Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 7:38 pm
Jeff Funderburk has an article on this.It'd be a good place to start.
http://www.uni.edu/drfun/articles/index.html
http://www.uni.edu/drfun/articles/index.html
Seriously, what I do for intonation is play along with a CD of a pro player who *does* play in tune. That way I can immediately discern what my pitch tendencies are on specific notes, in that piece, and sometimes even adjust slides to fix tendencies. When I then get into an ensemble playing that piece, I at least know that I'm on the right track, even though I'll still have to adjust based on what's going on around me.
For example, I'm getting ready for a reading of Tres Homages by Gunther Schuller, the movement that uses two horns. I play along with Phil Myers, and know that if I'm matching his intonation, I'm right there where I need to be. I get training where I can find it, and the CD was less than $20.
Another good way to adjust intonation is to play intervals against the fundamental. But you need decent instruction before you know what they are supposed to sound like; a tuner won't tell you since it uses a tempered scale. To me, the one use of a tuner is to set your slides.
When I see someone in an ensemble with the old tuner clip on the bell, I immediately know this is a person who has not developed the ability to adjust to what is going on around them....or they wouldn't need the tuner.
MA
