Archived under: Equipment | Intonation
On Tone Color and Intonation
Some teachers will make two points that I really don’t agree with in regard to tone color and intonation.
On tone color there are teachers that claim that it is all about the mental sound concept of the player– if you have a bright sound concept you will sound bright no matter what horn you play, etc. The plain fact is when you put a few really different horns in the hands of a player and hear them back to back in a good room there is an obvious difference in tone color to be heard. The difference between for example a Lewis, a classic pre-letter Conn 8D, and a Lawson is striking and obvious. In respects the sound will be similar if one player performs them back to back but there will be an obvious difference that is easily heard by other horn players.
The other point is on tuning. I know there are teachers who will demonstrate that you can play perfectly in tune with the slides pulled all the way out or pushed in all the way, claiming that it is all about where you mentally place the note. There is an element of truth to this one as, sure, if you hear the note sharp you will place it sharp, but slide placements and design issues related to the lead pipe and bell tail are in fact critical to actually playing a horn in tune. If E on the bottom line lies low when played at the center of the pitch or the horn goes sharp above the staff because you have tuned the B-flat horn sharp in relation to the F horn this is not a mental concept problem, it is a physical problem related to the design and set-up of your instrument.
The underlying point the teachers are making in both cases that I disagree with the most is it is not the horn that is causing the problem, it is you! As in, if you were better you would have a better tone and play better in tune. This is just wrong. Put a great player on a horn that is way out of wack and they may still sound good but will certainly struggle. Put an above average player on a good horn that is set up correctly for intonation however and they will bloom as players. Be the player on the good horn that is set up right.
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