French Horn
A♭4 on the French Horn
Written A♭4 — sounds concert D♭4. Tap the diagram to hear it.
Plays the real sound: written A♭4 sounds concert D♭4 on french horn.
Written A♭4 is valves 2 on the B♭ horn (thumb down): the 5th partial, 1 semitone below open A4. It sounds concert D♭4. The 5th partial sits flat, so lift it with the air and open the right hand slightly in the bell. Above the switch point the B♭ side's partials are farther apart than the F side's, so notes are easier to hit.
About this note
Written A♭4 is valves 2 on the B♭ horn (thumb down): the 5th partial, 1 semitone below open A4. It sounds concert D♭4. The 5th partial sits flat, so lift it with the air and open the right hand slightly in the bell. Above the switch point the B♭ side's partials are farther apart than the F side's, so notes are easier to hit.
- Primary fingering: Thumb (B♭ side) + valves 2
- Written pitch: A♭4 · Concert pitch: D♭4
- Sounding frequency: 277.18 Hz
- Harmonic partial: 5 — the valves set the tube length, but your air and embouchure select the partial.
Alternate fingerings for A♭4
- F side: valves 2-3: F side + valves 2 + 3. The same note on the F horn (8th partial). Often the better sound in this range; use it when the passage around it stays on the F side.
French Horn fingering data last updated . Every diagram here, in the printable PDF and in the chart image comes from one dataset, so the paper and the screen cannot disagree.