Hey guys! Well I did it again. Sometimes I am trying to get into tune and I'm allways slightly off with other players in my community band. Not crazy but enough that I know it so I go back and forth back and forth trying to adjust. Practice better air support adjusting my lps, singing then I thought maybe it is partially my flute. I usually end up using my lips to play to those around me to blend in but if not careful it can slip out. I don't think I'm alone with the tuning which makes it harder. But anyway even with my tuner I KEEP on trying to push my head joint in when I'm sharp. Oh my that did it!!! I keep doing it I don't know why. I get things backwards like the letter P and 9 it's such a pain. I'm so used to using my lips to tune which I guess is good but if the darn headjoint isn't at the best point makes it more difficult than it has to be. It's hard not playing with others for months then I get back into it and having a difficult time adjusting when I'm not even positioning the head right! Oh boy sounds better now. I'm such a dope! Thanks for the rant!

try not to confuse regulating the pitch, which is getting that starting point together at A=440 for ex., after that you have to know your flute scale and your tendencies so that you can adjust each note in advance.

Now, if the other players can't play in tune with themselves there is not much you can do

Also, heat and cold will affect things, during the rehearsal you may go sharp as the flute heats up, then you adjust the head joint, the rest of the time you have to adjust the angle of the air accordingly

a tip, when in doubt, play a little sharp, sounds more in tune than if you are a little flat

Patrick's quite right. There is one position for the headjoint where it is easiest to play in tune (where the scale is at it's best). You must find this position (what Bennett suggests is using harmonics (overblowing D1 to D2, and then to D3) and matching the harmonic's pitch in the various registers using the "real" fingerings....When the pitch matches, you have the head about right) to be able to play in tune easily. However, no flute scale is perfect, so there are always compensations to be made, which should be done using the air (direct the air down more to flatten pitch, and raise it to sharpen pitch), rather than rolling in or out or adjusting the headjoint. If you practice with a tuner in front of you, you can figure out the pitch tendencies of the different notes in their various octaves without too much difficulty, and then apply this knowledge to your playing. Eventually you won't have to think about tuning, and it will just become natural. If the pitch center in the group is constantly shifting (as is the case in many community/amateur bands), it's going to be nearly impossible for you to be in tune with the group as a whole, so get as close as possible, and then don't worry about it too much.

Hi Erica,
Try out another brand of flute and see if that helps. I for the longest time had terrible problems with intonation when I played on a specific brand. (The same one you are playing on now.) When I switched to a different brand of flute, I had no problems then. I am using my backup flute as I am out of state and didn't take my main one, which is the same brand you are playing on right now and I still have to work a lot harder on the intonation with it than on my main flute.

<Added>

Please note, I did not name which brand you play on, as I didn't want to start any wars on brands and would like to keep it neutral :)

Hey guys, I haven't been on in a while and wanted to thank everyone for the advice!!! Sorry took so long! I have to take breaks from online stuff! But yes all helpful. And I think I had been playing sharp inthe band which maybe that's why it sounded ok. I still have a difficult time adjusting but it is way better. I do work with a tuner but I try not to fixate on it just use it for a general idea. In the community band I play in it can be hard but at times I feel it's me too so I just try to adjust my air stream and I've been blending in better. But some nights...wow I'm going crazy!!! That's more in exposed parts but just adjust. Singing has helped to to have an idea. Sometime I do wonder if it's the brand but part of it is me. I'm thinking of using flue world stuff to try out. But thanks again for all the advice!

It can be hard to try to find the pich in a community band. You just don't know who to tune to. It drives me crazy!

You can also be trying to
tune in relative pitch, instead
of perfect pitch; or visa versa.

"Girls are like pianos. When they're not upright, they're grand."
- Benny Hill

"A friend is someone who's there when he needs you"
- Anon

"Committee - a group of men who keep minutes and waste hours."
- M. Berle

______________________________

"Girls are like pianos. When they're not upright, they're grand."
- Benny Hill

"A friend is someone who's there when he needs you"
- Anon

"Committee - a group of men who keep minutes and waste hours."
- M. Berle

______________________________

Those are funny quotes, but what do that have to do with anything on this thead?

Nothing, but Wilford seems to have been doing some pretty heavy spamming of the various forums in the last few days, so I guess this just runs in that vein.

What is with all the links after each of his posts?

<Added>

I just looked at some posts and I see what you mean Chris. Shouldn't or isn't there some kind of rule against this?