I am coming up to my 5th year of playing horn, 3rd year for double horn. My band teacher isn't much help, so I don't have any idea of what my notes are actually suppose to sound like. Does anybody know a website, that will play the pitches of each french horn note? Also, I know how to tune it, but I don't know how[/] to tune my horn. help, please?

If you mean how it is related to the piano with pitches I can help. The horn is in the key of F. Piano, Strings, Flute, and other some other instruments are in the key of C.
To find the relationship between F instruments and C is to take the 4th note in any horn scale. That will be the piano (key of C instrument) note. (related to the tonic.) For example.

French Horn C scale
C D E F G A B C

4th note
F
A 'C' on the Horn is a 'F' on the Piano.
Rule workes.

I hope that is what you wanted.


<Added>

Oh yeah, to compare to, use your violin!

Perhaps I am not clear about your questions. Are you saying after 5 years on Horn you do not know what your pitches are? Yikes. Do you know ANY of your pitches? What I do with my students is have them find pitches they know and are sure of. Many of them use C below the teble clef and or F first space on the treble clef. IF there is a note you know you know then always use that as a reference.

An example: If you don't know what C#, 3rd space treble clef, sounds like. Play F 1st space treble clef and then move up chromatically (F#,G,G#,A,Bb,C,C#). Oh, and play your major scales everyday.

Now if you want to know what the tone quality is supposed to sound like. Just go on you tube and search for palyers and find the sound you like.

?YOUR SECOND QUESTION _ Are you saying you know how to tune the horn with the main tuning slide but you don't know how to tune the horn to itself? I can help you with either of those issues.

It is very confusing when you are the only french horn and the teacher doesn't exactly know how to play the instument either. but ,in general, I know the pitch of a sound, just french horn is soo tricky.

Bethmusic : so, using a chromatic tuner, if I play an F on my horn, the tuner will read it a C?

Nope the other way, the Horn is a fifth higher.
Use your hand as a music staff. The thumb is the highest line (F), Your first finger is the D, middle finger B, ring finger G, pinky is the bottom of the treble clef E.

When you are given a concert pitch you count up five. So, if you are given concert F, count the space between pinky and ring finger (1),ring finger(2),space bwtween ring finger and middle finger (3),middle finger(4) and space between middle finger and index finger (5). So a concert F is your C. If you are playing F and want to know the concert pitch (or tuner pitch)count downwards a fifth or up a fourth. Start on F (thumb) and count down 5 to your middle finger Bb.

Choose the note you want and go up 3 notes and that will be what is read on the tuner. With these 2 scales say the tonic (1st note) is the note you play.
The note you read will be the 4th note in the scale or 3 up from the note you want.
C D E F G A B C
D E F#G A B C D

I feel for you. Horn is tricky and being the only horn player in a large band program can be an intimidating experience. I started a young student who had been in the same situation for almost two years. Poor girl was so confused, she couldn't tell what note she was playing. I showed her a little trick for finding the starting pitch for every piece and -- voila! -- she was off and running. Her confidence soared and she's now developing into a fine horn player capable of holding her own in both the band and my studio horn ensemble. I've taught this "trick" to other horn players & it's helped them as well. Contact me by email and I'll send you a written version of the "little trick" I showed her. ValerieW78 "at" gmail "dot" com

I'd recommend you get a chromatic tuner that you can set to F and a pick up mic that you can clip to your horn bell. Get your band director or someone in the music store to help you with this. MAKE SURE THE TUNER IS SET TO F so that whatever pitch you play on your horn will show you the name of the note you're playing. If it's set to concert pitch, you will learn it the wrong way.

I'd also recommend you buy some easy music books with play along CD's written just for French horn. Play them every chance you get. Listen carefully and try your very best to match the pitches you hear on the CD. I like Canadian Brass Solo books. I'd recommend you start with the first & simplest one. Doing easy stuff over and over builds the confidence you'll need for harder stuff.

Valerie Wells
http://www.beforhorn.blogspot.com/