Drones as references in training good pitch

[imperialbari]

There has been some interest for the drones in midi and mp3 format that I have made available for free download from my Yahoo based project of free arrangements.

There are many ways to use these drones, which are organized in octaves from concert C chromatically through concert B. There are octaves starting on all C’s from C1 through C6 plus several permutations of stacked octaves. This because human hearing differs in perception in many ways, where it is not for me to say which way is best. In my own case I want octaves being very slightly stretched, but my drones are digitally made to match exact equal temperament at A=440Hz. So even if the stacked octaves sound more clearly, I hear them as being slightly out of tune. With my tubas I only use the single note octave from C2 through B2.

Basically this should be a by-ears-only exercise. Yet I have provided transposed (in keys and clefs) .pdf reference sheets for all common orchestral and band instruments but for percussion.

Each note lasts 16 beats at quarter note=60. Each note is preceded by 4 snare beats in the same tempo. There is no rhythm indication while the drones play, as pitch discrepancies are heard by beats, which would have been muddled by the snare continuing.

The drones can be used to practice steady pitch on long notes. You may also play scales, arpeggios, or intervals over them. Some freaks may even find lip trills to match the drone notes. You can freely set your tempo and only use the snare beats as cues for when the next note begins.

At least one user has burned the drones on a CD. Myself I prefer the mp3 version over the midi version for a richer sound. I have loaded all the mp3 files to iTunes on my iPad and hear them via my single earbud headphone while playing. There are many mp3 players out there today, many also very transportable. If you find the mp3 files too large, scrap those you don’t use anyway. You will soon find out, which ones are relevant for your personal usage.

The drones are here:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Yo ... %26%20MP3/

When I started out the storing capacity of each Yahoo group was quite small, so I soon needed 4 groups. They all share the same index with links for quite a few arrangements and some teaching material:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Yo ... 0%20Index/

Klaus

[aqualung]

Use a synth, with a patch that has a strong fundamental. Better yet, tweak the patch with a lowpass filter to cut down the overtones.
Use a sustain pedal. Or program the volume envelope for max sustain.