ONE-SENTENCE LESSON #15

 

The conductor looked annoyed and kept tugging at his ear as he glared at the trumpets. Finally, he stopped the rehearsal and said: "One of the trumpets is sharp!" My colleagues knew who it was, but wisely refused to look at me. Gulp. I received a painful but effective lesson that day!  

So, how do we fix our faulty, bone-jarring lack of correct intonation?

First, acknowledge that the problem may actually by our own, not the other guy's. 

Next, determine to examine each note with the honest help of a tuner. 

Then, correct the pitch without losing the rich core of the sound.

Play musically but play in tune. Playing musically but out of tune is not playing musically. Unfortunately, this is a lesson that must be relearned daily.