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Intonation Tendencies
of Wind Instruments |
Flute Oboe Clarinet Saxophone Brass & Percussion
Bocals come in three common lengths, with 2 being standard, 1 being shorter (sharper) and 3 being longer (flatter). There are also the rarer sizes of the longer 4 and the shorter 0 and 00. It harms response to pull the bocal out because of the "bubble" created in the receiving tube.
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Temperature: cold = flat, hot = sharp
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Reed strength: hard reed = sharp, soft reed = flat
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Embouchure: (usually directly related to reed strength) loose embouchure = flat, pinched embouchure = sharp
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Range: lower notes are sharp on many bassoons, but the bass joint can be pulled a little from the boot, because there is not bridge key between those two joints. High range depends on too many factors too generalize.
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Dynamic range: Hard to answer this one! Experienced players flatten in extremely loud dynamics. Softer dynamics are harder to generalize. Young players usually do not have a wide dynamic range, and the problem of flatting in a diminuendo is really caused by reed, air and embouchure.
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