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 trombone 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. Luckily for the trombone, it uses a built-in "tuning slide" in place of valves, so the affect valve combinations have on the pitch of notes is of no concern to the beginning trombone player.
The overtone series, however, can still have an important effect on the pitch tendency of certain notes on the trombone, but
that full discussion deserves a website of its own! In general, depending on the slide position used for a note, if the note is the
3rd, 6th, or 12th partial it can be slightly sharp, if the note is the 5th or 10th partial it can be moderately flat, and if the note is
the 7th or 14th partial it can 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.
that full discussion deserves a website of its own! In general, depending on the slide position used for a note, if the note is the
3rd, 6th, or 12th partial it can be slightly sharp, if the note is the 5th or 10th partial it can be moderately flat, and if the note is
the 7th or 14th partial it can 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.
Trombone Pitch Tendencies
Since the trombone uses what is essentially a built-in "tuning slide" to play each note, there really aren't many natural pitch tendencies on the instrument. However, the group of three notes below can be somewhat problematic when using "standard" slide positions because of where they are in the overtone series. In addition, the instrument can tend to play unexpectedly sharp in the upper range whenever the player exerts too much pressure to obtain the notes. Also keep in mind that just because the trombone has a built-in "tuning slide" that every note will automatically come out in tune! Some careful work with a tuner will help train your mind and ear to anticipate and correctly place the slide for each note on the trombone.
Adjusting for Intonation
Proper slide positions have a strong effect on the pitch and sound of the trombone. For the notes above, for example, the player will need to know to play these notes with a slightly shorter slide position in order to compensate for the naturally flat pitch tendencies created by the overtone series.
In addition to moving the slide, changes to the pitch can be made as needed 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.
In addition to moving the slide, changes to the pitch can be made as needed 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.
Flying Along! ...
Now that you are armed with information on intonation and how to make adjustments on the trombone, it is time to play some fun Exercises with ExTon!