Improving Intonation Skills Book 1: How to Practice with an Electronic Tuner

By Deanna Mathews Kilbourne

Electronic tuners have become required accessories for today's music students to own, but little is said about how to actually use them.  A tuner can be an incredibly useful tool, and the purpose of this book is to show you how to use one effectively.

Simply owning a tuner is not enough, and checking the pitch of a note here and there won't help you learn to play with good intonation.  The 8 exercises described in this booklet show you how to make use of an electronic tuner in your daily musical practice so you can develop better control of your tone and intonation, regardless of whether you play a wind or string instrument.

You'll begin by 'Charting Your Pitch Tendencies,' an exercise that many have already done after reading about it on this site or after attending a class with me.  You'll then move on to learning how to use a tuner to monitor pitch inconsistencies, identify weaknesses in technique, and make your playing sound better overall.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781624887666

Book preview

Introduction

Welcome to Intonation Skills Book 1: How to Practice With an Electronic Tuner! Electronic tuners have become required accessories for today's musician to own, but little is said about how to actually use them. A tuner can be an incredibly useful tool, and the purpose of this book is to show you how to use one effectively.

Simply owning a tuner is not enough, and checking the pitch of a note here and there won't help you learn to play with good intonation. The exercises described in this booklet show you how to make use of an electronic tuner in your daily practice so you can develop better control of your tone and intonation, regardless of whether you play a wind or string instrument.

Just like any other type of musical practice, work on tone and intonation is very detail-oriented, requiring careful attention. The exercises themselves are relatively simple, but they are not necessarily easy and they can be tedious. In time, however, your efforts will be rewarded by greater awareness of your pitch and tone quality, and greater control of your tone and intonation.

Work hard and enjoy!

Copyright 2012 Deanna Mathews Kilbourne

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Table of Contents

How to Use this Book

Lesson 1: Chart Your Pitch Tendencies

Lesson 2: Steady Long Tones

Lesson 3: Changing Dynamics

Lesson 4: Don't Stretch the Octaves

Lesson