General thoughts on tuning for all brass (Basics)
It takes a very long time before brass players are able to play with reliable intonation. Many times, brass players are simply playing with inefficient air and embouchure and are generally sharp. Many band directors then ask their students to move their slide into very strange positions (generally very far out due to sharpness). It is often better to get a student to relax and move slower air to alleviate sharpness if the slide is already far out. Trying to get the student to buzz the pitch accurately may also go farther than pulling a main tuning slide way out. Adding speed to the wind can help alleviate flatness. Finally, moving the main tuning slide too far out for sharpness may actually be detrimental to the student’s progress because they will not be forced to make the changes in air and embouchure to correct the pitch.
Bad tone generally accompanies bad intonation due to ineffective use of air.
Brass instruments respond very much to temperature change. On a cold day in marching band, slides may need to be pushed all the way in. Before concerts and tuning, remind students to blow warm wind through their instruments to keep them warm. In the middle of a hot concert, tuning slide may need to be moved out to account for sharpness.
Hot temperatures=sharp Cold temperatures= Flat for brass
Working on Tuning Individually
Getting a fine sense of tuning is an individual sport and a lifelong endeavor. All players in a well in tune ensemble know their tendencies and how to compensate for them whether pulling a slide or using their air and embouchure. Tuning is mathematical and empirical much like rhythm. Whether playing at 440, 441, 442, there is always a consistent standard. When playing in ensembles, we use our ears and make constant compromises in regard to tuning and rhythm but for maximum success, we need to know our tendencies. Do these things consistently in solitude to efficiently learn your tendencies. For most folk, playing with their large ensembles will not help them very much in regard to fine tuning. Most large ensembles at a student level are grossly out of tune due to poor tone production and do not put forth a high enough standard for a student to learn the finer elements of tuning besides tempering the occasional third that is too far out.
Make a tuning tendency chart.
List all the notes in your usable range and write the tendency for that note. Check every day with an electronic tuner until you are certain of general tendencies (not just once). Ensure that the horn is well warmed up (temperature) before doing this.
Memorize these tendencies. Be able to always tell a colleague which way you may tend.
Learn to compensate for these tendencies by moving a slide, tuning slide trigger, or air/embouchure
Learn what the alternate fingerings for each note does to tuning. Many sharp 1 and 2 combos can be tempered in tune by using third valve instead. Explore possibilities and though you may not use alternate fingerings in technical passages, on a long note or using a “flat” fingering to temper a major third could be very useful.
Practice long tones with drones.
Do not leave tuning as a skill you hone solely with your eyes by watching an electronic tuner. Use your EARS by playing with drones every day to ensure your pitch center is where it needs to be. Take note of the notes that are more problematic than others. Listen for the waves.
Play at a variety of dynamics to check tuning tendencies related to dynamics.
I like using “Cello Drones” under the brand “Musicians Practice Partner.”
Practice lip bends
First bending half a step down and returning to pitch settling on an “ideal sound”
As you develop fluency bending pitch down, try to get comfortable bending pitch up. Much more difficult, but useful for certain situations when you are flat.
Ensure that you can buzz every note in tune with a drone
Most folk wildly out of tune on their horns are wildly out of tune on the mouthpiece
8 count long tones with a tuner (variations)
Close your eyes, play the note for four counts, open your eyes and see where you are on the tuner. Make adjustments for the remaining four counts if needed.
Hold a note out and try to hold the note where you’ve placed it for a full eight counts whether slightly sharp or flat.
Practice MUSIC with drones.
Open your ears and listen. Get every interval to ring and sound beautiful. As Bud Herseth used to say, “It’s in tune when it’s beautiful.”
Some Group Exercises for Tuning
Long Tone Duets
Practice long tone exercises in unison, fifths and octaves.
Move to more advanced intervals and learn to temper them (see just intonation chart in “Useful Tuning Tidbits”
Long Tone Duets by David Vining is a great book for tuba or euphonium that can add some variance.
Play long tone duets with a drone.
Etudes in octaves
Practicing any etude book is a quick way to learn about tuning!
Sectionals
Getting parts in tune with your section using a drone or tuner can be very important and beneficial to improving tuning.
Play chamber music
This is the quickest way to learn intonation if you have ears and high standards.
Sorting out tuning problems in a smaller group can be very productive
Useful Tuning Tidbits
While tuning and knowing your tendencies is an individual sport, group music making is not. There are always compromises with tuning and rhythm when performing with other musicians. Find beauty in the tuning and groove in the time with any ensemble you are in and you will be “easy to play with.”
On a compensating euphonium the “compensating range” (fourth valve f, to 1234 B natural), tends flat. On a non-compensating euphonium, it tends sharp. Compensating euphoniums low range tending flat and non-compensating euphs and tubas low range tending sharp can create a host of problems in a tuba ensemble.
It will take a long time for the lowest range of a contrabass tuba to be stable. Resist the urge to pull your slides out due to sharpness and spend time on long tones in that range.
Know which notes are the farthest from in tune on your horn and compromise your slide positions from there. On euphonium, one note could be a 3rd ledger line G (usually very sharp) and an A natural on the top line of the bass clef (tends flat). We can pull out the second valve for the G, but A may be too flat. We could also pull out the first valve for a high G, but the middle C (tends flat) might end up too flat. Know your “problem notes” and find compromise.
Pick a strategy and stick with it for a while as you learn your tendencies. For example, some people on CC tubas will use 2 and 4 on a Db with a slide pull, others will use 235, others will put their fourth slide so that their D natural is slightly flat and Db is slightly high and compensate with the lip and air. I’ve even seen folk use 1 and 3 for D natural and 2 and 4 for Db so that they can set their fourth valve flat. I have tried all of these and employ all of these depending on circumstance and context. (Do I have time to move the slide, am I on a third?, etc.) Some euphonium players use 3rd valve for G naturals (especially up high) As you are learning tuning tendencies, pick your strategy and stick to it until you are comfortable and then explore others.
3rd valve is slightly flatter than1 and 2. Many intonation problems can be eliminated by using 3rd valve
I prefer to think of my slides as color knobs. Can I get a Bb on my euphonium in tune with the slide far out? Yes, but the tone will be pinched. Can I play with the slide all the way in? Yes, but I may have to slow my air quite a bit and the tone could be airy.
There are general tuning tendencies that occur on brass instruments due to the overtone series. It would be wise to memorize this because it could help you to make educated guess if a note is flat or sharp based on the partial it is on. Below is a resource relative to the euphonium/trombone but could be thought of on tuba as well one octave down.
Not all instruments follow this. You must make a tuning tendency chart.
Equal vs Just
When playing solo with a piano, your notes should all be “in tune” (Equal temperament)
When playing in a group of instruments where tuning is able to be adjusted on the fly, just intonation is more useful. These adjustments apply to the note above.
Minor second- raise 11 cents
Major second- raise 4 cents
Minor third- raise 16 cents
Major third- lower 13 cents
Perfect fourth- lower 2 cents
Tritone- lower 17 cents
Perfect Fifth- raise 2 cents
Minor sixth- raise 16 cents
Major sixth- lower 15 cents
Minor seventh- lower 4 cents
Major seventh- lower 11 cents
When playing with keyboard and other instruments such as piano trio, a combination and compromise between both these methods is use to find what sounds most beautiful.
What is A=440hz?
Pragmatically speaking, each number we add or subtract is 4 cents plus or minus. 1 hz= 4 cents
If you play at A=440 generally, 439 would be four cents flatter and 441 would be four cents sharper, etc.
Use your ears, always. Tuning is the study of sound, specifically the exactness of the pitch relative to a “characteristic sound.” Tuning in NOT a study of meat and motor function. Too many folk leave their tuning studies at this and that is absurd. We entertain and sell sound, not “a more open jaw on these sharp partial notes.” Your tuning will become more exact as you hear and buzz more precisely.
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