Tuning Sequences

Most of my writings involve the pedagogy of teaching rhythms and counting, so I'm a bit "off topic" here. However, if you can use the following exercises with your band programs in any way, shape, or form, be my guest. One observation I have made with young musicians, is that it is difficult, especially middle school, for them to hear a tuning pitch and make needed adjustments when a large number of musicians are playing at one time. They go through the motions trying to look as "professional" as possible, but, in most cases, they are clueless. The more we can break down tuning procedure, both individually and as an ensemble, the less likely our young musicians will be "over processed" and the better our chances of helping them accurately hear and adjust pitch. I'll briefly describe what I attempted to design in each of the attached exercises to accomplish, and from there, you can come up with your own ideas for their application.

We will start off with the "Unison Tuning Sequence". I have done both exercises in concert "F" and "Bb". Other keys can be used, but these are the two most commonly used by bands today. In addition to tuning, the object is to work on the precision of attacks and releases. The exercise also isolates the various octaves, so the students can hear each, one at a time. As the first group of instruments finishes their note, they must release, and the next group must precisely attack their pitch on the same count. There should be no gaps or breaks, so the pitch relationships can be more easily and accurately compared. I find this is the best way to help younger students to listen and tune. This is also a very useful method in getting your students to listen and tune individually. You can start with your first chair trumpet player, and, as you point to the second player, he/she attacks precisely as the first performer releases. In this way, only one is playing at a time, but you can move fairly quickly through the section. Have each student in the section try to adjust the first time around. Run the same exercise again, but the second time the band director critiques not only each students' intonation, but whether the student's initial adjustment was correct or not. I have also passed out on occasion short little quiz sheets numbered down the side. I play a tuning pitch on a keyboard or strobe. As I call out each student in the section by number, the students in the other sections go to the corresponding number on the quiz sheet and circle a "#" if they hear the student pitch sharp, "b" if flat, and "0" if they feel the pitch is relatively in tune. In this way, you can get the full class involved and be doing something educationally constructive as you take class time to tune.

In returning to the ensemble study, as the exercise progresses, I shorten the lengths of the notes, to get the students' ears to hear and adjust faster. I use "Repeat as needed" cues to allow the director to stay at the same spot of the exercise until improvement is observed in the ensembles performance, and the director is ready to move on. In bar #21, the ensemble should play the notes short, so the director can rehearse his or her concept of note length for staccato passages. This is also a very helpful exercise in developing the students' concept of pitch center. This is similar to back in my old "Madison Scout" days when we used to run the "just attacks" drills. The last two measurers are used merely to put finality to the exercise, reviewing one last time staccato, tenuto, and a fermata on the last note to be sure all are still in tune.

The "Chord Tuning Sequence": follows a similar approach, with a few minor variations. The emphasis is on tuning and balancing chords. The instruments are pre-divided into the four parts of the chord, and must precisely enter their pitch into the chord sequence, listening for both intonation and ensemble balance. Bars # 14 & 15 can be used to drill different articulations, with one style on the quarter notes and a different articulation for the eighth notes. For example; legato going up and staccato coming down. The four counts rest in between is where the director can change the style assignments. In bars #17 & 18 the director can verbally, or silently by cue, change the dynamic level of the unison chord is to be played at, continuing to be sure balance and intonation is maintained at all levels. The last bar can be one long crescendo, or just held out for a final check of the chords pitch center and final ensemble balance.