 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: Mightyg
Date: 2010-02-13 21:19
Hello
I got a new toy today; a tuner. I've been learning the oboe for 4 months or so. I purchased the tuner to help me be consistent with notes during long note practice. I am curious as to the variety in pitch I produce. I play an old Howarth S10. A and the D's are 'perfect' however other notes are either a bit sharp or a bit flat;though this seems to be corrected to a degree by 'reseting' my embouchure. I won't see my teacher for a couple of weeks and I was wondering if I should attempt to get each note spot on pitch or simply aim for consistency.
Anyway 4 months on, still loving the oboe but still surprised about how tough it is....
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Author: mschmidt
Date: 2010-02-14 02:03
Most tuners are set up to "equal temperament." This is a mathematical compromise between "just intonation," which yields perfectly in tune chords in a particular key, and the musicians' need to play in tune in multiple keys. A "just intonation" major third is off by something like 17 cents from equal temperament. The reason I mention this is because, in trying to get every note "right on" with the tuner you are forcing yourself to play in equal temperament, while musicians in ensembles often play something closer to just intonation in whatever key they're playing. So yes, you do want to learn how to adjust your embouchure to alter pitch slightly, as this is what you'll be doing when playing by ear in an ensemble. But striving for perfect equal temperament will just make you sound like a modern piano.
My tuners, a Korg CA-30 and a Korg CA-1, both have little triangles indicating the maximum deviation of just intonation from equal temperament. As long as I'm within the space between the little triangles, I figure I'm doing ok, even if I'm not "right on."
One thing my teacher suggested was to put the tuner in the "audible" mode, set for the tonic of the key you're playing. It gives a monotonous drone that's no fun to listen to, but playing exercises and tuning to the tonic is a good way to train your ear/embouchure coordination. Not every note in a given exercise will make a consonant interval with the tonic, but many of the important ones will.
Hope this helps.
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2010-02-14 06:17
When using a tuner, you are training your ear more than you are training your sound production. And this is a very, very good thing.
Mike is spot-on regarding the temperament. I like to think of equal temperament as being out of tune the same amount in all keys :-). However, at least at this stage, you should be concentrating on keeping that needle dead-centre, and teaching your ear what it sounds like.
You want your sound productuion to "lock in" to the tone center of each note, every time you play. You can adjust a few cents here or there later on, once you have the equal temperament down pat.
To get a feel for the difference in pitch between equal and just temperaments (and a bunch of others besides) you can take a look here (requires Java JRE on your computer, free download from java.sun.com)
http://pages.globetrotter.net/roule/accord.htm
Click on the 2.4 version, and then click "circle". Equal temperament sounds more or less in tune all the way round. Now click "Just temperament" (on the left hand side) and click circle again. See how the temperament goes out of kilter as you get further from the tonic?
J.
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Author: Bobo
Date: 2010-02-14 16:59
Those are some great links, Jeremy. Thanks! Mike, I never noticed those triangles on the tuner until you pointed them out. Based on the table at the following link that compares just and equal-tempered intonation, the triangles are positioned at -13.69 cents for the major third and +15.64 for the minor third to be precise (scroll just under halfway down under the section heading "Comparison to Just Intonation" for the full table to see the deviations for each semi-tone):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_temperament#Comparison_to_just_intonation
Another useful discussion is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_temperament
Post Edited (2010-02-15 18:45)
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Author: Dutchy
Date: 2010-02-15 13:56
Playing in an ensemble is very different from playing with a tuner. I have a Korg CA-30 tuner, and I play with it at home, and I playalong with CDs at home, and I am in tune with the tuner and I am in tune with my CDs. But when I get to my ensemble (which is a Trumpet, a Baritone, a Flute, and a Piano playing hymns at my church twice a month), I struggle dreadfully every single note to play in tune with them. Because there are infinite variations in pitch, and the Baritone is quite often occupying his own little personal key signature, and we all have to match the piano, so it's a complete, and complex, technical challenge. I've got good reeds, so the embouchure has to do it all, no doubt about it.
Also, there's the issue of the way (getting into some equal-temperament music theory here) a leading tone sounds sharper than the same note in a descending scale. The classic example, and the bane of my existence, is the B2 natural. Since many hymns are written in the key of C, and so the G7 chord comes up a lot, invariably if I'm on the B, I sound flat, because the leading-tone B, reaching up to, anticipating the C of the chord resolution, has an aching, terrible need to be a few cents sharper than the same B would be if I was playing it as part of a descending scale coming down from the C. And although I can practice it at home, even getting the B to where it's over 20 cents sharper according to the tuner, being almost an actual C, still when I get to that point in the hymn with the ensemble, I'm going to SOUND flat. Even though I and my tuner know that I'm not.
So the point is, practice with the tuner, yes, it's essential. But be aware that just because you're in tune with the tuner at home doesn't automatically guarantee that your outings with an ensemble won't constitute a sudden, massive "hey, how come I'm suddenly flat?!" challenge.
And this is what separates a "musician" from "someone who can play the oboe".
Post Edited (2010-02-16 02:21)
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