|
How can a teacher effectively
incorporate teaching good intonation? Teachers already
have an increasing amount of elements which must be taught in ever
decreasing amounts of time! Fortunately, good intonation is easy
to incorporate into the daily routine of the class without taking
much time.
Fundamental facts:
1. Students must be striving for
good tone, or intonation problems become magnified.
2. If the teacher demonstrates by
his/her actions that tuning is important, students will
be more likely to adopt the same attitude.
3. The room has to be quiet for
players to hear, match and adjust.
4. The instrument must be warmed
up in order to play in tune. To all the directors who have
students line up at the tuner as soon as their instruments are
assembled you are going to have to tune again!
Think about
it Cold
instruments play flat, and the air coming out of your body is
warmer than the air temperature of your band room. Yes,
when we "warm up," we are literally "warming up" the
instrument to a temperature higher than the surrounding air.
Therefore, you have to play for a few minutes in order for
this to occur. |
5. Dynamics, range, reed strength,
valve combinations--these are just a few elements that will change
intonation. Therefore, it is best to use a mid-range pitch
at a mid-range volume for tuning. Actually, most young
players need to be told to play "forte" in order to
be truly playing what will become, in later years, a mid-range
volume.
Strategy 1
If you have band every day, consider formally tuning one-fifth of
the band each day.
Monday: flutes, oboes
Tuesday: clarinets, bass clarinets
Wednesday: all saxophones and horns
Thursday: trumpets and tubas
Friday: trombones and euphoniums
If you meet every other day,
you can adjust this schedule. You may have to spread it
out over a two-week period, but that is okay. Any tuning
you do is better than none!
Strategy 2
Use pairs as described in the Beginner Band section above.
Strategy 3
Vary the methods of tuning.
-
Tuning
mechanism with strobe or needle indicator. This machine has no
opinions, making it a great arbiter of tuning disputes! It is
an excellent way for visual learners to see what "in tune" looks
like.
-
Using a device
that emits an electronic pitch. This is a great way for a
student to make the waves go away. This is actually preferable
to the "two pairs" method in one way : the electronic device will
not waver unintentionally nor will it run out of air! The
student can also learn to use this easily for after-school
individual practices, lessons, etc.
-
Tune by ear!
You can't use the tuner in the middle of a concert to check pitch.
Try
this!
Playing in tune is ultimately
up to the individuals producing the sound. Tune in pairs
as described above. Play a scale in long note (with fermati).
During each pitch, point to two individuals. These two
players will remain playing when the teacher cuts off the fermata.
The benefit to this is it exposes the sound in progress, rather
than the sound at its start. Choose a section of players.
Go down the row, having each player playing one half note about
quarter note = 60. This method will often make it easy
to see which players are sharper or flatter than their neighbors
are. |
Strategy 4
Strive to make good intonation more than just a routine. Tape
rehearsals to identify problem intonation spots. Try to
address at least one intonation problem in the music each day.
Strategy 5
Teach students how to use an
intonation chart to keep track of their tendencies.
The teacher should specify the range to be checked. The
teacher should specify a mid-range note for the beginning pitch. The
student will need a partner to help mark the intonation tendencies.
-
The student
begins playing on the mid-range starting note-only on this pitch are
they allowed to look at the tuning mechanism in order to stop the
needle or light.
-
Next, the
student looks away from the tuner and moves chromatically upward.
-
The tuning
partner marks the chart by indicating how many cents sharp (+) or
flat (-) the student is playing. Then the student plays the
starting note and moves chromatically downward as the tuning partner
marks the pitch variance on those notes.
-
Now the player has
a visual record of pitch variances. Students will look forward
to the next opportunity to have their tuning partners check them
again. Be sure you have plenty of copies of this chart
ready: students love this activity once they learn
how to do it!
Teachers, help your students
understand that their personal intonation may change slightly
as they develop their playing skills. For this reason,
foster the attitude that all players have to be ready to adjust
intonation at all times. No student should be "in
trouble" for being out of tune; they should be helped to
listen more carefully! The only student who must be corrected
is the student who stubbornly refuses to match intonation, as
in the following scenario:
Student: "But I'm in tune! You
just told me the tuner said so when we warmed up!"
Teacher:
"You played that note in tune. This one needs
adjusting." |
Teachers, learn to predict the
factors which can cause even a seasoned player to face tuning
difficulty (see
Intonation of Wind Instruments). The Middle
School years are perfect for teaching a few of these idiosyncratic
problems at a time. Teachers who have sectional rehearsals often find
that time to be ideal for teaching "problem notes."
If
you would like to be added to the TSMP
Email Mailing List and receive
periodic notifications of new articles and updates to this website,
then please email
TSMP.
The Texas School Music
Project is a source for ideas and information
concerning pedagogical
practices in the music classroom or rehearsal hall. The TSMP is a service provided to
all music specialists by the faculty
of
the Department of Music
at Stephen F. Austin State University.
For questions about this
site contact [email protected].
Copyright ? 2002, Department
of Music at Stephen F. Austin State University
|
|