Horn parts

[msplaya10]

Hi. this is more of a general question and i would like some opinions. i feel like in half the scores i see horns 1 and 3 have the higher parts, and in others it goes in order (1,2,3,4). i was wondering why people would make the music either way and which way is preferred. which way do you use?

[metallissimus]

i was wondering why people would make the music either way

Writing 1st and 3rd as the higher parts is the "historical" way of writing horn parts. Back in times before the invention of valve instruments composers often used two pairs of natural horns in different keys, e.g. two horns in F and two in C. So every pair had a high and a low player and this is where the - on first sight confusing - convention comes from.
Practically there is no need for this anymore now, so I guess that's why many (some?) composers write their horn parts now from 1st high to 4th low.
If you're work is going to be performed by an actual orchestra I would still choose the traditional way though, because that's what horn players expect and how they usually allocate the parts in the horn section. Horn players are often specialized in playing low or high.

[tubatimberinger]

I have seen a couple threads concerning this and there is often some confusion between how you >orchestrate< horn parts versus how you 'score' horn parts. Score order should always be 1,2,3,4. However, the way you space chords is 1,3,2,4. Also, There is actually a practical reason to continue this actually. It is has to do with sympathetic vibration in closely stacked chords.

-t