Intonation

By Mike Vaccaro
(from Mike’s Musings #49, our newsletter)

The simple answer to playing in tune is to always be willing to meet the person you are playing with halfway.

Having said that, there are people that keep a tuning device on their music stand to prove that their pitch is “the” pitch. That’s a little too egocentric for my thinking.

Matching pitch is just the beginning of playing “in tune.” When I do a clinic, I will take a section, let’s just say the clarinet section, and have them all play at the same volume. The people that are trying to hide or have an instrument that requires more air need to play louder, and those with the easy-playing mouthpiece, reed, ligature, and whose instruments are in better adjustment need to play easy/softer. This is the first thing to do, i.e. to hear how much better musicians can play in tune when thinking together about volume. The soft players will find that their pitch rises, while the loud players find themselves playing less aggressively. This also means there is a study in the concepts of both the loud and soft players. Different personalities produce different types of sound.

Also, in bands and orchestras, there are instruments of different character and a natural difference in volume. So, idea number two is to match the character of the instrument you are playing with. That along with idea number one of always meeting the pitch halfway.

The character of who we are playing becomes important. Pitch is just not about playing the exact vibrational pitch but also matching the character of whom you are playing with. A trumpet and a violin or flute have a long way to go to understand the character of another instrument and meet that criterion halfway.

And then we have the volume of the genre of music we play. A jazz band is different from an orchestra, and a rock and roll band is different than classical chamber music, etc. So our volume and pitch concept change with the music we are playing.

Some Quotes


Please read these quotes and, before you blast through them,
take a moment to consider them.
I know your time is valuable, but so is getting new ideas.
Take one quote a day and carry it with you.

Phrasing is what brings life to music.

~M.V.

Singers sing,
and it is the goal of every instrumentalist
to sing though their instrument.

~M.V.

It's taken my whole life,
to learn what not to play.

~Dizzy Gillespie

The ability to speak several languages is a great asset,
but the ability to to keep your mouth shut in any language is priceless.

~Karolina Kulis

Why am I a musician?
Because it feeds me.

~M.V.

The wise musicians are the ones that play what they can master.

~Duke Ellington
(sent by Otto Vavrin)

Patience is bitter,
but its fruit is sweet.

~Aristotle

Leaders become great,
not by their power,
but by their ability to empower others.

~Ryan Sick

If you are not the best at what you do,
your job is in jeopardy.

~Chris Rock

Never forget who ignored you when you needed them,
and who helped you before you even had to ask.

~Aditi Sri

A good teacher can never be fixed in a routine.
Each moment requires a sensitive mind that is constantly adapting.
A teacher must never impose the student to fit his favorite pattern.
A good teacher protects his pupils from his own influence.
A teacher is a never a giver of truth, he is a guide.
A pointer to truth that each student must find for themselves.
I am not teaching you anything.
I just help you explore yourself.

~Bruce Lee

Have you started your journal yet? You will be glad you did.


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