Klarinet Archive - Posting 000440.txt from 2005/08

From: Wayne Thompson <wthompson222@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] "Tuning" vs. Intonation
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:28:31 -0400

Steve Colley,

You caught my attention with this bit from your
article:
"Throughout my career as a professional hornist,
intonation was a “taboo” subject. “Don’t say anything
about mine and I won’t say anything about yours” was
the unspoken rule. Eventually, as a principal horn, it
was my duty to hold the section together and raise the
standard. My own skills, however, were not strong
enough. As a result, I developed The Tuneup Systems."

I'm an amateur, of course, and I don't remember being
taught tuning in any organized fashion. What skill I
have just sort of happened; with pleasure I realized
that playing in exposed chords in band became less
stressful. "I must be intuitively playing in tune,
now!", I remember thinking.

Now in my groups I have more confidence in myself, but
just like Steve says above, I hear some surprising
dissonances between pretty good players, and I and no
one else has any comment. So my experience says that
in amateur groups intonation needs to be better and
that there is no clear path to making it better.

Wayne

PS This is how I use my tuner. I have it on as my
group tunes, so I can measure where they are relative
to 440. (The keyboard we sometimes tune to is >20
cents sharp; I don't know why yet.) I pull out or not
based on my knowledge of my own horn; and then I use
my ear to the best of my ability to play in tune.

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