At the risk of being moany, I would like to point out to some folks that when you're playing at a sesh w/ certain instruments, using your little casio tuner is futile. If a concertina player joins my session I tend to tune to them and get everyone else to follow likewise. It is useless to tune to yourself ( via tech thingy ) and be out of tune with everyone else. I play regularly with a piper, he tends to tune to his doo-hick As Best He Can and I tune to him. Works best. Getting a good general "A" is another good idea. Not all of those tuners agree on where A440 is exactly and I find it usually better to go by ear.
Vain hope indeed, esp. if there are many big wet-tuned Paolo Sopranis in abundance. Tune to the one with the driest tuning (Castagnari) ..or the concertina.
As long as every body is close to D and not Eb or C# it is all good. Really though tune to Pipes, Box, or Tina if they are at your sesh other wise pick out some one else to tune to. As a Flute player I hardly ever try to tune to a tuner as it is not that easy with a Flute as the pitch can change so easily (turning the head joint slightly will chnage your pitch).
Than might just work, if you shoot the flute in the right place, thus creating a new tone hole, or enlarging one of the existing ones. But there are more specialised tools for that
purpose.
What do you do if two free-reed players turn up, with differently (un)tuned instruments? (No punchline required).
Do you (a) all tune to one of them - preferably the louder of the two, (b) tune somewhere in between the two pitches, so that neither is too far out, albeit in different directions or (c)say, "Excuse me, but this is a 440 session"? Perhaps sessions should start stating their pitch standards in their manifesti.
I am something of a compulsive tuner. I tune wine glasses, bottles, instruments that were perfectly in tune to start with... In a session, if somebody starts playing out of tune, or at a different pitch, I will instinctively try to tune to them. Then when everyone else joins in at the right pitch, I tune back again. It's a wonder I ever get any tunes played. But it's much easier for me to retune than stand up and shout at everyone else to get in tune.
Everyone should tune to the mandolin cos it's the hardest to keep in tune. It even falls out with itself. Unless someone turns up with autoharp or hammered dulcimer.
Or that Swedish thing - nickelharpa is it?
I think it's really important to play in tune and I tune my Whistles and Recorders to play at A 440 so I think in order to be as inclusive as possible we should aim to be at this pitch standard.
Damn right Farr.
Would you like to come round to my house and help me explain to Mrs Bren?
Actually, I didn't mean that my mando goes out of tune - poor choice of words. My Donmo stays in tune remarkably well.
It's just that when you have to retune to someone else it takes a while because every time you alter the tension on one string, the other 7 strings change tuning too.
Being a flute player who tends to play sharp, I eventually succumb to the concertina or other fixed pitch instruments. At one session I attend there is occasionally two pipers. That's a lost cause, at least for an hour or so...I tend to listen closely to the fiddle players, but they are tuning to their e-tuners. I play old flutes which have tuning issues to begin with, so it's a struggle. I find that after a while, when both the instruments and I warm up, we settle into a pitch which is somewhere around A=440. Personally, I think my instruments play much better a little higher than that, but I'm playing solo when that's the case.
Jim to get back to your question. No I am not related to David as I know I think he probably comes from an English Levine where as I am of a Jewish background and that is just the name my Grandfather wrote whil arriving in America. Ptarmigan you could be a media writer.
The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
At the risk of being moany, I would like to point out to some folks that when you're playing at a sesh w/ certain instruments, using your little casio tuner is futile. If a concertina player joins my session I tend to tune to them and get everyone else to follow likewise. It is useless to tune to yourself ( via tech thingy ) and be out of tune with everyone else. I play regularly with a piper, he tends to tune to his doo-hick As Best He Can and I tune to him. Works best. Getting a good general "A" is another good idea. Not all of those tuners agree on where A440 is exactly and I find it usually better to go by ear.
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Farr
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
We tune to one of the many many session accordions in the vain hope that they are in tune with each other.
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by McMandolin
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Vain hope indeed, esp. if there are many big wet-tuned Paolo Sopranis in abundance. Tune to the one with the driest tuning (Castagnari) ..or the concertina.
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Key Maniac Lad
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
How do you get two flutes to play in tune?
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Orson Carte
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Shoot one of them.
(Hey, some of my best friends/family are fluters.)
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Orson Carte
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
As long as every body is close to D and not Eb or C# it is all good. Really though tune to Pipes, Box, or Tina if they are at your sesh other wise pick out some one else to tune to. As a Flute player I hardly ever try to tune to a tuner as it is not that easy with a Flute as the pitch can change so easily (turning the head joint slightly will chnage your pitch).
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Unseen122
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Hey Glen, what do you do if a concertina player shows up at the same session with the piper?
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Tune to whichever one you are sitting closest to. Alternatively, tune to whichever one is louder.
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Dave Weinstein
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
"We tune to one of the many many session accordions" - Oh lucky old you!
Quote of the week! - "As a Flute player I hardly ever try to tune"
Just funnin' unseen122 - honest!
"...what do you do if a concertina player shows up at the same session with the piper?" - well, you could follow Orson's advice & "Shoot one of them."
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Ptarmigan
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
I have a very nice tuner that is itself tunable. So I can tune my tuner to an instrument, and then everybody else can tune to the tuner.
Unfortunately I've never tested this theory - we usually tune by ear at the session.
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Shrog
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Orson Carte:
"How do you get two flutes to play in tune?"
"Shoot one of them."
Than might just work, if you shoot the flute in the right place, thus creating a new tone hole, or enlarging one of the existing ones. But there are more specialised tools for that
purpose.
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by ragaman
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Concertina, accordion and harmonica are all the same beast - they all have bits of spring rivitted over a hole.
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by geoffwright
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
What do you do if two free-reed players turn up, with differently (un)tuned instruments? (No punchline required).
Do you (a) all tune to one of them - preferably the louder of the two, (b) tune somewhere in between the two pitches, so that neither is too far out, albeit in different directions or (c)say, "Excuse me, but this is a 440 session"? Perhaps sessions should start stating their pitch standards in their manifesti.
I am something of a compulsive tuner. I tune wine glasses, bottles, instruments that were perfectly in tune to start with... In a session, if somebody starts playing out of tune, or at a different pitch, I will instinctively try to tune to them. Then when everyone else joins in at the right pitch, I tune back again. It's a wonder I ever get any tunes played. But it's much easier for me to retune than stand up and shout at everyone else to get in tune.
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by ragaman
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Everyone should tune to the mandolin cos it's the hardest to keep in tune. It even falls out with itself. Unless someone turns up with autoharp or hammered dulcimer.
Or that Swedish thing - nickelharpa is it?
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Bren
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
I think it's really important to play in tune and I tune my Whistles and Recorders to play at A 440 so I think in order to be as inclusive as possible we should aim to be at this pitch standard.
PP
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Pied Piper
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Bren: you may need a better mandolin. JTroy: Waldorf. PP: Wow, A440. Who'da thunk?
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Farr
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Damn right Farr.
Would you like to come round to my house and help me explain to Mrs Bren?
Actually, I didn't mean that my mando goes out of tune - poor choice of words. My Donmo stays in tune remarkably well.
It's just that when you have to retune to someone else it takes a while because every time you alter the tension on one string, the other 7 strings change tuning too.
# Posted on November 23rd 2005 by Bren
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Got it. Yeh it takes forever. Maybe time to take up fiddle. Its only twice as hard and 4 times as expensive. ; )
# Posted on November 24th 2005 by Farr
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Learn to tune by ear.Bin all the electronis tuners
# Posted on November 24th 2005 by dafydd
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Electronic
# Posted on November 24th 2005 by dafydd
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Being a flute player who tends to play sharp, I eventually succumb to the concertina or other fixed pitch instruments. At one session I attend there is occasionally two pipers. That's a lost cause, at least for an hour or so...I tend to listen closely to the fiddle players, but they are tuning to their e-tuners. I play old flutes which have tuning issues to begin with, so it's a struggle. I find that after a while, when both the instruments and I warm up, we settle into a pitch which is somewhere around A=440. Personally, I think my instruments play much better a little higher than that, but I'm playing solo when that's the case.
Arbo
# Posted on November 24th 2005 by Imnotirish
Re: The importance of playing in tune, Ernest
Jim to get back to your question. No I am not related to David as I know I think he probably comes from an English Levine where as I am of a Jewish background and that is just the name my Grandfather wrote whil arriving in America. Ptarmigan you could be a media writer.
# Posted on November 24th 2005 by Unseen122