Klarinet Archive - Posting 000353.txt from 2002/11

From: Gary Truesdail <gir@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Tuning for ensembles and larger
Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 16:07:08 -0500

A piano tuner once told me that certain intervals on the piano are not
perfectly in tune. They favor sharp or flat depending on which end of
the keyboard they are tuning. It may be easy for you to play in tune in
a WW Quintet for example, but when playing a Sonata with the piano or
accompanied with strings alone, intonation is a whole new ball game.

Can anyone explain this?

GaryT

GrabnerWG@-----.com wrote:
>
> Ensembles using winds and strings are "expected" to play using just intonation - the process of tuning unisons, octaves, and intervals by ear.
>

> The only time this comes up for a wind or string player is when you are playing with piano. It can come as quite a shock to play with a piano after a long string of performances with band or orchestra, of chamber ensembles. You will sometimes find youself quite confused, having to alter pitches in quite a different direction from what you normally think is necessary to "play in tune".

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