Is there a problem playing a horn one's teacher has tuned? I play a Yamaha 666 I bought from fellow list member and horn player extraordinaire Chris Wiljhelm, and I leave the slides all right where he had them. I tended to play sharp early on, and sometimes gave in and lengthened the main tuning slide to compensate, but these days I do my best to leave it right where he had it.
I figure it's my problem, not the horn's, to get the thing to play in tune. -S- On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 11:35 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > So why not use the 4th partial for the Bb and 8th on the F? If it's a > beginner, then they should have no problem reaching 4th partial on the Bb and > 8th on the F - and it will teach them to keep a steady tone if they can watch > a strobe tuner. > > I think the problem is we're assuming that tuning is some difficult thing > that only seasoned vets can do - but if an 8th grader can understand > Algebra, he can understand how to tune a horn and how to listen for > intonation, I > think. > > Just my two cents. > > > In a message dated 11/19/2009 3:48:03 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, > [email protected] writes: > > [email protected] wrote: >> What I originally said was to use the 8th partial on either side of >> the horn to tune it. Your case, an F on the Bb side is going to be >> 6th partial, will be sharp, and is never a good note to tune. What >> defines a best note? The horn? The partial? If so, what partial? > > From time to time I hear folks talk about how the 6th partial is "never > a good note to tune." In a perfectly-tuned harmonic series, the 6th > partial (and 3rd partial) is only 2 cents sharp to equal-temperament. > That means that--after perfectly in-tune partials 1, 2, 4, 8 & 16--the > 3rd and 6th partials are the next-best in-tune partials! > > Of course no horn has a perfectly-tuned harmonic series, so this > argument isn't necessarily a good one. I also haven't played many horns > where the 6th partial c' on the B-flat horn was so sharp that it was > useless for tuning. > > The 8th partial on the B-flat horn is high enough that many players > (especially younger or weaker players) will sag on this note, even > though it's "supposed to be" the in-tune 8th partial. > > Then there's the question of what note(s) on the horn is/are most useful > to compare to the oboist's A? > > So which foot would you like to shoot? In my opinion, it's probably best > to spend time getting your horn in tune with itself at home. It's > impossible to set the valve slides so that every note on the horn is > perfectly in tune. It's all a compromise. If the horn is fairly well in > tune with itself, then you'll only have to make tiny changes to the main > slide at rehearsal if the general pitch is different from 440. > > It's also worthwhile to make sure that other aspects of technique aren't > affecting intonation. If you aren't using adequate air, chances are > pitch will vary throughout the range. If your right hand position gets > lazy and inconsistent, pitch suffers too. > > The horn is really pretty forgiving as far as intonation goes. If you > haven't trained your ear to recognize what "in-tune" sounds like, you > probably can't play in tune wherever your slides are. And, conversely, > you can play pretty well in tune if your slides are merely "close > enough" as long as your ear cues the rest of your body to make the > necessary adjustments. > > > Now, for the beginner who hasn't developed either ear or playing > technique and wants to "tune" a double horn in just 8 or 9 easy steps: > > 1. Pull the main slide (the first one you get to as you follow the > tubing away from the mouthpiece) about the width of your pinky. This > slide affects every note on the horn. > > 2. Pull the F slide (the other big slide near the main slide) a little > less than the main slide. This slide only affects notes on the F side of > the horn. > > 2a. If you have a Holton Farkas, Conn 8D, Yamaha 668 (or similar) horn, > the little slide that sticks straight up on the front of the horn is > just and extra slide for emptying water. Leave it in all the way. (If > you moved it, by the way, it would only affect the F side of the horn.) > > 2b. If you have a Conn 6D, the F slide is the tubing with a slide on > both the top and bottom on the back of the horn. Only pull one end; use > the other end for emptying water. > > The F horn valve slides are the ones on top: > > 3. Pull the first valve slide about the width of your pinky. > 4. Pull the second valve slide a little less than the first. > 5. Pull the third valve slide a little more than the first. > > The B-flat horn valve slides are the ones on bottom: > > 6-8. Pull each B-flat valve slide a little less than the F valve slides > in front of them. > > 9. If you have a Holton Farkas or Merker (or similar) horn, there's a > tiny slide that sticks out sideways near the thumb valve that only > affects the B-flat horn. Pull it about the width of your pinky too. > > When you remove a slide to empty water, make the effort to return the > slide to the same length of pull it had previously. Also, don't mix up > the slides for the second valve (the F horn slide is longer). > > Once you get to be a more consistent player, then you can fiddle with > these slides to help you play better in tune. (I bet you won't have to > move them very far.) If you've got a good teacher, he or she can help > you set your slides more precisely too. > > Greg > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/valkhorn%40aol.com > > > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/steve.freides%40gmail.com > _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
