 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: abc123
Date: 2006-09-02 09:55
hi, im just wondering if you ever have times in ensemble playing where you are *always in tune* and then there are times where you just can't play intune, or hardly. Like you have to be in a zone or something? is there a way to help your intune-ness ( and im not talking about work on tuning.. i know 'bout all that)
are there rehearsals wher eyou just don't play because you feel you can't blend? thanks
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2006-09-02 11:23
If OTHER members of the group are not in tune with each other, then nothing you do can sound as if it blends. It only needs ONE person out of tune,and blending just does not happen.
Blending can be a lot more difficult if the temperature is extra high or low, because any attempt to get in tune puts the scale 'out' and needs a lot more effort with individual notes.
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Author: abc123
Date: 2006-09-02 12:16
I beg to differ that sometimes everyone, but yourself, is playing intune. This is the circumstance I'm talking about, I know it's me..
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Author: clarinetmaniac101
Date: 2006-09-02 16:45
There are lots of situations where temperature and things affect intonation. Also it could have to do with your reed or as you said what mood you are in that day. Also you have to be aware of the chord structures and what note of the chord you are playing and play accordingly (e.g. if you are playing the third I believe you need to be 17 cents flat or around that)
Rashad
*clarinet
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-09-04 16:03
Some days tuning comes easy and some days it just doesn't. I agree with Gordon, sometimes the cause can be other players. Instruments can drift through a rehearsal, so it's sometimes just necessary to bite the bullet, stick your hand up and ask for a quick break to re-tune the section. 'I'm finding it hard to play in tune - can I tune to the section?' rarely offends and sometimes throws up some surprises! Many's the time I've been convinced I'm the only one playing IN tune until we've actually sat down and played the darn tuning note together. :-) The trick (as always) is to try and learn from experience. Have you felt that strange sensation before? Did you ever work out why?
As for tuning notes, what note are you tuning to? (there is a very small number of acceptable standards for clarinet).
Remember as well that the clarinet is built in a particular key and pieces in some keys will be more difficult to get right than those in others. Also, anything above altissimo 'E' will, in my personal experience, require a different fingering on each instrument... but I guess that's not what you're getting at here.
Here's a thought: When you're on your own, practice deliberately playing out of tune. Play as sharp as you can, then as flat as you can. Jazz up the piece. It'll help you get an idea of how to control the tuning 'on the fly', when you feel yourself drifting out of the 'zone'...
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2006-09-05 01:41
A lot of the problem is the mind set of players who think that by tuning to a note before playing music, they are in tune. Tuning is an on-going process, note by note, listening and adjusting, compensating for all those things that affect intonation.
Sometimes I think it is better NOT to tune up before playing. Then the players may make more effort to listen and accommodate while they are playing, instead of making assumptions that they are in tune.
Note that tuning to a tuner or keyboard is tuning to a tempered scale, whereas the astute player without a fixed-pitch instrument present, even in a group, will tend to TRUE scale tuning, which is different... not the compromise that the tempered scale is.
I do not have an outstanding fundamental pitch sense, so when I am playing in a group, especially an amateur group, and there is a range of tuning discrepancies, I lip up or down slightly, then the opposite. If both adjustments produce a worse effect, i.e. more conspicuous beat frequencies, then I know that MY tuning is the best it can be in the situation. The lipping will depend on just what blend of other instruments are playing at the time.
BTW I have sometimes played in a situation where I thought the tuning was awful, but when I listened to a recording taken from a distance, where the sounds must have blended more, it sounded far more acceptable. So it seems that distance can lend enchantment to the tuning.
Post Edited (2006-09-05 01:42)
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2006-09-05 08:24
I agree, Gordon. Often a good way to tune a band is to blast through something loud and raucous and then tune... not only does it warm the instruments up, but it warms the players up so they're fully aware of how their instruments are responding.
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Author: HautboisJJ
Date: 2006-09-05 17:20
What notes do you guys tune to on a Bb clarinet before a rehearsal starts? Middle C or Middle B or many notes?
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2006-09-05 17:55
When possible I try to tune to open G and middle C (i.e. the lowest C on the clarinet).
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