Klarinet Archive - Posting 001218.txt from 1998/12

From: "Karl Krelove" <kkrelove@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] re:Intonation training
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1998 08:18:12 -0500

----- Original Message -----
From: John Dablin <johnd@-----.com>

>How much easier this is if the other players in the ensemble are good
>enough to play reasonably in tune. Unfortunately the novice is usually
>playing with other novices who may have even less control of their own
>intonation, and in such circumstances I find it very difficult to
>determine who is right and who is wrong. ...At other times
>it seems as if there are three (or more!) different ideas of pitch and
>playing is a misery, not least because I have no idea of whether I am
>anywhere near right or wrong. ...

Of course, you're right on the mark about novice ensembles. The problem is
an ensemble problem and there frequently isn't a single, stable pitch center
to work with. In many very good ensembles, especially those that play
together regularly, tuning is done from the bottom up, i.e. from the lowest
pitched instruments. In a "novice" ensemble, the bottom instruments aren't
any better under control than the others. Intonation becomes an exercise in
situational pain management. There isn't enough of a pitch center to make
you right or wrong - it's the intervals (most obviously the unisons) that
just aren't right.

>...I would love to emulate those people who can confidently assert that
"the
>flutes are flat" or "the trumpets are sharp" and display the
>corresponding self confidence in their own intonation.
>

It's usually the trumpets complaining the ___ are flat and the ___
complaining the trumpets are sharp. Regardless of who is complaining about
whom, the "self confidence" is usually misplaced and its display nearly
always indicates egocentrism more than a good ear or the ability to play in
tune better than anyone else.

>To get to the point, how can you develop the ability to judge "absolute"
>intonation, assuming you don't possess perfect pitch? And if the answer
>is simply experience, how can you get that experience when playing in
>groups whose intonation usually leaves something to be desired?
>--
>John Dablin

Now for the essay - I couldn't help myself.

The flip answer is that if the bad intonation bothers you to the point where
playing isn't enjoyable, look for a better group to play in. The more
realistic answer is that you can only control your pitch, not anyone else's,
and all you can do is try to fix the problem the best you can from your end
(or just stonewall it and hold your ground on the theory that it's everyone
else, which it may be). This may mean guessing, at first, which way to
correct if you aren't sure "by ear" whether you're sharp or flat. If you
spend some time with an electronic tuner, you'll have some idea which notes
on your instrument tend to be high or low to the rest of the scale your
instrument generally produces. You also will know how far to pull your
barrel to have most of your instrument be "in tune" with a standard (A440).
With this knowledge you can make a guess as to which way you _most likely_
need to adjust when you're involved in a pitch conflict. Also, knowing the
tendencies of other instruments can help. Trumpets _are_ often sharp (once
they open up they can't hear anyone else). Flutes are often flat in their
low octave, pretty much right on (in my experience) in their middle octave,
and the sky's the limit to their sharpness in the third octave unless
they're VERY good. It almost never feels like you're in tune with string
sections no matter what you do, I think because the effect of all those
individual vibratos makes the pitch center less clear. Second bassoons are
often sharp (the first player, too, if his part ever goes down as low as the
second part), oboes are generally the opposite of flutes - from bottom to
top sharp-in tune-flat (which makes woodwind choir writing a real picnic to
perform). Clarinets, of course, are perfectly in tune throughout their
entire compass ;-) (just read the manufacturers' ads if you doubt it). Etc.,
etc., etc... The list could go on indefinitely. The experience comes in
developing your own catalog of your own and other players' tendencies so
that, if you can't immediately tell "by ear" what to do, you'll have a place
to start guessing. If your first guess doesn't solve the problem, try the
opposite direction or wait for the other player to give in and adjust to you
(everyone's tolerance for pain has limits - it's just that yours and mine
are lower than everyone else's) - of course you then take the risk that the
other player can't even tell there's a problem. Best of luck! :-)

Karl Krelove

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