Stop relying on your electronic tuner!
Too many directors have continued to rely on the little tuning box and have forgotten or possibly never learned to used their ears.
That statement reminded me of a Faculty Brass Quintet clinic we were giving in a small town in Iowa. One of the members of our ensemble was illustrating how we began our rehearsals and performances by first tuning up. We proceeded to play our tuning Bb and began making the appropriate adjustments to our instruments. When we asked if anyone had any questions, a very shy student spoke up “Do you tune just by listening”?
At the time we found that somewhat humorous but through the years it seems to sum up one of the problems we have in our schools today; we reply too much on the tuner! We have completely forgotten how to use our ears to identify proper intonation.
The band director’s usual defense for this practice is that “it takes too much time out of our rehearsal to tune the student’s instruments”. That makes as much sense as an art teacher excusing an art student for not preparing his/her canvas before starting a painting. Before one begins to produce art, he/she must first do the preparation to insure the final product is worthy.
If you are interested in learning a simple yet effective way to tune your ensemble, I strongly recommend you read and practice what I have called “Visual Tuning”. When tuning my Jazz Ensemble at the University of Northern Iowa, it took me no more than two minutes to tune every member in my 19 piece band! So don’t tell me you don’t have time during your rehearsals!
To understand this revolutionary method which has been strongly endorsed by leading authorities in the field of applied cybernetics*, visit this post and learn how you can become a better director by learning and practicing the technique of “Visual Tuning”.
