Intonation and the Young Band

Beyond Their Years: Intonation and the Young Band

Chip De Stefano

Playing in tune is a skill. It must be taught, developed, and polished as our students mature as musicians. Too often, particularly in young bands, good pitch is either left to chance or is so director and tuner centric that students are unable to make the on-the-spot adjustments necessary during live performance.

Intonation skills are second in importance only to tone quality. Because of this, training our students’ ears is deserving of the time necessary to do it correctly. By focusing Anthe long term, and training our students how to listen and adjust their pitch, ensemble intonation will greatly improve while the responsibility of good pitch is shifted from director to student. In addition, your students will have the skills and confidence needed to compensate when unexpected intonation issues arise in performance.

Tone First, Then Tune

Nothing is more important than the quality of sound our students produce. It’s very difficult to tune pitches with a bad sound. In addition, good tone can mask minor intonation problems. Students must have quality instruments and equipment, proper embouchure, good breath support, and the aural concept of the characteristic sound of their instrument.

When using a tuner, it’s important that the student’s instrument be completely warmed up. Students must tune their best sound. While looking at the tuner, the young student will automatically try to bend the pitch to satisfy the tuner without actually adjusting the instrument all. It may be helpful to ask your students to play their tuning pitch with their best sound without looking at the tuner. From there they will be able to get the proper reading and adjust accordingly. Click Link to continue reading.