The first months on the alphorn are for beginners mainly a struggle with the lips. After just a few minutes of playing the alphorn, the muscles go slack – then it just croaks, high notes no longer come and the lips hurt. The usual advice is “be patient, it will come in time, just don’t push it…”. That may be. But isn’t there a shortcut? What was that again about bodybuilding for the lips? If you do some research on
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At the age of 32, Romain Boulanger is currently probably the youngest alphorn maker. I met him on the sidelines of my visit to the Federal Yodeling Festival and tried out his alphorn. Romain has played the trumpet since early childhood and is still active in a harmony. Rather by chance he discovered the alphorn seven years ago. Via Alexandre Jous he came to the Sonneurs de Savoye . Besides this large formation, Romain also blows successfully with the Trio
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The alphorn presents such a unique, timeless beauty in its natural production of the overtone series; a sound that captivates with its resonance and simplicity. However, the absence of any kind of keys or valves means that they player is entirely responsible for vividly hearing the correct pitch before playing it. Unlike a piano or a fretted guitar string, the alphorn will never inform the player what the correct pitch is. For this reason, it requires a very clear musical
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One should not be deceived by the youthful appearance: Sandro Faïta has already had a 20-year career as a professional horn player in France, Ticino and Belgium. Health problems forced him to take a longer break a good ten years ago; after that he did not want to return to the classical orchestra. Instead, he did an apprenticeship as a carpenter and got into alphorn making. He runs the company résonance bois together with his business partner, who is a
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For more than half a century Gérald Pot has been intensively involved with the alphorn. As a child, he was first captivated by the magical sound. At the age of nine, he started making music himself – his father was a bandmaster in the local brass band. The alphorn was added later. Through his contact with the mountain farmer Pierre Cochard, he also came to alphorn making. Cochard(here in a great documentary by TSR from 1976) didn’t teach him many
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In Lavey-Village, at the south-eastern tip of the canton of Vaud, François Morisod has been making his alphorns for over twenty years. Michel Gaugaz from Aigle(seen here in a TVRL video) had asked the carpenter and wood sculptor for assistance at the time and then initiated him into the basics of the alphorn. This opened up the world of music for François, which was completely new to him. The production of wooden sculptures, as well as general carpentry, has remained
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I have known Tobias Bärtschi for about twelve years. After first steps on an inexpensive entry-level instrument, I was looking for an upgrade at that time, and Tobias already had a reputation for producing virtuoso top horns. After all, no less a person than Joszef Molnar dedicated a “carte de visite” to him, and in it described him as the best alphorn maker in Switzerland. So I acquired an unwound Bärtschi horn (now his “Solist” model), with which I have
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For an article by Robert Scotton on the same topic (in French), see here. The question here is, “How do I find the alphorn mouthpiece that best suits me and my alphorn?” This is not a topic for beginners! At the beginning of the alphorn career, the mouthpiece feels unfamiliar, and there is a lack of reference to classify subjective impressions. For the first few years, you should therefore refrain from experimenting. Better to settle on an “average” mouthpiece from
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The alphorn maker near Eggiwil in Emmental is a Swiss alphorn making dynasty. Ernst Schüpbach had built his first alphorn here in 1925 and later introduced his son-in-law Hansruedi Bachmann to the craft. Walter Bachmann has been managing the family business in the third generation since 2008. This includes a farm with twelve happy cows, which today still contributes about a third of the income. When Walter speaks lovingly about his “Grossäti” (grandfather), he thus tells first-hand alphorn making history.
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Aldo Bugada is a trained master carpenter. Together with his brother, he runs a medium-sized family business in the fourth generation. Mainly they produce cabinets, tables, doors and windows. During my visit, I also saw a number of old pews that are being professionally restored at the Falegnameria Fratelli Bugada. Therefore, when he started blowing the alphorn with his wife in 2014, the question arose whether he should buy an alphorn or build one himself. He decided to give it
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