Blowing Horns

The Blowing Horn (also known as the 'Winding Horn' or the 'Blast Horn') is surely one of mankinds oldest musical instruments. Musical instruments with a sound generated by buzzing the lips (the definition of the 'brass' family), made of both wood and animal horn, are known all over the world. However because these materials do not survive for long underground the oldest horns extant in Europe are metal, and date to the Bronze Age. A horn found in Intermessan in Scotland was side blown, and obviously modelled on an animal horn. It dated to around 800BC, and shows us that both metal and cow horns were in use in Britain at this time.

The oldest survivng animal horn is from around 1500 years later, from a deep bog in Visnum, Sweden. It dated from the late Iron Age, and had five finger holes. Only slightly younger is the Ripon Charter Horn, given to the town of Ripon in 886 by Alfred the Great.This type of Blowing Horn is made from a single cow horn, so it is also known as a Cow Horn Trumpet or Cow Horn Bugle.

Simple Cow Horn Blowing Horns Without Finger Holes.

Because of its many applications, for ceremonial use, adding atmosphere to re-enactment battles from practically all periods, as a re-enactors costume accessory or as a short range replacement for the mobile telephone, the simple blowing horn is our most popular item. We always keep a variety for immediate despatch. With circular breathing, humming or calling into the horn and partly covering the end a great variety of sounds can be obtained.

Our horns are cleaned out and sterilised internally, and sanded and polished on the outside. Each is tuned and its mouthpiece shaped to make it easy to play. A small horn, 9-15 inches or so long (measured as a straight line from tip to tail) costs £30. A medium sized horn, perhaps 16 to 20 inches long costs £40. See second from top, in picture above. An especially large horn, which I usually make as side blown (like the topmost horn in the picture) might be 20-25 inches long, and cost £50. Any horn can be supplied with a leather hanging/carrying cord at no extra charge. All are supplied with an introductory sheet with easy to follow playing instructions.

Listen to our blowing horns: Small, Medium or Large , recorded in quarry tunnels at Worth Matravers, Dorset.

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Horns with Finger Holes.

The oldest known extant blowing horn with finger holes was found at Visnum in Sweden, buried deep in a peat bog. It had five finger holes and dated to the late Iron Age. Folk traditions of playing both ram and cow horns with finger holes are known from Sweden, Norway and all around the Baltic states of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Kohorn (cow horns), also known as Vallhorn (pasture-horn) or Prillar-Horn (literally 'playing horn') are generally made with three finger holes and rams horns (bukkehorn or tungehorn) with up to eight.

These instruments were important tools for use on the summer pastures, where horns would be blown to scare away predators, and enable long distance communication across the valleys. Traditional horn signals were widely known and the horn players could pass messages about lost cattle, predator sightings, or just say hello to their neighbours. Of course the musical potential of the horn wasn't forgotten, and although not an easy instrument to master, there was plenty of time to practise polskas while the cattle grazed. Most horns can produce a minor scale of 6 notes.

Prillar Horn

The Ancient Instruments Prillar-Horn is based on Norwegian examples held in the Ringve and Dalarna Musical Instrument Museums. Our Prillar-Horns are made from cow-horns and are cleaned and polished as described above. They are usually a little smaller than our simple blowing horns, the finger hole spacing becomes awkward on too large an instrument, so an average one is perhaps 15 inches long. The instrument makes a scale as follows: 1) Lowest note, left hand deep in the end, right hand covering all the holes 2) Hand less far in, all holes covered 3) All holes covered, end open, 4) Bottom hole open 5) Bottom two holes open 6) Highest note, all three holes open.

The Prillar Horn is supplied in a cloth bag and with an instruction leaflet and small book. Although the main text of this book is in Swedish it contains an English summary, many interesting photographs and traditional melodies. The instruction leaflet I supply explains how to read the tablature in the book.Always available for immediate despatch, £60.

Small Prillar Horn

We sometimes have small blowing horns around 9 inches in length which we make into Prillar horns by drilling three large holes. These instruments are played with the left hand permanently in the end of the horn, and play a variety of scales depending on the horn and the player! A good introduction to playing finger hole horns. £30, horn only.

Listen to our Prillar Horns, Small or Medium, recorded in quarry tunnels, Worth Matravers, Dorset.

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Bukkehorns

The Bukkehorn is a blowing horn made from a goat horn rather than a cow horn. Such instruments have a long history both in the Middle East (the Hebrew Shofar is a goat horn) and in Northern Europe. They are obviously smaller and more tightly curved than a cow horn, and have a smaller mouthpiece and are generally higher pitched (see picture right which shows two Bukkehorns with a Prillar horn for comparison).

The Bukkehorn has a distinctive moaning mournful tone. We make Bukkehorn with and without fingerholes. A Bukkehorn without fingerholes makes a good signalling instrument, and can be made to play at least 2 notes by partially blocking the end, which lowers the pitch. With 3 or 4 fingerholes the Bukkehorn can make 6 or 7 notes.

They cost between £30 for small Bukkehorn without fingerholes to about £60 for an especially large horn. An average Bukkehorn might be 11 inches long, and with 3 holes cost £40. Contact us to find out what we have in stock at the moment.

Click HERE to listen to a small 3 hole Bukkehorn, or HERE to listen to a large 4 hole horn.

Click here to find how to order.

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