Flat or Sharp?

[djwesp]

I can tell immediatly when a note is out of tune, but I dont always know if its flat or sharp. Is there any way to learn to hear this?

thanks,
Glen Wells

GENERALLY.... people have a harder time telling if a note is out of tune when it is flat.... sharps tend to stick out a lot more. I've trained myself that if i hear it and it sounds bad it is flat and if i hear it and it sounds really bad it is sharp.

lol.... crazy i know... sometimes the easiest way to do it is just sit down with a strobe tuner and turn the pitch on and sit and fiddle with it until you can start to determine whether a pitch is flat or sharp.

[ken k]

actually I disagree with dj,

I think most untrained ears and young musicians accept sharpness as being in tune and recognize flatness quicker than sharpness. I am basing this on observations made during 20 years of elementary school music teaching. I spend a few weeks of the year talking about tuning with my second year kids, and while I have not recorded data on this phenomenon, it seems to be the prevailing trait.

Think about the bad singers you may have heard in bands over the years and most of the time they are sharp.

There is a tuning CD available. check out www.thetuningcd.com

playing scales slowly into a tuner will help (if it doesn't drive you crazy first!) Also playing notes and lipping them up and down and watching the the meter on the tuner move will help you learn to hear the subtleties and develop your ear.

ken k

[Gorilla Tuba]

Simple answer and gross oversimplification: Just do something.... anything. If you pull a slide and the pitch gets worse, go the other way.

Longer answer: Develop a chart with your horn's pitch tendencies... at least that way you are taking an educated guess when you push or pull to fix bad intonation. I redo my pitch tendency chart a few times every year because what I need to do to play in tune changes. It changes less often every year, but there are always a few pitches that suprise me.

[Anterux]

I cant explain how I can tell, but I just can.

Usually, in a good day, after playing some scales and hearing some good music, I can even tell if I'm high or low when I'm playing alone.

I dont know how I can do it. I think pratice is important.

[sc_curtis]

Playing with others helps a lot. The more playing you do with other people, the more you realize what it takes to listen and adjust. Tuning is being able to react with the performers around you. If you can play with a tuner, this helps to a certain extent, but not necessarily fixes what you do in a group. Some groups play flat (thinking of a community band I used to play in), and some groups play sharp (thinking of some brass quintets and orchestras I've played with). Then, you have some groups that don't really agree on pitch. Now thats always fun!

When I'm play by myself, I can somewhat tell by the quality of my sound. If I am buzzing the true center of pitch, my sound is a lot more vibrant, or "alive." When I am not playing the center of a pitch, either up or down, my sound usually suffers.

[windshieldbug]

Do it the easy way. Small tuners are cheap, easy to get, and easy to use. Chart your horn using the tuner. Play notes not looking at the tuner (because you'll subconsiously adjust to make them right when you can look, and not use your ears), see where they are, do what you need to to get them right (chops, slides, alternate fingerings, or any combination). Get used to what it sounds like to play in tune. You need to do this before you can judge if you're off.

Purposely play out of tune with a tuner, and see how it feels. Flat. Sharp. In tune. Most tuners these days will also play a tone for just this reason.

It's true that you'll eventually want to tune with other people if they are flat or sharp. But you need a basis to do this. Gotta walk before you can run. So get yourself in tune, and know what it feels like first.

[Art Hovey]

Get a cheap guitar and tune it every day. Learn a couple of chords and adjust them to be in tune. Better still, get a junk piano and try to tune it. You'll gradually develop the ear.

[TubaRay]

Get a cheap guitar and tune it every day. Learn a couple of chords and adjust them to be in tune. Better still, get a junk piano and try to tune it. You'll gradually develop the ear.

Although I have never heard this particular piece of advice, it would seem to be an extremely good one. I will pass this along to students when I have the chance.

Thank you.