what can i do to make my sound clearer and less fluffy sounding (not the fluffy of bad tounging but airy fluffy :-/)

thanks

Have you tried emptying out the spit valves and giving the inside of your instrument a bath as best you can? Also make sure you are putting enough air through the horn dont play louder just push more air through the horn. Practice the dreaded LONGTONES. which really are not all that bad. What kind of horn is it?

My last question was a little misleading. Who is the maker of your horn?

holton horn from the school :P
ive given it a bath recently. cleaned and oiled valves and slides.
however i have this sound when i play other horns too.

i do long tones, bout only about five notes, which probably isnt very helpful. i guess ill do them all now.

An airy sound is most probably indicative of air being pushed through the instrument which isnt vibrating at the desired frequency or escaping through a hole - for instance a water key.

An airy sound is common when trying to extend your range upwards. Simple stretching you lips to create more tension tends to produce a embouchure shape through which the air passes which is to thin and the air at the sides doesnt vibrate. You should make a conscious effort to hold a more oval hole betteen the shaped lips. You may find reading "The Art of French Horn Playing" by Phillip Farkas helpful.

thanks

i have this sound on any horn i play, so its probably not a hole or water key problem.

ill try making a more oval embrochure when playing, and ill see if i can get a copy of "the art of french horn playing."

I have huge lips, which may also be a problem. they seem to get in the way sometimes.... :-P

Horn players with large lips usually have no choice but to place the mouthpiece such it rests on the red of at least one lip. I believe it is preferrable to position the upper lip so that all the red is inside and allow the rim to set into the lower lip. (Although in my case with a thin rim the mouthpiece rests in the red of both lips).

Endurance is often a problem for players with big lips if they use any pressure. In principle, you could use a wide-rim mouthpiece and some pressure but in practice it is then very difficult to slur. I changed to a no pressure (Farkas) method but it wasn't an easy transition. However, endurance is now not a problem and the upper register is much improved.

See Ebay 240000023538 for Farkas "The Art of French Horn Playing" http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&item=240000023538

Sometimes dropping the jaw helps me. It also could be a really weird hand placement. When I play different horns, some seem to have a sweet spot for the best sound.