increases the prominence of the section, whereas on the right, the sound reflects off the back of the stage. Most of the time, players are seated right to left from the director's view based on seating, with the principal horn (first horn) being seated on the right and fourth horn seated on the left. The section is ordered in this way so the principal horn may be heard by all players, as the principal sets the timbre and intonation of the section.

Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Chicago

Fat Freddy's Drop

from Hunters & Collectors

Horns of Contempt

The Empire Horns

The E Street Horns

The Horny Horns

from The Rolling Stones and many other notable artists.

The Uptown Horns

The J.B.'s

The Kick Horns

The Know How

The Memphis Horns

Muscle Shoals Horns

from Earth, Wind & Fire

Phenix Horns

Punk Funk Horns

Seawind Horns

Tower of Power

The Miami Horns

Egypt 80

Anon. 2002. "Reed section". Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, Oxford Music Online (20 January; accessed 19 July 2018).

Anon. 2013. "Horn (ii)". Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, Oxford Music Online (11 February; accessed 21 April 2016).