Tuning a Band – part two – written by Douglas Burden, from Ottawa Ontario

To read part one, click here.

Originally published in the Apr-May-Jun 2001 issue of THEME.

 

Anyone who has taken lessons with me knows that I prop my printed music on top of my tuner and metronome, which are side-by-side on the music stand ledge. Sometimes the tuner drones out the tonic pitch but more often than not its needle tells me at a glance where I am. This does not tune my instrument! It trains my ear! I do not spend my time watching the tuner but only refer to it randomly or on a sustained pitch. My metronome is turned on only during difficult rhythmic passages. I also use it to assist me in learning passages by starting at a slow speed and gradually increasing the tempo with each successful repetition.
 

 The reason to continually tune a brass band is to provide a tuning standard or beacon to which the performer can correct the variability that pervades playing a brass instrument. Orchestras recognise this variability factor and give tuning notes (usually from the oboe) at the beginning of each concert and following the intermission. During outdoor concerts this procedure may happen more often depending on temperature changes.

 

How and when do you tune during a Salvation Army band rehearsal? In my opinion, the process begins with education. Take time to explain (in layman's terms) the reasons for tuning as outlined above. Teach each band member how to individually operate a tuner. Explain the concept of concert pitch to those who don't understand that they are playing a transposing instrument. Make the tuner available prior to the time a band plays (i.e. Sundays, rehearsals, concerts). Encourage each member to visit the tuner after they have warmed up - a concept that has to be encouraged. We in the National Arts Centre Orchestra have a tuner attached to a wall backstage where we can make last minute adjustments before going on stage.

 

I have learned from experience not to attempt to tune the whole band at once during a rehearsal. The time taken is counterproductive, as instruments go cold and as a result give a flawed pitch to correct. Impatience, negative attitudes, and fear of being wrong or splitting a note comes into play with extended large group tuning exercises. Distance from the instrument (such as a tuba) to the internal microphone in the tuner can create some problems for the microphone to distinguish. I prefer to tune one section at a time; each player in turn with the tuner, then the section as a whole, asking them to tune and balance with each other. This needs to be done quickly, efficiently, and then get back to rehearsing the whole band.

 

The solo cornet section is one that needs constant monitoring. Its pitch affects the pitch of the whole band for better or worse. Eb Alto horns are also a source of tuning problems because of the instrument's generally poor design.

 

When tuning an individual, I ask them to play part of a scale (written G A B C) or an arpeggio ending on a sustained written C, to make sure that the pitch to be tuned is where the instrument wants to play it. The same C played in isolation can easily be bent by the buzz of an amateur player. Repeated isolated Cs will result in a different pitch each time. Placed in the context of a scale, the C is more likely to result in a pitch determined more by the instrument than a faulty buzz.

 

Once the tuning slides have been adjusted according to the tuner, you are in fact only at the starting line in the race towards the goal of good intonation. The ear has to be developed now that you have a reference point that is more or less the same as your colleagues'.

 

Understanding when you are out of tune is a process of:

 

1. Recognising when you are out of tune
 

2. Deciding if you are flat or sharp
 

3. Knowing what steps can be taken to correct the problem (i.e. first and third valve tuning slides or triggers, alternate fingering, or a minor change in the buzz)
 

4. Acting upon your choice all within a split second

 

Playing slow hymn tunes or chorales will allow the ear to recognise when the individual is "in tune" or not. I prefer to use carefully selected hymn tune arrangements rather than tunes from the Tune Book. S.A. Tune Book scoring is more or less designed to accommodate the lowest common denominator. The scoring is simplistic and stereotypical.

 

When tuning chords, follow the pattern of building the chord. Choose a chord where the root is in the bottom voice. Don't start basic intonation exercises with a first or second inversion chord. Starting with the root in the lowest voice, add all voices (one octave at a time) that double the root. Next add the lowest sounding fifth of the chord, followed by all others that double the fifth. Next add the third of the chord. Follow this with the seventh, ninth, and eleventh if these are found in the chord.

 

Balance and blend greatly affect intonation. If a chord has too much fifth, it may be deemed "out of tune" when measured by a tuner, even though the fifth may in reality be perfectly in tune. The preponderance of the fifth offends the ear. If one individual is playing with a poor sound in comparison to the others, the ear may find it offensive and "out of tune" even though that individual is actually in tune according to the tuner. Keep in mind that a tuner pointed at a hair dryer or a cornet will measure each just as effectively.

 

Common sense and discretion has to override all your decisions during a rehearsal. You know your musicians better than anyone else. Don't give up trying to get your band members to play in tune. Too many people shrug their shoulders and quit. More power to you for making the attempt.