Horn (instrument) a mixture of the two, is called a horn section in these contexts. Variations include: As the name indicates, people originally used to blow on the actual horns of animals before starting to emulate them in metal or other materials. This original usage survives in the shofar (), a ram's horn, which plays an important role in Jewish religious rituals. The genus of animal-horn instruments to which the shofar belongs is called ("keren") in Hebrew, "qarnu" in Akkadian, and ("keras") in Greek. The "olifant" or "oliphant" (an abbreviation of the French "cor d'olifant"/"oliphant", "elephant horn") was the name applied in
Natural horn right on the modern double horn to get the correct tube length. This is useful for simulating natural horn when playing older compositions. Natural horn The natural horn is a musical instrument that is the ancestor of the modern-day (French) horn, and is differentiated by its lack of valves. It consists of a mouthpiece, some long coiled tubing, and a large flared bell. Pitch changes are made through a few techniques: This instrument was used extensively until the emergence of the valved horn in the early 19th century. The natural horn has several gaps in its harmonic range. To play