Alpine cowherds once used it as a tool of communication with the herdsmen of the neighboring alp, then it almost died out in the 19th century, but when it was declared the Swiss national instrument in 1827 by a musicologist, the alphorn became a symbol of Switzerland.
The alphorn has no valves or finger holes. The player has to vary the pitch by adjusting the speed and force of the lip vibrations which are transferred via the mouthpiece to the air inside the cone. This produces so-called natural harmonics.
Originally it was the length of the particular tree used to make the horn that determined its fundamental pitch. Today alphorns are standardized and can be played together, or with other musical instruments.
