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Austin's Advice for
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Which to get:
I highly suggest as a musician that everyone owns a tuner and metronome of their own. Fortunately you can get a combination one for only $21!!
https://www.amazon.com/Korg-TM50BK-Instrument-Tuner-Metronome/dp/B00923H7MA/
For those with iPhones/Android, there are several great apps to choose from. This link has a fantastic breakdown of everything.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ios-android-apps-musicians-colin-dorman
A free metronome can be used online at the following link:
https://www.metronomeonline.com/
I personally use:
Cleartune as a tuner (Android and iPhone) - $3.99
Mobile Metronome Pro (Android only) - $1.50, there is a free version but the Ads are AWFUL
And I also have Tunable (Android and iPhone) and Tonal Energy (Android and iPhone). Both of which are combo metronome/tuners and have various other tools as well.
How to use in individual practice:
Metronomes are first and (arguably) most important. If you can't play it with a metronome, you can't play it correctly!! Make sure to have the metronome clicking the correct tempo and meter (i.e. 120 bpm in 4/4) and then make sure you are always with the clicks. It is that simple.
If it is too fast at first, slow it down to where you can play it perfectly, and then speed up the tempo gradually. If you have to start at half tempo, do just that. If you practice speeding up the tempo too quickly, you will learn bad habits instead and do more harm than good.
In meters such as 6/8 or 9/8 where the beat can go to either the eighth or the dotted quarter, try putting the beat on the eighths at first to make sure you are playing them even. If the tempo is quick, you will of course will want to switch to the dotted quarter. If the meter changes frequently, you will have to figure out which is best, which will often be the eighth note.
One last note about metronomes: Be aware on where within the beat you are playing. You can play on the "frontside" or "backside" of a beat. Most of the time you want to be playing exactly on the beat, but it can be easy to make a habit of playing on either side. If so, when you play with others you will not be together!
Tuners have two main functions. The tuner itself which shows whether you are flat or sharp and a drone which plays the pitch so you can match it.
First, always check you tuner is set to A440 (A below middle C sounds at 440hz), if not correct this using the calibrate (or similar) buttons/settings. Then play the note you are checking and see where the needle falls on the tuner. Here is a picture of the TM-50:
As you can see the tuner above is set to 442, which would mean than you are tuning slightly sharp. The markings along the arc are Cents. There are 100 cents between Ab and A, and another 100 between A and Bb, and so on and so forth, making 100 cents between every chromatic note. 50 cents is halfway, and is VERY out of tune any farther and it is a different note altogether, while 25 cents is still pretty out of tune as well. Ideally every note should be exactly on the 0, but within 5 cents is generally close enough to be considered "in tune". You may also notice the triangles in slightly different spots on the left and right of the 0 mark. These are used for tuning major and minor chords, with the left mark at -14 cents (third in a major chord) and the right mark at +16 cents (third in a minor chord). I will link a document that talks more about why we use those numbers for chords.
When you get your tuner, you will want to check each note on your instrument, starting with the ideal tuning note on each instrument. We have been using concert F since it the best note for the entire band, but each instrument is a little different. In general, Woodwinds will want to check concert A and concert F and Brass concert Bb and concert F. If the tuner is showing you sharp or flat on these two notes, adjust your slide/barrel/mouthpiece/head joint accordingly. This is what we have been working on in rehearsal, and I suggest trying to match pitch with either the drone or a keyboard in addition to watching the needle. Focus on the goal (the pitch), not how to get there.
After you check those two notes, check all the other notes in your "middle range", noting whether the tendency of each note is to be flat or sharp, and how much exactly. DO NOT adjust your main tuning slide for every note, only for the "tuning notes". Then gradually move into the higher and lower ranges, checking every chromatic note on the instrument. No (wind) instrument is in tune for every note, so you will have to adjust accordingly and knowing the tendencies for each note will help anticipate how to adjust. For brass instruments, you can adjust your individual tuning slides to make certain valves in tune, but again you can't get every note in tune. Woodwinds cannot tune "parts" of their horn like brass, so they must adjust accordingly. All instruments use a combination of air speed and voicing (the shape of your tongue - A, E, I, O, U and subtle variations) to change both pitch and timbre. One thing I did not mention earlier is the importance of getting the best possible sound or "timbre" before beginning to tune. If you are not using proper air support or other issues, all the work you did finding the tendencies will be wasted.
In rehearsal:
I am constantly listening for both tempo and intonation during rehearsal, but it is up to each individual musician to play both in tune and in time. Spending time individually will help greatly with your own ability to master your instrument and to become a better musician and will have a marked impact playing with others as well. Please do note however that even if your tuner reads your note as perfectly in tune, if the rest of the band is flat or sharp, you must use your ears to adjust accordingly!! When I play euphonium or tuba in a rehearsal, I always use it as a gauge the tendency of the ensemble, so that I can match them better, not try to force the ensemble to match me.
Further notes:
Some of this guide is very detailed and if you have any questions please feel free to ask me before or after rehearsal. I will speak about this guide briefly this evening, but I would like to continue to condense our tuning sequence so that we may spend more time working on the music itself. The workings of tuning are especially complicated, I have attached .pdf that speaks to some of the various things that affect pitch in wind instruments (aerophones).
I highly suggest as a musician that everyone owns a tuner and metronome of their own. Fortunately you can get a combination one for only $21!!
https://www.amazon.com/Korg-TM50BK-Instrument-Tuner-Metronome/dp/B00923H7MA/
For those with iPhones/Android, there are several great apps to choose from. This link has a fantastic breakdown of everything.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ios-android-apps-musicians-colin-dorman
A free metronome can be used online at the following link:
https://www.metronomeonline.com/
I personally use:
Cleartune as a tuner (Android and iPhone) - $3.99
Mobile Metronome Pro (Android only) - $1.50, there is a free version but the Ads are AWFUL
And I also have Tunable (Android and iPhone) and Tonal Energy (Android and iPhone). Both of which are combo metronome/tuners and have various other tools as well.
How to use in individual practice:
Metronomes are first and (arguably) most important. If you can't play it with a metronome, you can't play it correctly!! Make sure to have the metronome clicking the correct tempo and meter (i.e. 120 bpm in 4/4) and then make sure you are always with the clicks. It is that simple.
If it is too fast at first, slow it down to where you can play it perfectly, and then speed up the tempo gradually. If you have to start at half tempo, do just that. If you practice speeding up the tempo too quickly, you will learn bad habits instead and do more harm than good.
In meters such as 6/8 or 9/8 where the beat can go to either the eighth or the dotted quarter, try putting the beat on the eighths at first to make sure you are playing them even. If the tempo is quick, you will of course will want to switch to the dotted quarter. If the meter changes frequently, you will have to figure out which is best, which will often be the eighth note.
One last note about metronomes: Be aware on where within the beat you are playing. You can play on the "frontside" or "backside" of a beat. Most of the time you want to be playing exactly on the beat, but it can be easy to make a habit of playing on either side. If so, when you play with others you will not be together!
Tuners have two main functions. The tuner itself which shows whether you are flat or sharp and a drone which plays the pitch so you can match it.
First, always check you tuner is set to A440 (A below middle C sounds at 440hz), if not correct this using the calibrate (or similar) buttons/settings. Then play the note you are checking and see where the needle falls on the tuner. Here is a picture of the TM-50:
As you can see the tuner above is set to 442, which would mean than you are tuning slightly sharp. The markings along the arc are Cents. There are 100 cents between Ab and A, and another 100 between A and Bb, and so on and so forth, making 100 cents between every chromatic note. 50 cents is halfway, and is VERY out of tune any farther and it is a different note altogether, while 25 cents is still pretty out of tune as well. Ideally every note should be exactly on the 0, but within 5 cents is generally close enough to be considered "in tune". You may also notice the triangles in slightly different spots on the left and right of the 0 mark. These are used for tuning major and minor chords, with the left mark at -14 cents (third in a major chord) and the right mark at +16 cents (third in a minor chord). I will link a document that talks more about why we use those numbers for chords.
When you get your tuner, you will want to check each note on your instrument, starting with the ideal tuning note on each instrument. We have been using concert F since it the best note for the entire band, but each instrument is a little different. In general, Woodwinds will want to check concert A and concert F and Brass concert Bb and concert F. If the tuner is showing you sharp or flat on these two notes, adjust your slide/barrel/mouthpiece/head joint accordingly. This is what we have been working on in rehearsal, and I suggest trying to match pitch with either the drone or a keyboard in addition to watching the needle. Focus on the goal (the pitch), not how to get there.
After you check those two notes, check all the other notes in your "middle range", noting whether the tendency of each note is to be flat or sharp, and how much exactly. DO NOT adjust your main tuning slide for every note, only for the "tuning notes". Then gradually move into the higher and lower ranges, checking every chromatic note on the instrument. No (wind) instrument is in tune for every note, so you will have to adjust accordingly and knowing the tendencies for each note will help anticipate how to adjust. For brass instruments, you can adjust your individual tuning slides to make certain valves in tune, but again you can't get every note in tune. Woodwinds cannot tune "parts" of their horn like brass, so they must adjust accordingly. All instruments use a combination of air speed and voicing (the shape of your tongue - A, E, I, O, U and subtle variations) to change both pitch and timbre. One thing I did not mention earlier is the importance of getting the best possible sound or "timbre" before beginning to tune. If you are not using proper air support or other issues, all the work you did finding the tendencies will be wasted.
In rehearsal:
I am constantly listening for both tempo and intonation during rehearsal, but it is up to each individual musician to play both in tune and in time. Spending time individually will help greatly with your own ability to master your instrument and to become a better musician and will have a marked impact playing with others as well. Please do note however that even if your tuner reads your note as perfectly in tune, if the rest of the band is flat or sharp, you must use your ears to adjust accordingly!! When I play euphonium or tuba in a rehearsal, I always use it as a gauge the tendency of the ensemble, so that I can match them better, not try to force the ensemble to match me.
Further notes:
Some of this guide is very detailed and if you have any questions please feel free to ask me before or after rehearsal. I will speak about this guide briefly this evening, but I would like to continue to condense our tuning sequence so that we may spend more time working on the music itself. The workings of tuning are especially complicated, I have attached .pdf that speaks to some of the various things that affect pitch in wind instruments (aerophones).
