The tenor horn's conical bore and deep mouthpiece produce a mellow, rounded tone that is often used as a middle voice, supporting the melodies of the trumpets, cornets, or flugelhorns, and fills the gap above the lower tenor and bass instruments (the trombone, baritone horn, euphonium, and tuba).

In contrast, the solo horn (found mainly in Europe) looks like (and indeed effectively is) an enlarged flugelhorn, with the bell pointing forward, projecting more toward the audience.

Historically, the tenor horn has gained little recognition as a solo instrument in its own right, but in recent years this has been gradually changing.

Modern tenor horn manufacturers aim to create instruments with improved power and projection, whilst preserving their characteristic mellow tone.

Additionally, as the tenor horn is a whole-bore brass instrument, most players can play some pedal tones, the fundamentals (first partials) of (at least) the shorter tubing lengths.

The inconsistency spread across multiple descriptions and patents over decades apparently is the source of confusion as regards the names tenor vs. alto horn.

[6][7] This name is mentioned in The Music Man, and a French horn-patterned peck horn can be seen in the scene where Professor Hill is explaining the Think System as applied to Beethoven's Minuet in G and a small boy asks him how to play it.

Instead, it is a fixture of British brass bands, where it often plays a role similar to that of the orchestral horn in the symphony orchestra.

Although Gustav Mahler orchestrated his Seventh Symphony to include one "tenorhorn in B♭", that instrument is more akin to the baritone horn, which is a fourth lower.