Recently, in response to an advertisement on a horn dealer's Facebook page for a double horn with a stopping valve, someone asked why anybody would need a stopping valve when the horn had an F side. Perhaps the commentator was being naive, but I suspect he was suggesting that use of a stopping valve was "cheating".
It is all very well using the F side to handstop - up to a point. It is fine if you're not called upon to play anything too high or too technically demanding. A couple of examples. Mahler asks for top "A"s handstopped in the last mvt of his 1st Symphony and a top "Bb" in the first mvt of his 2nd Symphony. These would be treacherous played on the F side. Then there is the 2 bar chromatic descending semiquaver passage in the third mvt of the 2nd Symphony. Much easier if you have a stopping valve - just put your thumb down and play the notes as printed with normal Bb fingering. No thinking about transposing AND trying to recall F horn fingering at speed.
Luckily I have a choice of instruments. Even when playing a 4-valve double I will sometimes handstop on the Bb side using "trick" (i.e. flat) fingerings where needed for better intonation.
Should I be ashamed of myself for not handstopping everything on the F horn?!
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