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The Paxman Drinking Horn

French Horn Mutes

Mutes
Types

The Horn Mute

French horn Mute

There are 3 main French horn mutes that you will come across, and all have very different purposes.

Here at Paxman's we try to maintain a wide variety of straight, practice and stopping mutes, suitable for all level of players. 

Horn Mute Types

Straight Mute

The most commonly used mute in all manners of music from orchestral, chamber and Jazz. In classical music, when the mute type is not specified, it is assumed that the player should use a straight mute. The mute softens the sound and, by the use of different construction materials, alters the timbre. Many players keep an arsenal of different types to adapt to the type of music they are playing at the time.

Practice Mute

As the name suggests, for use in practice situations, these mutes are designed to reduce the decibel range of the sound produced as much as possible without compromising on playability and tuning.

Stopping Mute
The stopping mute is designed to recreate the hand technique used by horn players to create a "gestopf" effect. This usually results in the sound moving up by one semitone so the player has to transpose back down. These are generally not commonly used in orchestral situations.
 
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