Irish Flute: The Luddite's Perspective

[david_h]

... if the strings end a piece 10 cents sharper than when they started (not all that uncommon) my pitch better match theirs rather than the Korg.

I appreciate the wisdom of your post, but how do you learn what 10 cents sounds like ?

[crookedtune]

... if the strings end a piece 10 cents sharper than when they started (not all that uncommon) my pitch better match theirs rather than the Korg.

I appreciate the wisdom of your post, but how do you learn what 10 cents sounds like ?

Ten Cents' whistle/hooter was modelled to resemble a face complete with a red flat-cap like Sunshine's - it's tone is strident but middle-pitched and Ten Cents almost always sounds it in a quick double-or-triple-bursts

http://tugs.wikia.com/wiki/Ten_Cents

[fearfaoin]

but how do you learn what 10 cents sounds like ?

Drop a dime.

[Denny]

hello, police? I'd like to report a tuning issue

[hotlipshooligan]

... Catherine Folkers wrote a brilliant article in Traverso magazine on training your ear and embouchure by using a drone to allow you to recognize and play perfect octaves, fifths, and eventually thirds. Likewise, a metronome can be useful for a beginner or to get the rhythm right in a passage you're having difficulty with. Reliance on it is counter-productive, though...

I didn't read the article, but I've used these practice techniques to great effect, on both flute and fretless bass. For learning to play in tune, there's nothing like listening to the pitch. For learning to play with a good tone there's nothing like listening to the overtones and the fundamental very carefully in your own playing and that of others. Long tones every day; nothing like them, IMHO.

[hotlipshooligan]

Flute? or

Is this how they make all those Irish flutes in Pakistan? "A great value -- pulled from the nasal cavity of a master flutemaker!"

[Denny]

so few can master the technique

[s1m0n]

I'm sorry, am I still living in the free world, or did I miss a memo somewhere?

We all are.

[MikeS]

... if the strings end a piece 10 cents sharper than when they started (not all that uncommon) my pitch better match theirs rather than the Korg.

I appreciate the wisdom of your post, but how do you learn what 10 cents sounds like ?

I probably should have said, "If the strings end a piece a good bit sharper than when they started." Whether it ends up being 7 cents or 15 cents doesn't matter all that much (at least to me, I guess I should say); you just have to be there with them. I could probably offer a guess based on how much I'm cheating on slide positions, lipping, or how much I've adjusted my tuning slide. I wouldn't be likely to follow up on it, though, unless it involved a beer bet with one of the trumpet players. Truth is, my orchestra could be playing at A=444 for all I know. I tune to whatever the oboe plays and proceed from there.

[crookedtune]

Flute?

Is this how they make all those Irish flutes in Pakistan?

Of course not! His job is just to collect data for harmonic analysis.

[david_h]

I asked about the 10 cents, and could do the same with 'A=444Hz', to make the point that the numbers come from the theory and maths, and are handy things when describing a situation. The theory and the maths are also useful to quell the puzzlement when, after using drones and doing stuff like in that Traverso article (which includes theory), I try to play along with a piano accordion. As a beginner on flute with a novice embouchure it is good to know why the gymnastics are needed. The gadgetry helps ("Oh now I see, I'm not used to blowing F# at that pitch"). The web often provides garbled explanations and I think we agree that it doesn't get talked about at the pub.

[MikeS]

I asked about the 10 cents, and could do the same with 'A=444Hz', to make the point that the numbers come from the theory and maths, and are handy things when describing a situation.

No argument with that, David. The vocabulary is useful and necessary and it comes down to more of a matter of when and where it's applied. I was trying to make the point that, while they are in my toolbox, they are usually not the first tools I pull out.

Arguably the best brass recording ever done was made in the late 1960's when members of the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra got together to play some Gabrieli.

http://www.amazon.com/Antiphonal-Music- ... B0000029PE

One of the participants once told me that when they wrapped up, after two days of recording, someone realized that they had never formally tuned. Check out a few of the clips at the link above and decide for yourself if they suffered because of it. (Disclaimer: By bringing this up I am absolutely not trying to imply that I deserve to be mentioned in the same paragraph as any of the players on that album.)

[Akiba]

I asked about the 10 cents, and could do the same with 'A=444Hz', to make the point that the numbers come from the theory and maths, and are handy things when describing a situation.

No argument with that, David. The vocabulary is useful and necessary and it comes down to more of a matter of when and where it's applied. I was trying to make the point that, while they are in my toolbox, they are usually not the first tools I pull out.

Arguably the best brass recording ever done was made in the late 1960's when members of the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and the Philadelphia Orchestra got together to play some Gabrieli.

http://www.amazon.com/Antiphonal-Music- ... B0000029PE

One of the participants once told me that when they wrapped up, after two days of recording, someone realized that they had never formally tuned. Check out a few of the clips at the link above and decide for yourself if they suffered because of it. (Disclaimer: By bringing this up I am absolutely not trying to imply that I deserve to be mentioned in the same paragraph as any of the players on that album.)

My uncle was a trombone player for the Pittsburgh Symphony for 30+ years (just retired). He has perfect pitch, which seems as much of a curse for him as a blessing from what I can tell. Drives him nuts not to have the group (or any music he's listening to) spot on, though I assume he adjusted when necessary. That is, it's more important (and easier on one's "hearing") to be able to play in tune with others than to know the "exact" pitch.

[I.D.10-t]

Makes you wonder about the aesthetics and tuning of a more traditional fife and drum corps. Or what about the progression of something like a overtone flute. I wonder how those would sit with someone with perfect pitch.

[hotlipshooligan]

If you listen to a REALLY good group play at slowed-down speed (for instance with Amazing Slow Downer software) it's fascinating to hear how unison is not really unison. Hearing music is a subjective experience; pitch is included in that. Likewise tempo, lilt, swing, etc.