Uraraka, Freddie, Abigail, Talstag, Silent Rose, Phoenix, Izo. Just click on links to feed.
After listening to my fail horn playing a couple of weeks ago, I thought that revealing the mechanics of a horn would be proper. Unlike the trumpet, the spring that supplies the restoring force to the valve is not withing the valve, but resides next to the keys. By depressing the valve, an ingenious mechanism causes the valve in the center to rotate, directing the air flow of the player into adjacent pipes. This increases the length of the horn and lowers the pitch that the audience hears. Furthermore, over time, the valve oxidizes, producing the green patina seen in the picture. If the valve is not occasionally taken out and cleaned, the patina will build up and the friction between the valve and the valve casing would increase, preventing the valve from turning. Sadly, most amateur horn players cannot take apart their valves to clean them, allowing the instrument technicians to reap the rewards of their incompetence.
