My ten year old son is taking grade 3 cornet this term and is keen to become a french horn player. Is this likely to be an easy or notoriously difficult transition. When would be a good time to explore this? Is it worth waiting till a certain standard is attained on the cornet, or a certain age?

I would say change now.
The fact he's got to Grade 3 cornet should made the change over easier.

It's about the right age....I started at eleven.


Nice to see he's seen the light and wants to play horn!!!

I made this transition, unsupervised, 56 years ago and fell into a trap. In those days it was common for brass band players to have a "low" embouchure - 2/3 lower lip and 1/3 upper - which works reasonably well on these instruments, and I was no exception. I kept this low embouchure on the horn, which was mistake (I suspect that in those days the nearest horn teacher to my home town would have been at Bournemouth, nearly 100 miles away). I had a good high register, but a very poor sound and no flexibility on the bottom octave and a half. For the complete range of the horn you need a "high" embouchure, 2/3 upper lip and 1/3 lower. If your son is using a high embouchure on the cornet, which is more usual nowadays, the transition will be fairly natural, at least as far as the embouchure is concerned. If not, he must make this change now. If his teacher is a horn player himself, he will ensure that it happens.

I think your son will quite easily make the transition. I made the switch myself in september (but i was moving up from E flat horn.) and the mouth piece was smaller (about the same size, for a cornet player though) and it took about a week of getting used to. However i was quite enthusiastic moving to an orchestral brass instrument so i enjoyed the practice.

The biggest problem will be holding the instrument. It's not overly heavy (though a cornet player might find it hard at first) but it's how you hold it which is annoying. Other french horn players i know have a good way of holding it, but my teacher makes me hold it another way, so I don't know.
Depends on the teacher really.

Thank you for your helpful replies. It all sunds very positive, and encouraging.

However:

I suspect getting it to and from school will be none too easy either! He finds the cornet heavy enough to lug around. Perhaps we should think about the piccolo instead?

A back pack might help. If the instrument has a detachable bell it will go into a smaller and less awkward case, but even a one-piece will be better there than dragging on one shoulder.

My answer to the inevitable piccolo question is, "There's much less competition on double bass."

Yes, try asking the person renting you the French horn if you can have a case with back straps. A small compartment to store music in, about A4 in size is good too. Unfortunately I have neither of those. >.>
If you're buying the french horn, let your son try it out first! Then you can ask the shop about back straps.

Good luck, and i hope your son has fun with french horn!

good luck for your son!

i can wait to have horn lesson in the beginning of 2009!!