Alphorn Season will Be Here Soon / Jazz Alphorn is Here Now

       The Alphorn ( Alpine horn or Alpen horn )  has been evolving from its ancient roots for some 100,000 years. Early versions were mainly for military use but, in the region of the mountainous Alps they were used mainly  to announce daily activities.  Archeological records provide evidence of alphorn-like instruments being used by Celtic tribes on the northern slopes of the Alps around 2000 years ago. Very similar to horns from the early 1500's, the modern alphorns range in length from  10.6 feet to 13.5 feet and play in the keys of E, F or F# depending on the length, which can be adjusted with various extensions.   The horn is pretty much a wooden version of an unrolled French Horn - French Horn players are most immediately comfortable playing the Alphorn, which, without valves or holes, plays only the one overtone series of the fundamental pitch.  Other brass-family horns have movable valves that enable the player to  change fundamental pitch of the horn in order to play additional notes from a different overtone series, but not the Alphorn.  This is its biggest challenge in playing - adjusting pitch completely with the embouchure (shaping of the lips and muscle control) and hitting pitches accurately within the 4-octave range.

The Carnyx - from the Celtic Iron Age

Alphorns of The Salzburger Echo Band perform in Honolulu                      photo  s.k.

   The seventh partial of the Alphorn (6th overtone) is a perfect 7x the frequency of the fundamental pitch 43.65 Hz ( the lowest on a F horn ),  which puts it's pitch at 305 Hz., squarely between D and D#, a little closer to D# but clearly FLAT of the tempered b7 of the major scale that we are used to hearing ( 311.1 Hz).  If played together with a tempered b7 it would produce a beat rate of about 6 beats/sec.  It is just the nature of the beast and not a flaw in the instrument  - it is really more a flaw of Equal Temperament.  See previous post about Equal Temperament.   Alphorn players will still use this note in their performances to approximate the tempered b7th,  or just as a unique sound unto itself, while several other notes of the tempered chromatic scale simply don't exist on the horn.
    The horns are made of spruce or pine and wrapped with birch rattan, while the mouthpieces and decorative crowns could be make of other woods like walnut or boxwood. Some are very decorative and extravagant with detailed carvings and hand painted details.  A new generation of carbon fiber horns are frowned on by the purists but they do make traveling easier, though the sound quality is considerably different.

  For some impressive Jazz Alphorn by Arkady Shilkloper  click here

Don't miss the Fourth Annual North American Alphorn Retreat near my home town of Salt Lake City, Utah , to be held at the beautiful Solitude Ski Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon Aug 11-14, 2011.   Group lessons, private lessons, top-notch food and accommodations, mountain treks, world-class instructors, alphorn competition and concert, horns to rent if you don't have your own...

Brian Priebe, Tony Brazleton, Mark Pyper                                      photo   s.k.

other links:

Rocky Mountain Alphorns  - Bill Hopson
          http://www.alphorn.ca/

Gerald Pot - alphorn maker
          http://www.alpinehorn.com/en/alpinehorn-pot.html
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Tight Airport Security for Alphorns - But it's just a Musical Horn!

Arkady Shilkloper, Russian jazz Alphornist