understanding chord tuning, balance, and intonation
TRANSCRIPT
!
Understanding Chord Tuning, Balance, and Intonation
Mary Ellen Cavitt, Texas State University
!" William Revelli (1938) wrote, “It is faulty intonation
that creeps in and spoils what would otherwise be a fine performance … good intonation is the indispensable of the mechanics of music (p. 227).”
Importance of Intonation
!" Equal Temperament
! The tuning used for pianos, organs, and fixed-pitch percussion in which the octave is divided into 12 half steps of equal size
! Also the tuning used by winds when playing with accompaniment
" Just Intonation ! Tuning using the intervals that occur naturally in the
harmonic series ! Eliminating beats makes the sound more consonant
Two Basic Types of Tuning
!
Just Intonation is Based on the Harmonic Series
Max and Scott McKee
!" Latten (2005) identified these three:
! 1) Use of good quality instruments, whose tuning most closely matches Equal Temperament
! 2) Constant striving for excellence in tone quality ! 3) Development of the ability to audiate
Pre- and Co-Requisites for Developing Intonation Control
!" Prerequisite to all tuning is tone quality. " Do not attempt to tune a poor tone; instead, set the slides
where they “should be” and work on tone! " Manipulate variables to increase vibrancy: let reed/lips
vibrate more, vary oral cavity, tongue texture/placement, wind speed/direction, instrument angle, aperture size/shape, jaw placement etc…
" Centering - vibrant, resonant tone, characteristic of the instrument
" Good tone qualities solve many intonation problems, while poor tone qualities may never be perceived of as in tune.
Tone comes first…
!" >72% of students and teachers do not know the tuning
tendencies of individual notes on their instruments (Wuttke, 2011) ! Most instruments are manufactured to be played with the
tuning slide/barrel/head joint pulled out. ! Learn ideal tuning slide, barrel, head joint placements
(exception – double reeds). ! Make sure instrument is warmed up before tuning. ! Use Jurrens, Jagow, or Garofalo tuning guides to help
select ET tuning notes and learn individual tendencies.
Tuning the Instruments
!" Tune instruments to an Equal Temperament standard.
! Tune using a sequence, by ear or with a visual tuner.. ! Teach centering and note bending (tempering).
" Understand the effects of temperature, dynamics, reeds, and mutes on intonation.
" Know alternate fingerings for specific intonation issues on each instrument.
Continued…
!" Term coined by Ed Gordon, meaning inner hearing
(cognitive understanding and prediction of pitch/rhythm)
" The foundation of good tuning is “a clear plan or desire for the exact upcoming pitch” (Joukamo-Ampuja and Wekre, 1999, p. 47).
" Ear training – including it in rehearsal every day
Audiation
!" Visual tuner with a mark indicating -13.7/+15.6 cents
(Korg TM-40)
Visual Model
!" Yamaha Harmony Director HD-200
Aural Model
!
Just Intonation Adjustments by Scale Degrees
in Major and Minor Keys(there are adjustments for every half-step as well )
Major Keys
Scale Degree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Adjustment 0 +3.9 -13.7 -2.0 +2.0 -15.6 -11.7 0
Bb C D Eb F G A Bb
Minor Keys
Scale Degree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Adjustment 0 +3.9 +15.6 -2.0 +2.0 +13.7 +17.6 0
Bb C Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb
!" Humming/singing every day
! Intervals (start by matching unisons and eliminating beats)
! Scales ! Chords ! Chorales
" Mouthpiece Vibrations " Sing-vibrate-play sequence " Chords in the context of rehearsal
Ear-Training
!" F Remington " Remington in any key in which you would like your
ensemble to play in tune " Scales in performance keys, performed against a root and
fifth, being conscious of the scale degree adjustments that must be made
" Chords – major and minor " Chorales (3-Note chorales, Swearingen or Bach chorales) " Make sure that you include warm-up in the key(s) of your
music. Make your warm-up transfer! " Brain Wuttke http://band4me.org/resources.html
Warm up = Tuning time!
!Sample Chorales
" T-I-P-P-S for Band (Tone, Intonation, Phrasing, Precision and Style) ! By Nilo W. Hovey, Alfred Publishing
" First Chorales for Band ! Arranged by Swearingen, Barnhouse Publications
" Bach Chorales " Kathy Johnson’s 3-Note Chorales (Gary Garner)
! Transfer to Sightreading
!3 Note Chorales
Kathy Johnson/Gary Garner
!" Major Chord – lower M3 -13.7 cents, raise P5 2 cents* " Minor Chord – raise m3 +15.6 cents, raise P5 2 cents* " Dominant 7th Chord – lower the M3 -13.7 cents, raise
P5 2 cents, and adjust the 7th * based on context (next slide)
" Major 7th Chord – lower the M3 -13.7 cents, raise P5 2 cents, lower the M7 -11.7 cents* (tune P5’s individually)
*as compared to ET
How to adjust Chords
!" Jagow (2012) Tuning for Wind Instruments " Describes three ways to tune the seventh in a
dominant seventh chord, based on context ! Lower it 31 cents – very consonant, resolves well, best
used for dominant harmonic functions ! Lower 4 cents – dissonant and wants to resolve, best
use when following a IV chord ! Raise 18 cents – more dissonant, resolves well, best
used following a ii chord (super-tonic)
m7 Intervals in Dominant Seventh Chords
!Chord Adjustments
!" Just Intonation works better for wind instruments in
some keys than others. " Bb Major is least difficult " Why is it more difficult to play in tune in certain
keys? (Db Major or Gb Major)
Why are some keys more difficult?
!" For example:
! Key of Bb Major " Bb is fundamental of harmonic series for most
brass
" D is naturally flat (5th harmonic)
" F P5th is a pure interval, +2 cents as compared to ET
!! Key of Db Major
" Db is the root
" F is usually sharp on most brass & alto sax, and now needs to be lowered 14 cents. This may well be the lowest F concert your students have ever been asked to perform!
" Ab is 5th of chord
" Think through the scale degrees and how we must temper them.
!" If you want to play in more difficult keys…
! It requires more time.! For those of you who spend significant time cleaning
articulation, style, etc., on F concert, you have to help your students realize the there are many versions of F, depending on the performance key!
! Singing and mouthpiece vibrations will help students focus and tune pitch, as will having them finger while they do so.
! Go back to challenging targets often to allow multiple opportunities to improve
It’ll be fun, they said…
Tuning Chords Out of Context of Your Music• Practice chords, chorales, or chord progressions in
the actual keys in which you will be performing. • As a part of warm-up (James Swearingen, First Chorales
for Band or Bach Chorales for example) • As you begin to work on a new selection of music or a
section of a larger work • To best anticipate adjustments/tempering, students
must understand what scale degree they are playing
!! Chords in context
" Carefully tune the first and last chord of a phrase or two, or the resolution of a musical phrase (Sing, vibrate, play)
" The entire piece will improve!
! Tune the melody against a drone of the root and fifth.
" Be aware of what scale degree the melody is playing.
Tuning Chords In the Contextof the Music during Rehearsal
! Non-zero numbers represent the cent value adjustment from
Equal Temperament to Just Intonation
Accidentals – Preset Temperament Cent List
!!
Display
Temperament
Type
Individual Cent Values
C
Db
D
Eb
E F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
Equal
Equal
0.0
0.0!
0.0!
0.0!
0.0!
0.0!
0.0!
0.0!
0.0!
0.0!
0.0!
0.0 !
Pure
(Major)
Pure Major
0.0
-29.3
3.9
15.6
-13.7
-2.0
-31.3
2.0
-27.4
-15.6
17.6
-11.7
Pure (Minor)
Pure Minor
15.6
-13.7
-2.0
31.3
2.0
13.7
-15.6
17.6
-11.7
0.0
33.2
3.9
!Balance
" Tune the intervals, then adjust the balance.
" Major Chord – strengthen root and fifth, soften the 3rd
" Minor Chord – strengthen root and fifth, soften the 3rd
" 7th Chords – strengthen the root and fifth, soften both the 3rd & 7th
" Model on the HD – adjust individual volume of 3rd and 7th
!" Leube (2004) described “pitch drift”, where louder
notes are perceived as flatter, and explained that instrument construction and playing position can cause pitch drift, misleading a player about her own pitch. For example, a trumpet player may be perceived as flat from the front because of the direction of the bell, but the performer may hear himself in tune from behind the instrument.
Perception matters…
!
When to use Equal Temperament? When to use Just Intonation?
Equal Temperament Just Intonation
Check length of instrument (HD or ET tuner)
Tuning major & minor chords. Tuning melodic lines that have traditional harmonic accompaniments.
Clip-on Tuner for specific uses – helping students realize larger tuning tendencies, instruments sounding a reference pitch for the band
Do not use Equal Temperament all the time or none of your chords will be in tune! ☺
Modeling pure intonation in music with a traditional harmonic scheme.
Non-common practice music. For example, Debussy, Stravinsky etc.
Ear training and harmony training.
Tuning to a piano (soloists) or fixed pitch percussion/keyboard (when they have the most important or most prominent part in the music).
!" Books/Guides
! Robert Garofalo – Improving Intonation in Band and Orchestra Performance (1996)
! Shelley Jagow - Tuning for Wind Instruments (2012) ! James Jurrens – Tuning the Band and Raising Pitch
Consciousness (1991) " Audio/Video
! Richard Schwarz – The Tuning CD (1997/2000) ! Bravo Music - Harmony training for the ensemble (2005)
(DVD) ! band4me.com – Brian Wuttke’s teaching website
Resources
" Research ! Duffin, R.W. (2007). How equal temperament ruined harmony
(and why you should care). New York, NY: W. W. Norton and Company.
! Latten, J. E. (2005), Exploration of a sequence for teaching intonation skills to wind players. Journal of Band Research (41), 60-89.
! Wuttke, B. C. (2007). The troublesome T’s of tuning wind instruments. (Unpublished manuscript). The University of Miami Frost School of Music. Coral Gables, FL.
! Wuttke, B. C. (2011). A model describing the effects of equipment, instruction and director and student attributes on wind-band intonation". Open Access Dissertations. Paper 564.
!Additional References
Doty, D. B. (2010). The Just Intonation Primer; An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Just Intonation. Author. Luebe, C. (2004). A study of musical intonation. Vancouver, BC: Prospect Publications. Gordon, E. E. (1997). Learning sequences in music: Skill, content
and patterns (5th ed.). Chicago: GIA Publications. Joukamo-Ampuja, E. and Wekre, F. R. (1999). Teaching
intonation: Thoughts for horn players. The Horn Call. 29, 4, 47-50
Revelli, W. D. (1938). Let’s tune up. Etude Magazine, 56(4), 227, 265, 278.
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