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I find that tuning to an ensemble is a waste of time. My tuning slide almost always stays in the same place. I tune while I play, not really before I play. If a group is dramatically out of tune, I usually can compensate within the first few seconds.

Keeping that left hand on the first valve slide is also essential.

If the group is good and they know that the tubist has a good sense of pitch or perfect pitch, as in my case, they should be tuning to you.

Well, a bit different: my 13-pc. brass ensemble tunes to the tuba, on Bb.I get set on the tuner, then, section by section, they tune to me.It's a lot of blowing getting everyone tuned, while trying to keep my pitch absolutely steady. This is an interesting approach in that everything evolves from the bottom.

in honor bands, i've seen oboe play A for woodwinds, and trumpet play C for brass..

in other honor bands i've had to play a Bb for all sections, one at a time to tune.. (took a while..)

Also seen the director take a tuner to various sections..

Then in my normal band, well we use the tuner.. every1 tunes to concert Bb I believe.. since well thats the only scale we play for warmup:-/ sigh... all those 2nd/3rd trumpets who can even do G A B C.. sigh.. *misses his honor band*

The best ensemble (wind/brass but not orcestra) directors I have encountered tune very little. One director on the order of just about never.

Reason being, constant reliance on a tuner becomes very dangerous for good intonation. If people learn to play in tune and adjust as needed, the group will always be in tune. If people lock into the tuner and use that as the ultimate measure, then as the ensemble's pitch changes (this WILL happen) members' unwillingness to adjust will lead to even worse overall intonation, but they may still be "in tune" according to what the tuner says.

Also, tuning one note out of the many on an instrument (52 for 13 notes/octave for four octaves, for a reference) is akin to sampling 5 people to determine the outcome of future elections or checking one tire pressure on your car and figuring all of the other are equal.

Playing in tune has very little to do with a tuner. The tuner is a tool for practice room sessions not for ensemble rehearsal. This does apply for high schools, possibly not a middle school or earlier environment.

I agree with mellowsmokeman. I set my tuning slide on my own, and then adjust if absoultely neccesary if needed (usually not).

Orchestras use the "A" from the oboe because string instruments have a muche higher sensitivity to pitch change due to atmospheric conditions. They have a much greater need for the pitch. Woodwinds come second because the wood (see a trend here) is much more subject to expansion and susequent pitch change. Brass instruments are far less affected.

Question: When tuning an ensemble like a contemporary wind ensemble why use a woodwind or brass instrument? A lot of pieces call for keyboards and sometimes piano. Wouldn't it make more sense to tune to them if any tuning were done?

There seem to be a few different tuning policies in ensembles.

One very practical method is to start with the instrument that is hardest to adjust, and have the other instruments match it. If a keyboard instrument is in the ensemble, the others tune to it. (Can you imagine a conductor asking the piano to match the tuba's pitch?) A good reason for an orchestra to tune to the oboe is because that's the least adjustable pitch wind instrument.

Another method is to start with the tuba, and tune from the bottom up.

And of course, there is the ever-popular status-based tuning: The lead trumpet or clarinet, etc. sets the pitch, and all of the lower status players must match.

Myself, I rarely touch my main tuning slide outside of the practice room. During tuning time, I just check to make sure I'm OK with the ensemble. Sometimes I get to be the one who plays the tuning note, and I just play the pitch I have already worked out in practice, although for show I will have a tuner microphone clipped to my bell. I sometimes tell people that my tuba came from the factory already tuned.

Actually, the real tuning happens during playing. The hardest times, of course, are when I have to try to match different players who are both sharp and flat.

Allen Walker