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CJceltics33
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Joined: 24 Aug 2017
Posts: 475
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 Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 12:09 pm Post subject: |
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| drboogenbroom wrote: | It is a set of drones that sound a tonic based on the equal tempered scale, and the fifth with just intonation aka an actually in tune fifth.
This makes it really easy to hear if you are in tune or out of tune, particularly humming or using head phones.
It is actually pretty simple. Set the track for the key you want, probably Bb to start and hum the Bb against the drone. Bend the pitch up and down slowly. As you bend the pitch, you will hear and feel waves or bests in the sound. The faster the beats, the further away you are from being in tune. The place where there are no beats is where you are actually in tune. Bend the pitch less and less as you hone in on the in tune pitch. Then do the same thing singing, then on the horn.
Once you can hum/sing/play the Bb in tune repeat the process with the following intervals in this order octaves, 5th, 3rd, 4th (some people like to tune the 4th before the third) 6th 2nd 7th. After this, either move onto a different key or go a head and do your minor intervals m3 m7 m6 m2 +4. Note that some of the intervals, like the 7th, will always sound dissonant, but you can find where the pitch rests with paitence.
Once you can do this play scale and interval studies, improvise, play melodies etc against the drone and try to move from in tune interval to in tune interval.
It seems like a lot, but in 5 minutes or so a day, you will find significant improvement in your ability to hear and imagine notes in tune.
Of course, if you can't get an in tune sound on the horn ie can bend the 3rd down far enough, this indicates an area of physical development and tone control that needs to be allowed to develop.
So far as the sound and effect, it is actually very similar to the Shruti box. Hope this helps. I really encourage the investment. It is a much better way to train the ear than a visual tuner. Again this can be purchased in a digital format for about 10-15 dollars and is actually on Spotify.
Kevin |
Thanks very much for this! I don’t think I’ll buy the CD because many apps have drones. My tuning app has drones. So I’ll use these exercises you’ve explained with that! My intonation has gotten better with 2 days of work, so I’m excited to see what the following weeks have in store! |
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dstpt
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Joined: 14 Dec 2005
Posts: 1284
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| Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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I played an orchestra/choral church gig today, this being Pentecost Sunday, and there was multi-media involved. And you know what that means?! Sound guys are involved!! And guess what?! Audio guys are typically not adept to handling acoustic instruments, at least, not in my humble experience. (I know this could be a completely new thread, so someone else can launch that if they feel so inclined.) Anyway, on goes the tuner! With the rhythm section kicked up so loudly, it was almost ridiculous trying to hear the pitch center, especially when you can barely hear your note. So, rather than wearing out my chops by playing loudly enough to hear myself, I decided to maintain a calm, collected volume level and try to stay centered with A-440 (which is where their organ is tuned). One thing I've learned about playing with a tuner is to believe it! Sometimes, it's hard to believe that a certain note is high or low, especially when you're playing with fixed pitch (they keep this organ tuned well, and we had electronic keyboards pumping loudly into the system as well...on certain tunes).
I remember hearing Wayne Bergeron mentioning the use of a tuner in the studio...I think he may have said that in that video with him at Arturo Sandoval's house. I've told players around me that I'm using it to help stabilize my chops after having gone through dystonia, and it does help that, too, btw, but very importantly, it helps with staying centered in chaotic, acoustic situations. I would imagine the same being very true for those of you playing in rock combo groups. When I first started using a tuner regularly in many gig settings a few years ago, I went through various stages. First, there was the stage of feeling really embarrassed around my colleagues in needing to use one on a gig to help stabilize positive changes in my chops. Then, there was the stage of having to explain to surrounding players, but all of them have been cool about it. Then, there was the stage of not believing that certain notes were out, even barely out (flat or sharp). After all, I had a high opinion of my ear, but I guess it wasn’t as good as I thought it was! Once I started believing the tuner, I started then using my air (not so much my chops) in making adjustments to center with the tuner.
Lots to unpack here, I know, so go ahead and have fun with this! Ha! |
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JoseLindE4
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Joined: 18 Apr 2003
Posts: 791
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 2:20 pm Post subject: |
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I thought I'd share something that I've been playing with lately. Obviously being perfectly in tune with equal-tempered A440 isn't always desirable, but it's a pretty useful skill.
I've been practicing passages, recording them in Garageband (any software would work), autotuning them, and then practicing along with my autotuned self. I'll also record a second track unautotuned to see where my tendencies are. The goal is to make the untuned track disappear into the autotuned track. It's been somewhat revealing (not good for the ego), made me aware of some habits, and opened up my ears. It's way more obvious than staring at a tuner.
I love drone practice for learning how to tune intervals, but this seems like the other side of the coin. |
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