Saint-Saens: Morceau de Concert

Audio Files:
Excerpt 1: Beethoven, Symphony No. 7, Mvt. I
Excerpt 2: Brahms, Symphony No. 2, Mvt. I
Excerpt 3: Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5, Mvt. I
Excerpt 4: Strauss, Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, opening
Excerpt 5: Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, Mvt. I

Transposition Guide:
There are several excerpts that require transposition in order to play the correct notes. Excerpt 1 is for Horn in A. Because Horn in A sounds a major third (or four half-steps) above Horn in F, the part must be transposed up a major third to be played on a Horn in F. Thus, the first written pitch of the excerpt, G, would be played as a B on a Horn in F. Likewise, in Excerpts 2 and 4, because Horn in D sounds a minor third (or three half-steps) lower than Horn in F, these parts must be transposed a minor third down to be played on a Horn in F. Excerpt 2 begins on a written D for Horn in D, and would therefore be played as a B on a Horn in F.

Bass Clef Guide:
Both Excerpts 3 and 4 contain Bass Clef notation at some point. Keeping in mind that Middle C is the first ledger line below the Treble Clef AND the first ledger line above the Bass Clef, one can work down from there to figure all of the pitches. Thus, the top line of the Bass Clef is A. Remember that you will still need to transpose in Excerpt 4 in addition to reading the Bass Clef notation. Finally, it should be noted that both of these excerpts use what is know to horn players as "Old Notation" Bass Clef notation. That is, that while the pitches can be figured according to what is written above, they actually sound an octave higher than written. And, while I won't launch into a discussion here about why this was done this way, please note that the first note of Excerpt 3 would then be the G right below middle C. The lowest pitch of this excerpt is the B-flat right below our low C. In Excerpt 4, the three Bass Clef notes are C, G, and C respectively. Since this is for Horn in D, we would actually play A, E, and A on a Horn in F. And finally, because this utilizes Old Notation Bass Clef, the first Bass Clef note would actually be the A just below middle C.

Good luck!