Intonation refers to the accuracy or correctness of the pitch you are playing on your instrument. While you may be playing with exceptional tone, a good sound that is out of tune will not match and blend well with other players. This page will briefly go over some of the natural intonation tendencies on the horn as well as small adjustments that you the player can make to correct these and other pitch inaccuracies.
General Brass Pitch Tendencies
There are two main components that factor into the pitch tendencies of most brass instruments: valve combinations and the overtone series. Valve combinations affect the pitch tendency of notes in the following ways:
The overtone series also has an important effect on the pitch tendency of certain notes, but that full discussion deserves a website of its own! In general, depending on the fingering used for a note, if the note is the 3rd, 6th, or 12th partial it will be slightly sharp, if the note is the 5th or 10th partial it will be moderately flat, and if the note is the 7th or 14th partial it will be very flat. If you are interested in learning more about the overtone series and how it relates to brass instrument pitch tendencies, you can check out the American Band College's fantastic online video series! Just go to http://www.bandworld.org/html/OvertoneIntro.html.
Horn Pitch Tendencies
The natural tendencies of the horn, taking into account the most common valve combinations used and overtones based on those valve combinations, make the notes shown below naturally out of tune. These are not the only out-of-tune notes on the instrument, but this group of six (or eight) represents the notes that are most problematic. In addition, the instrument will play sharp in the upper range whenever the player exerts too much pressure to obtain the notes. Also keep in mind that just because some notes on the instrument don't have natural pitch tendencies like these do that they will automatically come out in tune! Some careful work with a tuner will help train your mind and ear to anticipate and correct these and other pitch tendencies on the horn.
Adjusting for Intonation
Changes to the pitch can be made with slight adjustments to the embouchure. If a note has the tendency to be or is sounding flat, lipping the note up by tightening the embouchure a little will help to bring the pitch up. If a note has the tendency to be or is sounding sharp, lipping the note down by relaxing the embouchure a little will help to bring the pitch down. While making these SLIGHT adjustments, it is important to maintain the shape and integrity of your embouchure so that the tone does not become negatively affected.
Care in using proper fingerings will also have a strong effect on the pitch and sound of the horn. If you have a double horn, correct use of the trigger is important as it allows for greater accuracy in the high register and facilitates tone production in the low register. Alternate fingerings for certain notes, particularly in the upper register, can occasionally be used to assist with extreme pitch tendencies as well. Your director or private instructor should be able to go over these alternate fingerings with you should the need arise.
Care in using proper fingerings will also have a strong effect on the pitch and sound of the horn. If you have a double horn, correct use of the trigger is important as it allows for greater accuracy in the high register and facilitates tone production in the low register. Alternate fingerings for certain notes, particularly in the upper register, can occasionally be used to assist with extreme pitch tendencies as well. Your director or private instructor should be able to go over these alternate fingerings with you should the need arise.
Flying Along! ...
Now that you are armed with information on intonation and how to make adjustments on the horn, it is time to play some fun Exercises with ExTon!