BALANCE, BLEND & INTONATION

 

STEP #1: BALANCE for volume

Balance is your ability to not overpower/overblow or, just as importantly, not underpower/underblow.  Everyone must play with a stable amount of volume all of the time.  Listen to your section leader and adjust your volume upwards to their dynamic lead.

 

STEP #2: BLEND for tone quality

If you still hear yourself above the ensemble after making a volume adjustment of BALANCE in Step 1 then you need to play with good tone quality.

 

Blend is your ability to match tone quality and tone color with lower voices in the ensemble.  Good tone quality is proceeded by good posture, breath support and a firm embouchure.  Listen down one voice and remove your individual identity within the ensemble.  You will still be able to hear yourself, but the quality of your sound will "fit" within another voice and blend the entire sound of the ensemble.

 

STEP #3: INTONATION for pitch center

If you still hear yourself and you made the necessary adjustments to BALANCE and BLEND then you are playing out of tune.

 

Intonation is your ability to match the center of the pitch and play in tune.  Adjust the length of your instrument when tuning and begin to "favor" the notes that are typically out of tune.  Practice playing scales with a tuner to see that notes that are out of tune.

·        If you are FLAT (below the pitch) then "push in" and shorten the length of your instrument.

·        If you are SHARP (above the pitch) then "pull out" and lengthen your instrument.

 

REMEMBER: everyone knows how to hear, but good musicians know how to listen.  Listening for a musician means making decisions and adjusting to what they hear.  Do more listening.

 

INTONATION - WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

 

Intonation could well be the number one problem in ensemble playing.  Intonation means that if more than one player in an ensemble is playing at the same time, we must agree on the pitches to allow the music to harmonically fit together.  Intonation means agreeing on pitch!  What keeps pitches from agreeing?

 

1.         POOR POSTURE - A restricted air flow destroys any opportunity to play in tune.  Correct posture is the first and most important factor of playing any musical instrument.

 

2.         TONE QUALITY - Correct tone quality is largely a matter of concept.  This concept and its development is the difference between a fair player and a good player.  Tone quality is that important!  A mature tone is developed AFTER the essential basic factors such as embouchure, posture, breath support, etc. are under CONTROL.

 

3.         POOR TUNING - the breath increases the temperature of the internal air column which shapes the instrument considerably.  It is vital that every single member of the band carry out a warm-up that addresses playing fundamentals and warms the instrument sufficiently to complete the tuning process successfully.  You must warm-up correctly to be able to tune correctly.

 

4.         CHANGING DYNAMICS - (a) Tones on single reed instruments will go FLAT as loudness increases and SHARP as loudness decreases.  (b) Tones on flutes and brass instruments will go SHARP when played louder, but not all to the same degree!  This means that every crescendo/decrescendo is a potential intonation problem unless you are aware of what will happen and take steps to correct it.

 

5.         THE NATURE OF THE INSTRUMENT - All instruments have notes that are "bad".  You must use an electronic tuner to check every possible playable note on your instrument to find not only the "bad" notes, but also the tendencies of all the notes in the chromatic scale on your instrument.

 

6.         VARIATIONS IN TEMPERATURE - the air column in an instrument begins to cool the moment it is removed from contact with the players breath.  The longer the tacet passage the cooler the instrument will become and the more certain that the reentry will sound out of tune.  That's why some musicians blow air thru their instrument prior to playing to help warm the instrument up to temperature.  Additionally, room temperature at concerts usually rises due to the multiple effects of warmth coming from the ensemble as well as the lights in the hall.

; that makes the ensemble go SHARP.

 

SIX STEP BEATLESS TUNING PROCESS

STEP #1

As you play a unison note with your section leader listen for the "beats"  Make an adjustment with your tuning slide or embouchure.  Did the "beats" speed up or slow down?

STEP #2

If the "beats" are faster you made the wrong move.  Adjust the length of your instrument in the opposite direction.

STEP #3

If the "beats" became slower you are making the correct move.  Continue this direction until all of the "beats" are eliminated.

STEP #4

If you find yourself "pinching" your embouchure to eliminate the "beats" your instrument is too long, it must be shortened.

STEP #5

If you find yourself "relaxing" your embouchure to eliminate the "beats" your instrument is too short, it must be lengthened.

STEP #6

When you and your section play the same pitch without any unnecessary embouchure pressure or relaxation, and you are not able to identify any "individual sound" in your section then you and your section are playing with excellent balance, blend and intonation!