Were you TAUGHT as a student, to play in tune?

[ann reid]

I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while now, especially since acquiring a wonderful “big name” non-compensating horn, and joining a wind ensemble that plays challenging (Gr 3-5) music.

When I first began to play this last January, I was very self conscious about my ability to play in tune, but gradually I began to become more aware that I WAS hearing variations in pitch and using alternate fingerings and lipping up or down to play correct pitch within the ensemble.

Most of the time I was seated next to professional musicians, and when I’d joined, I’d asked them to kick me if they heard anything that was out of tune so I could fix it. In part of the semester I sat next to a euphonium player/teacher with a fine tone and agile technique who reminded me of a couple fingering changes, but overall was pretty positive about what I was doing.

It has recently occurred to me that my high school instrumental program actually taught (HAMMERED) the necessity for playing in tune, and even though most of us hated doing it (“Treasury of Scales” EVERY DAY?) we ALL were ultimately able to achieve the goal.

So I’m curious- were you TAUGHT as a young student, to play in tune?

[bayoung36]

I was taught to play in tune, however it is nearly impossible to be fully in tune with an ensemble. Every instrument has their own tuning quirks and my college director never stressed tuning much. Especially as the longer you play within the ensemble you will adjust without realizing it. I try to keep my horn in tune especially for solos, but trust your ear more than the tuning slides.

[Kit15]

Yes and no…we all learned how to lip things in tune and we were encouraged to spend time with a tuner at home. But it’s probably more accurate to say we were taught how to blend rather than be in tune. We used tuners before performances but the rehearsal tuning process was mostly just listening to each other and match up. Even if you were correct on paper, if everyone else was playing a little sharp, you’re just gonna have to swallow your pride and also play sharp.

[highpitch]

It wasn't stressed in High School. Somehow I made 1st chair in All-State two years in a row.

In college, chasing a degree, it became important.

The fact that I was the only euph in the program made playing in tune a weird deal at times...no one to bounce off of in a lot of charts.

So far, many years after that, playing in Tuba Christmas has helped me immensely in that regard. I have learned a lot of automatic responses to the 'fleet of bombers' phenomenon in pitch.


To some extent, that comes about as I don't have to 'pitch battle' with reeds.

DG