Kinder Horns, a guide for teachers and parents

I grew up in upstate NY and to this day, school instrumental music programs start students at the beginning of year four, or fourth grade as they say there. Here is Australia, most instrumental music programs in my area start in year three or even earlier. These younger and smaller player faces some very real practical issues when trying to manage an instrument that is made for someone bigger than they are. This issue spans all brass instruments but let’s look specifically at the French horn. 

A traditionally wrapped single French horn can pose a problem for a little person. Awkward seating positions, stretching, extra weight, discomfort and a large case all make an already challenging instrument that much harder to play. The solution has been around for a time the Children’s or Kinder horn. 

The Children’s horn is simply a French horn that has been coiled more compactly, usually has a smaller bell, closer keys for little fingers and comes in a smaller case. It’s a logical solution for a simple problem. 

This practical and logical solution makes perfect sense, but there are real problems with these instruments. There is not a long legacy of production of Kinder horns outside of Germany. I never saw one in the US. Demand for these instruments is low outside of Australia and a few European and Asian countries that begin teaching instrumental music at a younger age. There is no production legacy of these instruments by most of the well known reputable builders with most catering to the larger US market. This leaves limited options: expensive European made instruments, inexpensive Chinese instruments or the rare older instrument. 

I’ve seen few older Kinder horns. The most common ones I’ve seen have been branded by Besson but made in Eastern Europe by Lidl in the Czech Republic. I don’t see them often but they are generally well built and durable but on the heavy side. They have old school ball and socket mechanical linkages that can go out of adjustment quickly and get noisy. Otherwise, these are well built and designed instruments that hold up well. These are getting old now and hard to find but probably one of the better instruments around.

There are some German makers that make Kinder horns, Otto and Finke being two good examples. The Finke is notably not marketed as a Kinder horn but as a compact horn, professional level but built compactly. I've never an Otto Kinder horn in person but I would expect a well built and durable instrument made to professional standards. The problem with both of these is cost. Based on the Euro price, these would sell in Australia for $4000 and up. Unfortunately, a $4000 German made horn can be damaged just as easily as a much less expensive instrument. Probably not something you want to hand to an eight year old. 

That leaves Chinese made instruments. Besides the odd Besson, this is what I see in Australia. You will see several brands of these instruments but if you look closely, in reality there are just few makers. This limited offering of horns being rebranded (“stencilled”) by international buyers. 

The Kinder horns we see offered in Australia are in direct response to the market demand. While there may be some quality variation between brands, there is a limit to what can be produced for the price that the market is willing to spend. I've not found any buyers willing to spend many thousands of dollars on a French horn for a beginner. But I also cannot stress enough: a cheaply instrument will cost more to maintain and repair, be more frustrating for the student, require more attention by the tutor during lesson time, more time spent at the repair shop and it will need to be replaced sooner. All this must be considered when purchasing a new instrument. With the very limited options of Kinder horns available expect problems, expect repair costs and expect lost time. 

So what are the issues with these horns and how do we deal with them. Here are the problems and some suggestions:

Bracing: 

  • Problem: The bracing on these horns is insufficient, poorly engineered and affixed poorly. The braces are made of metal that is thin and weak. They braces often have insufficient surface area to maker a durable bond between two parts. The small wrap of these horns makes bracing difficult with heavy stresses especially on the valve slides just a fact of life. Bracing on these horns consistently fail. 
  • Solution: The only suggestion I can offer is to be careful and keep the horn in good working order. Keeping the valves working smoothly is a must. I see the bracing on the underside of the valve section fail most often. This happens for two reasons: the valves stick so the player pushes really hard on the valve paddles, the paddles act as levers on the weakly braced valve section and eventually, the braces fail. The other problem is storing lesson books on top of the horn in the case; the student puts the horn in the case, plops the lesson books on top and squeeze the case shut. It doesn’t take long to break undersized and weak braces this way. 

Sticky valves:

  • Problem: These are instruments made to a budget. The valves are made with brass of a lower grade alloy and left poorly finished (I have literally cut my finger on the rotors of these instruments. The manufacturers make the valve quickly and sloppily, leaving very sharp edges). The grade of brass used corrodes extremely quickly. Moisture between the brass valve and the brass casing, without the presence of oil, VERY quickly creates corrosion that binds the valve. If one can get the valve to move, it will feel gritty.
  • Solution: Keeping the rotors well lubricated, ESPECIALLY THE ROTOR SPINDLES, is crucial. Use of the right oils in the right places regularly is the only way to even hope of keeping these valve working in the long term. I have never seen a new student level horn sold with the decent oils so plan on this extra expense from day one. Lastly, I suggest that tutors take the first few minutes of every lesson to properly oil the valves

INSERT LINK TO ROTOR LUBE GUIDE

Bent levers:

  • Problem: When the valves get stuck, and they will, the student, parent and often the tutor will push the finger lever really hard. The more robust lever arms of a professional horn are not built to endure this kind of stress. The thin and weak material used on these horns bend easily and quickly resulting in finger levers at varying heights. It can also lead to loose or broken stings on strung valves or broken or bent screws, levers or linkages. 
  • Solution: When a rotor will not move by pressing the lever with ease, flip the horn over, grasp the “stop arm” at the back of the rotor and twist back and forth until the rotor moves freely. This will avoid damaging the any parts of the lever. If you can’t twist it with your fingers it’s time to take it to your repair guy. It costs less to repair a valve that is stuck than it does one that is broken. 

Noisy valves:

  • Problem: The valves make a racket and it keeps getting worse! There are a lot of moving parts in rotary valve, especially those horns with mechanical linkages. There are 6 places a mechanical valve linkage can make noise. That’s in addition to noise from the rotor itself or a poorly fitted stop arm. 
  • Solution:
    • Seek a horn with string linkages. Strings eliminate all six of the potential noise causing issues made by mechanical linkages. In addition, strings will break when overstressed which is actually a good thing by preventing more expensive damage to levers and linkages. A sting cost a few cents to replace, a ball joint starts at $25. 
    • If you have mechanical linkages make sure all the screws are tight and use a heavy oil on ball joints from day one. Keeping them oiled slows wear and cushions the impact of each stroke, reducing noise. Where the ball joint screws onto the rod is a more difficult place to fix. Makers will often leave ball joints loose so they screw onto the mounts with ease. These loose screws are fine in the short run (or off the showroom floor) but quickly wear, wobble and become noisy. If you are lucky enough to have a horn with adjusting nuts on the rods, make sure these are screwed up against the ball joint (not the rod) locking the ball joint in the proper position. If you don’t have adjusting nuts, a repair tech can file the ball joint or rod end to fit the rod tightly and be at the right angle. 
    • Loose stop arms are another rotor noise problem. A properly fitted stop arm fits on the rotor spindle snugly. Most Chinese kinder horns have loose stop arms. Often they just need to be screwed down firmly. A good repair tech can offer other solutions to all but the worst valves if these are problematic. 

Cases: 

  • With the exception of the old Besson/Lidl cases, awful. Every single one. Broken zippers, broken hinges (if they even have any), loose foam bits inside, broken straps and handles. Consider yourself lucky if it lasts more than two or three years. 
  • Solution: I have not found a reliable source for replacement cases and those cases that have been sourced are as bad as the originals. The kinder horns can fit in some full size replacement cases but of course, are now bigger and heavier. That, I’m sorry to say, is as good as it gets. 

 

Makers:

  • Chinese
    • Briz
      • Paxman
    • Unknown
      • Thomann
      • John Packer
    • Unknown
      • Cambridge
      • Schagerl
      • Possibly Wessex
    • Wiseman
    • Eastman
  • Europe
    • Dieter Otto - Bb: €2600, F: €2900
    • Finke - Bb: Bb: €3150, F: €3550
    • Hans Hoyer: Bb: €2679, F: €2679
    • Lidl: Bb €1600, F: €1685