 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-01-22 05:03
Just how much should pitch vary for someone who doesnt play with other players or instruments? Should I worry about tuning or barrels if pitch sounds OK to me? My tuner says about -20 to +20 variation.
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2016-01-22 06:58
"If it sounds good, it is good." Duke Ellington
On the other hand, if you become aware of how good intonation sounds, you will expect that of yourself. Hey, someday you might have to play with another musician!
John Gibson, Founder of JB Linear Music, www.music4woodwinds.com
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2016-01-22 08:07
Listen to the Duke!
I have to work on intonation. When I get it right I sound better! You have to play in tune because music works that way, not so that you match a group. It's the laws of nature. Don't freak out about it, just be mindful and keep at it. Use your tuner to help, but try to rely more on your ear.
- Matthew Simington
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2016-01-22 11:13
Just because the tuner says you are in tune doesn't mean you are!!!!!
For instance, the leading tone should be slightly higher, the major third slightly lower. Basically a sharp is lower than a flat... way too tricky to explain in a single post!
The best way to practise it is to play along with a drone. you will hear your relationship to the drone, and make that interval beautiful basically.
The tuner shows you "equal temperament", which at most is an approximation of pitch.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2016-01-22 15:45
Yeah I agree with the drone suggestion. Set the tuner to "F" and play your "G," then the "G" scale, then arpeggios and even the associated Kroepsch exercises if you have them. Now set it to "Bb" and play your "C" scale......etc.
If you start off every practice session with about 10 to 20 minutes of something like this, you'll build your ears to recognize relationships of pitches from note to note which is crucial. Remember there are two types of "in-tune." The one I refer to right now is note-to-note. You need the relationship of a major second (or third or fifth) to be pretty accurate, otherwise your just playing one SOUND after another not notes.
The other pitch we refer to is whether you are at the standard of A=440. This is critical to context (as referred to in earlier posts).
For now, just concentrate on getting your intervals right. I'd suggest singing them too (such as singing the initial note WITH your tuner and then going up one degree, then back to "tonic," then up to the third, back down, then up to the fourth........etc.). This is EAR TRAINING 101.
.....................Paul Aviles
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2016-01-22 20:34
Great advice from Paul Aviles. Some oddball factors can creep in when playing with other people. For instance, a piano may have been stretch-tuned to an extreme, as my electronic Yamaha Clavinova was when I first bought it a number of years ago. Stretch-tuning means that the higher up the soprano end of the keyboard you go, the sharper it gets.
When I noticed that clarinets and other winds had started to sound flat to me, I checked the specs for my Clavinova's tuning against a tuning chart, saw those extremes and learned that I could re-set those specs to A=440 with very slight strech-tuning. But be aware that sometimes you might have to compromise your own intonation to fit in with someone's piano or organ, or the host's antique or foreign instrument that's not tuned to A=440. It's worth learning how to monkey with your own intonation, just in case. Kind of fun, too.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: JonTheReeds
Date: 2016-01-22 22:19
Is it correct to say that tuning while playing with a piano is different to tuning while playing with wind quintet?
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The older I get, the better I was
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Author: Agomongo
Date: 2016-01-24 06:18
Another way to drone is the regular way, but I don't think people know the added step that's needed. I remember talking to Ronald Aufmann (bass clarinetist of the CSO) and he said drone the scale AND THEN drone the dominant.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2016-01-24 12:52
Piano is tempered. That means the pitch is evened out amongst the scales. If you sing a melody, the natural tendency is to make the leading tones higher. A piano can't do that, but most instruments can, so there is always adjusting going on.
Another "unnatural" example (besides piano) is the "Barber Shop Quartet." Since the major third of a chord is lower, in pretty much every OTHER scenario you have slightly untuned chords. Barber Shop tunes every chord PERFECTLY, which is what gives it that unique sound.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: JonTheReeds
Date: 2016-01-24 22:22
Would the same principles of the barber shop apply to wind quintets or string quartets?
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The older I get, the better I was
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2016-01-25 05:21
NO, no, NO NO NO !!!!!!
I guess I have a tendency to confuse the topic. FORGET barbershop quartet. You play a melodic instrument, so you should play the notes of the scale where you hear them......period.
Sorry for the confusion.
..............Paul Aviles
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