18
1 The Musician’s Experience of Brass Instruments
play together. Equal temperament is also adopted in much ensemble playing, but
the pitch level of an ensemble can drift in the course of performance, and musicians
have to remain in tune. Even when equal temperament is adopted, a purer tuning
of some chords is often desirable. In historically informed performance of music
earlier than the mid-nineteenth century, a non-equal temperament is usual, but a
musician may still find it aesthetically desirable to ‘bend’ the pitch of certain notes.
The pitches of an instrument’s natural notes are unlikely to coincide exactly
with the pitches judged to be ‘in tune’, so accommodation is necessary, and can
be achieved in several ways. Firstly, the natural notes can be raised or lowered in
pitch to some extent by changing breath pressure and/or lip muscle tension. As
we will see in Sect. 6.3, the player’s windway, from the lungs to the lips, is part
of the complete instrument plus player system and can in some cases be used to
influence intonation. The degree to which a player can bend notes depends on the
characteristics of the instrument and on the playing dynamic. In some situations, it
can be difficult to remain in tune through a crescendo. It is unrealistic to expect a
brasswind maker to supply an instrument that is always naturally in tune: the best
that can be expected is for an instrument to be able to be played in tune with little
difficulty by an experienced musician in regular perfomance situations.
To a large extent, placing the pitches of the natural notes to allow good intonation
is a matter of the instrument maker’s skill. However, there are some specific devices
which can help significantly. Firstly, most brass instruments are equipped with a
tuning-slide. Because musicians’ playing characteristics vary, instrument makers
build brass instruments so that an average player adopting the intended pitch
standard (such as A4 = 440 Hz) will find an optimum tube length with the tuningslide extended by a centimetre or two. In addition to the main tuning-slide, valve
instruments have valve tuning-slides on the valve loops. In the case of finger-hole
and keyed instruments such as the cornett and the ophicleide, the natural notes
are relatively easy to bend, and playing in tune requires the player to have a clear
conception of what is required, to be in command of the fingering possibilities and
to exercise firm control. On both tonehole and valved brass instruments, alternative
fingerings are often available giving different tunings for the same note; these can
be used to adapt intonation to suit different musical contexts. In the case of slide
instruments such as the trombone, pitch is easily variable. Although for a beginner
the trombone is thought of as having seven slide positions, for an advanced player,
the slide placement is adjusted for each of the natural notes. With the trombone slide
fully closed, tuning of the natural notes by slide movement can only be downwards,
something to be allowed for in adjusting the tuning-slide before playing. On some
models of trombone, there are spring buffers (‘touch springs’) at the top of the slide
so the slide can be moved upwards to a small extent from its rest position to cope
with flat natural notes.
The biggest problems in intonation arise with valved instruments. A natural
(valveless) instrument can, with skill in designing the bore profile, be made to allow
good intonation for much of the compass; extending this to the bore profile when
each of three or more valves operated is more difficult. The major problems set
in when valves are used in combination. If a valve adds the correct amount of
1 The Musician’s Experience of Brass Instruments
play together. Equal temperament is also adopted in much ensemble playing, but
the pitch level of an ensemble can drift in the course of performance, and musicians
have to remain in tune. Even when equal temperament is adopted, a purer tuning
of some chords is often desirable. In historically informed performance of music
earlier than the mid-nineteenth century, a non-equal temperament is usual, but a
musician may still find it aesthetically desirable to ‘bend’ the pitch of certain notes.
The pitches of an instrument’s natural notes are unlikely to coincide exactly
with the pitches judged to be ‘in tune’, so accommodation is necessary, and can
be achieved in several ways. Firstly, the natural notes can be raised or lowered in
pitch to some extent by changing breath pressure and/or lip muscle tension. As
we will see in Sect. 6.3, the player’s windway, from the lungs to the lips, is part
of the complete instrument plus player system and can in some cases be used to
influence intonation. The degree to which a player can bend notes depends on the
characteristics of the instrument and on the playing dynamic. In some situations, it
can be difficult to remain in tune through a crescendo. It is unrealistic to expect a
brasswind maker to supply an instrument that is always naturally in tune: the best
that can be expected is for an instrument to be able to be played in tune with little
difficulty by an experienced musician in regular perfomance situations.
To a large extent, placing the pitches of the natural notes to allow good intonation
is a matter of the instrument maker’s skill. However, there are some specific devices
which can help significantly. Firstly, most brass instruments are equipped with a
tuning-slide. Because musicians’ playing characteristics vary, instrument makers
build brass instruments so that an average player adopting the intended pitch
standard (such as A4 = 440 Hz) will find an optimum tube length with the tuningslide extended by a centimetre or two. In addition to the main tuning-slide, valve
instruments have valve tuning-slides on the valve loops. In the case of finger-hole
and keyed instruments such as the cornett and the ophicleide, the natural notes
are relatively easy to bend, and playing in tune requires the player to have a clear
conception of what is required, to be in command of the fingering possibilities and
to exercise firm control. On both tonehole and valved brass instruments, alternative
fingerings are often available giving different tunings for the same note; these can
be used to adapt intonation to suit different musical contexts. In the case of slide
instruments such as the trombone, pitch is easily variable. Although for a beginner
the trombone is thought of as having seven slide positions, for an advanced player,
the slide placement is adjusted for each of the natural notes. With the trombone slide
fully closed, tuning of the natural notes by slide movement can only be downwards,
something to be allowed for in adjusting the tuning-slide before playing. On some
models of trombone, there are spring buffers (‘touch springs’) at the top of the slide
so the slide can be moved upwards to a small extent from its rest position to cope
with flat natural notes.
The biggest problems in intonation arise with valved instruments. A natural
(valveless) instrument can, with skill in designing the bore profile, be made to allow
good intonation for much of the compass; extending this to the bore profile when
each of three or more valves operated is more difficult. The major problems set
in when valves are used in combination. If a valve adds the correct amount of