Schuller: Hand Position

from Gunther Schuller: Horn Technique

The position of the right hand in the bell of the horn has a significant effect on tone quality. Opinion is much divided on this issue, and each of the various approaches seems to have some points in its favor. My personal preference, taking into consideration not personal subjective viewpoints, but demonstrable musical criteria, is for a hand position which helps to produce a velvety mellow sound, free and projecting in lower dynamics, which at the same time prevents excessive brassiness at high dynamic levels. Although breath control has an even more decisive effect on tone production, the role of the right hand should not be minimized. If breath control can be said to determine the basic inner nature, the core of a tone, the hand position can, like a garment, alter the external characteristics, the sheen of the tone. The preferred hand position, which I refer to, can be described as follows: the hand is inserted into the bell in a vertical position, as far as it will go without forcing. The hand should be slightly cupped, and the fingers held together so that no air can pass between them, while the thumb should be in a relaxed position reaching towards the second joint of the index finger
On this particular point I have found that a loose relaxed position of the thumb, not necessarily closing off the area between thumb and index finger, makes a better resting place for the bell of the horn. The bell thus sits' on the triangle shaped by the upper part of the index finger, the body of the hand, and the thumb as the hypotenuse. The hand, thus cupped, can give the proper support for holding the bell side of the horn, and at the same time—and this is what concerns us at the moment—direct the tone, the air column to be accurate, partially into the player's body near the waist. Naturally, if this is overdone, a stuffy tone will result. The player's ear or a teacher's advice can be the only arbiters. A little experimentation with this hand position will enable theplayer to find the desired tonal sheen.
In this connection, I would like to emphasize that the hand should be held in a vertical position. I find that in this way the hand has more control over tone and intonation, for the following reason: since the air column theoretically extends beyond the end of the bell—to what extent depends upon the frequency of the pitch—it stands to reason that the hand position I have advocated will form, with the body, a kind of channel through which the tone must pass, and upon which, therefore, the hand can have a direct effect. The tone is 'walled in', as it were, on two opposite sides.


When the hand is placed, palm up, in a horizontal position in the lower part of the bell, as some players seem to prefer, it forms a right angle with the body. The hand, moving up and down, has no opposing 'wall' which can counter the effect of its movements. Instead of a wall, there is a non-resistant open space. The effect of the hand, therefore, is greatly minimized, and a 'harder' tone quality is generally the result. Since the bell opening itself forms a perfect circle, the hand, in relation only to the bell, could be placed anywhere with equal effect. English players, holding the horn free of the body, therefore can (theoretically) place the hand anywhere in the bell with no variation in effect. If,
however, the principle of reflecting the sound partially off the body is employed, it becomes obvious that the hand position in relation to the body is very critical. The hand position recommended also allows for immediate hand muting and, above all, a maximum in hand flexibility to adjust intonation or tonal shadings. While on the subject of the playing position, I would like to add that, regarding the left arm and hand, the player should once more find the most relaxed (but not collapsed) position. He should also learn from the very beginning of his studies to curve the fingers slightly over the keys (much as pianists are supposed to do), and by all means keep the fingertips in contact with the keys at all times. Good left hand habits will pay untold dividends later on in fast technical passages.