Author: JMarzluf
Date: 2013-12-12 16:08
Attachment: Screen Shot 2013-12-12 at 9.00.06 AM.jpg (162k)
At the risk of getting too technical, look at the chart I have attached, above. The column at the right shows the deviation, in cents, from "Equal Temperament" (which your tuner, and all fixed pitch instruments like piano, organ, marimba, etc., use) to "Just Temperament" (which is used by any ensemble of traditional "Western" instruments, like your chamber orchestra). Keep in mind that "Just" intonation is dependent on a particular key or tonality, so you must think in terms of tuning intervals, not individual pitches on your horn. For instance, A=440hz is fine in A Major, but won't work in F Major where A is the Major third, and must be played down by almost 14 cents.
So, if we build our oboe, reed, and habits to a 440hz reference point, we must still be prepared to move any note as many as 31.17 cents down (in the case of a minor seventh), or up as many as 15.64 cents (minor thirds). This is further complicated when we modulate to new keys -- we can end up cranking the overall pitch up or down pretty significantly on our way through a less stable work.
In short, intonation is a thing of the moment, not the day. We have to be flexible to be "right." That having been said, any rogue cellist and his/her buddy on the podium who attempts to mess with an oboist's pitch center should be shot (cellist first -- business before pleasure).
Jonathan
http://www.marzlufreeds.com/
Post Edited (2013-12-12 16:33)
|
|
The Oboe BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
