A couple of weeks ago I discovered a piccolo French horn--no joke! It's so small. I'm not sure it's very good quality, but it's so weird! It's not too extraneously expensive, so if I ever have $800 dollars to spare, I may just buy myself one just so that I can experiment with it and give it a shot.

There's someone who sells them on E-bay and they usually go for around $200.

I don't play horn, but my sis does... so when I saw the forum about the piccolo french horn I just had to see what it was about. These french horns are SO SO SO CUTE!!!

i really want one, but the only issue is that if the case breaks, where will you get another. After viewing them on ebay, the case is like a nylon lunchbag, and looks a little weak and flimsy. I would love to have one for x-mas, but I don't know if my mom would approve, considering I,ve never held a regular french horn, forget played one (As you can see, I play tenorsaxophone, and am quite skilled, but I want an instrument that I can just keep at home and have a blast on, considering I am aiming to be a ethnomusicologist.

i saw this instrument and was like wow i have to have it! but i have only been able to find them through the guy that sells them on ebay...does anyone know of another place online where i can buy one that isnt sold by him?

Woah, okay that would be cute.

Ran across one of these on YouTube, actually. Seemed somewhat appealing... something to take out on the streets and loudly blast Siegfried at people without worrying about fumbling notes. ^^

Looks to be in the same pitch as the trumpet, actually. Bb soprano. Would use *almost* the same fingerings as the Bb side of a double horn if you were reading from a F horn part. Here's a place I found them: http://gosuperdvd.stores.yahoo.net/professional-piccolo-french-horn-u-never-seen-before.html

No idea if it's the same guy or not.

Here's an annoying fellow playing one (though quite well!) ... he even plays a bit of one of the Mozarts.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qJLNxMywgq0

It *is* rather cute.

The piccolo french horn is a B-flat cornet. It is not a very fine instrument but it is cute. I plan to use it in woodwind quintet performances as sort of a gag item. Please don't spend $800+ on it - - - you'd be very disappointed (and rightfully so).

I've been told that these piccolo horns are nothing but glorified flugal horns. It is formed to look like a mini French horn, but is really in the trumpet/cornet/flugal horn family. The mouthpiece can be a horn type mouthpiece as is a flugal horn mouthpiece. Some of these are deeper cup trumpet mouthpieces that mimic a horn mouthpiece (maybe a cross between an alto horn mouthpiece and a true horn mouthpiece cup). The are likely made by Berkelely Wind Instruments out of China. The Chinese guy who owns Berkeley has made some decent horns, but they are scarcely available. Same thing with Eastman out of China.

The guy in the you-tube video does a great job playing it w/ horn styling, though. Horn players would have difficulty playing it that well because we'd have to learn a new technique.

Valerie

hmmm i wonder why not everyone loves piccolo so much...is it because the crazy high notes?

Well, the intonation on shorter brass instruments is often questionable and takes a lot of work to pull off. Also, although people would think it is easier to hit the higher notes, it is not the case and you lose the ability to play lower notes. Although the shorter instrument places teh partials farther apart so it is easier to "hit" the correct note (meaning less chance to hit the neighboring note) you still have to play the same note with your lips that you do on the longer instruments. Not many people play above high c on any horn. very few are able to go up into the next octave much less at a playable quality.

<Not many people play above high c on any horn.> This is true, but a lot of Balanced Embouchure trumperters hit double high C's in jazz playing. I know a professional horn player who also studies Balanced Embouchure because he wants to get up to high C just "for fun." I personally can't imagine playing that high on the horn, but there's a few guys who do it on you-tube. It's not beautiful, but heck, it's THERE! Amazing. Here's a link to one guy w/ a phenomenol range. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XRkCfsiKlY Valerie

Hello.
I´m Jorge (George) from Valencia, Spain.
I´ve been reading some of the messages added in this forum.
About piccolos french horn I´ve got one and I played it some times but I have it to give it to my nephew. Some of french horn players who have childs buy such horns to teach their kids to play french horn or just for fun and to avoid they could used the "big" french horn and damage it.
Here you´ve got a web site when you can find such horn and many others, even painted in colors!
http://www.consolatdemar.com/trompas.htm
About the high range I listened recordings such Peter Damm Concerts in Dresden Court, Bach cantatas by Hermann Bauman and others wich play in this almost impossible range.
Here you´ve got added in our spanish french horn forum and historical Sperger horn Concerto played by Nikolas Nagy in the IHS celebrated in Valencia in 2004 and his funny/impossible amazing cadenza!!!
http://www.soytrompista.com/secciones/_foro/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=5550
Enjoy it.
Grettings from Spain.
Jorge.

Thank you, Jorge, for the links. Very interesting. I would like to have a picollo horn just for fun, but also to have something light weight & small to take along when I travel.

Valerie

Hi Valerie.
You can contact with them to know how much will cost including if they send instruments abroad, I think so.
Actually the piccolo horn they´ve got is not exactly the same that the one appears on ebay.
This one has the 3rd slide diferent esthetic form and has not the engravings on the bell but, after beeing tasting both piccolos horns, I´ve found the one I´ve got with better sound and the mechanical rotors works better. Even the case isn´t the same.
My advice is to write to "Consolat de Mar" shop and ask them for prices, models, colors, shipping and handling and even some pictures.
Don´t hesitage to contact me if you´ve got any doubt or problem in the case they don´t speak english.
Good luck Valerie!
Jorge.