After receiving my feedback from the DSO audition, I decided to do some investigation (in the form of practice) into tuning.

I had some understandings while doing this:

1. Intervals are not equally important.

Prioritize tuning unisons/octaves, fifths, and thirds, in that order. Everything else can be spread reasonably accurately between those intervals.

2. There are a limited number of keys, and therefore intervals to be tuned.

After realizing this, I sorted my tuning practice by key center. This felt revolutionary! I practice the Mozart (G) concerto opening, Mendelssohn Scherzo, and the arpeggios in Peter and the Wolf all together. This means I get some great target practice with the Gs and Ds on my instrument.

3. Each key is different because of how the individual notes “sit” in our instrument.

By practicing one key center at a time, I learn more efficiently where to “place” the important pitches. Generally, the low notes are a bit flat and the high notes sharp. This was resulting in a stretched octave, and disorienting the pitch in high and low registers.

4. Besides the key and your instrument, tuning adjustments can vary depending on the following:

• Where you’re coming from- Are you coming from a higher note or lower note? Are you coming from a note that you’ve adjusted the pitch up, or down?
• Dynamic- Playing louder pushes the pitch high, soft playing tends to be flat.

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How to adjust tuning on flute:

There are a number of ways to adjust the pitch, and they are all a compromise. Each technique has its uses in different situations. In my opinion, the quality of the sound should take priority over “perfect” pitch.

1. Adjust headjoint: push in to raise the pitch, pull out to lower (remember- bigger instruments, like tuba, are lower).
2. Roll headjoint in/out: roll out to raise the pitch, roll in to lower. This technique must be used tactfully, as too much rolling either way negatively affects the sound quality.
3. Opening the space in your mouth: usually I don’t encourage closing the mouth, but dropping the jaw/opening back teeth/yawning is useful for lowering the notes in the high register without sacrificing sound quality.
4. Pull lips forward: Great for raising the pitch at the end of a diminuendo, or for flatness in the low register.

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How to practice tuning:

1. NO vibrato. For obvious reasons.
2. Play always with a beautiful sound.
3. Play with a drone. Listen the the wobbles, adjust one way, then the other. Listen to how the pitches interact with each other. Don’t be afraid of being out of tune during your practice! Aiming to only play perfectly in tune is sort of pointless because it depends on so many factors. It is much more important to learn to adjust appropriately.
4. Focus on tuning the following intervals, in this priority: unisons, octaves, fifths, thirds.
5. Play very slowly, not with a metronome. Just let your brain focus on tuning when you’re practicing tuning.
6. Using the small lips of the muscles is very tiring, and so is listening to a drone and playing long notes. Be mindful of this, and move on to something else when you get fatigued. The goal is to improve your ear and ability to adjust, which will take some time to develop.

I called this the Tuning Saga, pt. 1, because I’m sure I will revisit this topic again. This is what I’ve learned this time around!

Share your tuning tips in the comments 🙂