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How to Adjust a French Horn Valve

French horns that are used in a school band or an orchestra come in two types. There is an F horn and a combination B-flat/F horn. These are known as single or double French horns. Tuning the French horn requires that you obtain the proper pitch for the open tones played on the horn. To do this, you can verify the tones of the horn with the tones heard on an electronic tuner.

Things You'll Need

Electronic Tuner

Instructions

- 1
  Turn on the tuner and turn the dial to set it at 440 Hz. Locate all of the tuning slides on your horn. Push these slides all the way in.
- 2
  Play an open tone and press the ̶0;Change̶1; valve to put the horn into a B-flat pitch. Pull on the main tuning slide and set it at 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch. This brings down the pitch of your horn. Verify the tone of the note being played with the tone of the tuner.
- 3
  Go back to an F pitch by releasing the ̶0;Change̶1; valve. Play an open tone on the horn and pull out the ̶0;F̶1; tuning slide. Verify the tone of the note with the tone on the tuner.
- 4
  Pull the ̶0;Valve̶1; slide on the B-flat side of the horn and ̶0;Valve̶1; slide on the F side of the horn. Check the tone on the horn with the tone on the tuner. If done correctly, your horn should be in perfect tune.

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