Hello This is a larger subject than it appears. And, this is HARD, but I will do my best to give suggestions that you may or may not choose to use:
Before I start: one question: make SURE you are not TONE DEAF. If you are; none of these options will help you in any way.......... Ok, here we go: 1) Obtain the use of a WELL TUNED PIANO. Start with the middle C. Bang the key a lot. Listen to it. Yes you will feel rather silly doing this, but trust me it is the way I learned piano from age 3. 2) Again, listen well to that C. Get that C into your head until you are sick of it. Really sick of it until you never want to hear it again. That is the point that it has burrowed into your brain someplace. 3) If you are versed in music theory; then you would next go to a perfect 5th; the G above the middle C. Listen to the C and then the G. Obtain the connection BETWEEN them in your head both backwards (down) and forwards (up). After this, go to the perfect 4th; the F above middle C; obtain the connection. After that, do it all over again until you can hear it in your head and you are totally sick of it. 4) After the 'perfect' intervals, begin with the other notes; choose whichever suit your fancy. However, START with the middle C; THEN the perfect intervals, THEN the others. The reason for this is because most folks have what is called 'relative pitch' and can 'relate' another note to a 'known' note. Therefore, you want to fix the 'known' notes into your brain before going into unknown territory. And please remember, you want to get 'sick' of ALL of these notes; the entire chromatic scale eventually. This is what ear training takes, although college professors teach a different curriculum. 5) These exercises will not be easy unless you have perfect pitch. Perfect pitch is the ability to generate, without the aid of any device whatsoever, a note which you can positively identify, sing back, and confirm using whatever sound producing device is handy. Now, here's the rub on perfect pitch-it is a PAIN to learn to play horn in F when one has perfect pitch because the person keeps 'hearing' concert pitch when the actual wanted pitch is a 4th step below it. I have perfect pitch and had to go through this for 2 years before I finally 'got' it. I am sorry, I am unable to recall the 'way' I 'got' it; but I did it, finally. 6) Stay AWAY from those electrical tuners. If you put two together, they will not match. And they are garbage. All of them; garbage. Anyone on this list can dispute this privately with me but I will hold my ground. Oboe players are completely silly in using them to tune orchestras or other groups as it prevents them from using their own perfectly good ears. Here's a story that is true: My own orchestra's oboist tuned the orchestra to three separate A's, using the tuner. Guess what happened? The string A was A=446, the Woodwind A was A=439 and the brass; about an average of the two. Needless to say, I complained about this vigorously and in public for about six months until the conductor asked me to stop. What can you do when your oboist is completely confused and using bad equipment instead of his ears-and he's offended at the 1st horn player for ratting him out to the entire orchestra on his A? Finally-after about 10 years, the oboes finally figured it out for themselves and now give one tuning A; thank God; whatever it is. If it's way out of tune or if the orchestra itself is out of tune with 'itself'; what I do now is, well into the rehearsal; politely ask if 'we can tune again'..... 7) Strobotuners. Now, these are good, especially the ones with twelve windows; however they are HARD to find and probably only owned by a school. If you can get to one, here's a good exercise for the ear: SING a pitch; any pitch and STOP the window from spinning. You will know (by the name of the window) which pitch you are singing and you can go from there. 8) Even better, if you have a Strobotuner w/twelve windows, play a SCALE on your horn for it. If you can stop all twelve windows; your horn is in tune; wonderful! If you can SING a scale and stop all twelve windows; that is even better! I wish you well on this; it will not be easy and it will be a long road to haul unless you already have perfect pitch. If you have perfect pitch; it is a piece of cake to get all this, with the exception of a capella choirs (a very different story). With even practicing the horn; you have to get the piece learned so well that you are sick and tired of it-and that is when you know you have truly learned it. I have provided the best suggestions that I know of and hope that they are of assistance to you in some way (or all). Trust me; the more work you put into this, the more you gain. Rachel Harvey _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
