Intonation English Practice

[Antenor Ketkaew]

My cello students often come to college as music majors with what I jokingly refer to as 'freshmen intonation'. Freshmen intonation is not necessarily horrible intonation but it is intonation that needs much more refinement. The question at hand, therefore, is what are some basic ways we can develop better intonation on the cello.

First, let's define faulty intonation. Faulty intonation is the failure to tune intervals (the distance between pitches), both melodically and harmonically (intervals played harmonically are notes that sound simultaneously and melodic intervals are played successively). Whether it is the inability to match pitch or play a melody in tune or tune a note in a chord, all have to do with the failure to tune intervals.

Second, let's also understand that one's first line of defense in intonation is not actually the ear. Rather, it's muscle memory; it's feeling the finger spacing within the left-hand and the angle of the elbow. The ear is the second line of defense, informing the player if the muscle memory was correct. I've actually written a set of etudes along with Nick Nirva to help address the difficulty of changing finger spacing between the positions, a muscle memory issue. Feel free to check it out in my online store.

Having identified the problem, we need to come up with ways to improve intonation. This is a complex question because many factors contribute to centered intonation but there are some basic things that we can do to help us improve.

In my teaching I like to assign double stops (harmonic intervals or playing two notes simultaneously) to improve intonation. I find that the more one practices tuning double stops the better the ear and the muscle memory get, resulting in better intonation overall.

One can practice double stops through studies and playing with drone notes. Practicing thirds, sixths, and octaves have long been a staple of string pedagogy. Violoncello Technique by Mark Yampolsky edited by Gordon Epperson is an advanced book for this end. The Ivan Galamian Scale System for Violoncello edited by Hans Jorgen Jensen also has thirds, sixths, and octaves. If you would like a beginning book of double stops try Double Stops for Cello by Rick Mooney.

But one doesn't have to have a method book to practice double stops; they can and should be practiced right in the repertoire. We can tune notes to open strings and tune melodic notes as double stops. The repertoire is replete with double stop opportunities and we should take advantage of this.

We can also practice scales to drone notes. Teachers often hold drone notes for their cello students during scales and other passages. For example, when playing an E major scale it is helpful to tune each note of the scale to an E drone. We need to keep the tonic (1st note) of the scale in our ear as we are playing and not lose track of it. Playing a drone to the tonic of the scale is a great way to learn this.

Of course, this isn't the only facet of training that is important for good intonation; developing an organized method for shifting is also imperative. But a great place to start is practicing double stops within the same position.

So don't think of intonation in terms of 12 chromatic notes. What we really have are 12 regions. If this all sounds a bit complex, ultimately the ear needs to be the final judge. And there is a certain amount of subjectivity and acceptable variance to intonation. If you are a student, you may need the assistance from your teacher to tune each note to the drones.

Another facet of intonation is listening to how your cello reacts to your intonation. Your cello will communicate with you! When playing notes that are the same as open strings, listen for the sympathetic vibrations or ringing of the open string and the harmonics. Your cello will give you feedback if you just listen!

One last important componant of developing a centered intonation is to sing. In fact, as an exercise, i recommend practicing singing before your next note before you play it. You see, you need to hear in your mind (audiation) what your next note is before trying to play it. The mind is an amazing thing. I find I have a much better chance of hitting the note if I imagine it in my mind. And the best way to develop this skill is to sing. So practice singing the pieces you are working on!

Once you are getting the hang of diatonic intonation (staying within the traditional scales), you can branch out into quarters tones (notes between our half steps). For this I will pass you along to Russell Rolen who more experienced than I on playing quarter tones on the cello.

In my intonation exercises I have linked below, for each drone note I begin with the perfect intervals because they are often the easiest to tune. From there I move to the 3rds and 6ths followed by dissonant intervals concluding with the tritone.

I asked in the most earnest tone I have in my repertoire as an actor, though I suspect that my student knew I was kind of joking. And yet, he wasn't quite sure about the answer. The percentage of "close but not-quite-in-tune" notes I'd just heard him play was very, very high; despite the fact that this student has shown me over time that he actually has a fine-tuned ear for pitch.

Unfortunately for us string players, there is one way to play a note in tune, and countless ways to play it out of tune. Fingers easily fall in the wrong place or at the wrong angle; to land with complete precision 100 percent of the time requires very precise physical training and an ever-attentive ear.

Is that really necessary? It is, and it's also do-able if you accept a few things about the way you need to practice:

• Play in tune when you practice. The way you practice is the way you will play, and so good intonation has to start in the practice room. This sounds simple enough, but it means that you must apply a high standard to your practice. If you are too tired to listen carefully, you actually could be doing more harm that good, by practicing with lazy intonation and committing those physical patterns to memory. Slow everything down to the point where everything note is perfectly in tune - every note! Make those physical patterns your "norm."
• Watch the way you

August 27, 2018 at 04:45 PM I hate to say it like this but out of tune is out of tune. Heifetz used to tell his students "no compromises" and he was right. There is no middle of the road when it comes to intonation. The note is either in tune or not which is why when you practice you must challenge each note you play when learning a piece and learn to train your ear not to accept any note that is out of tune. Of course this also includes double and triple stops. Thirds, sixths, octaves tenths, fifths and fourths, major and minor seconds etc. No matter how well you use your bow your sound will suffer if the notes are out of tune. I'm not a big proponent of these digital tuners. I never learned to play in tune using these modern contraptions so I really can't speak for their use good or bad. Although there is no substitute for a well trained ear. Your hearing should be so acute that it should be like putting your finger on hot coals when you play a wrong note. Heifetz was asked about his intonation and he said slyly "it's not that I don't play a wrong note every now and then, I just fix it faster."

August 27, 2018 at 04:52 PM My problem with this has always been that I don't hear it in the moment, especially when it's high, like on the E-string in 7th position. I genuinely think it sounds fine and then other people tell me that there's a problem. Or I listen to a recording later and find out that there's a problem. Or the electronic tuner tells me there's a problem. I've finally learned to identify what I used to think was a tone problem (whiny, nasal, piercing) as a pitch problem (sharp). But I don't actually *hear* it any differently. I still hear it primarily as a whiny, nasal, and piercing tembre, rather than as a little too high in pitch.

August 27, 2018 at 06:10 PM Excellent article! I especially like the point you made about slowing down until every note is perfectly in tune. One thing I'd like to add, is to be extra critical of others' intonation. In your head mind you, not to their face :) This is something I try to do, and it should pain you physically every time to hear an out of tune note. That way we subconsciously raise our personal standards and reach a point where even on a bad day, our intonation is somewhat reliable.

August 27, 2018 at 07:34 PM There are other resonating notes that you can use when your strings are tuned in perfect fifths. One (actually, two) that immediately comes to mind is the B on the E-string. If you're playing in the key of G, for example, that B will resonate with a particular harmonic of the open G string. If, on the other hand you're playing in the key of A, that B will be the wrong one; you have to play a B that is a perfect 5th above the open E and is very slightly sharper than the first B and will hardly resonate, if at all.

There are many others that need thoughtful attention, like the first F# on the E string for example - are you playing in the key of D (which has an F# harmonic), is it an emphasised leading note to the tonic in the key of G, or is it the fifth in the key of B? You've got to listen very carefully to decide.

It gets even more complicated when you play with others like in a string quartet. You can practice your own part with great resonating tones, but then when you meet the others it might not resonate with the chords so you need to listen and make your intonation accordingly.

If you play dodecaphonic music (twelve-tone music) you can not actually play it in tune if your violin is tuned in perfect fifths, so you need to tune the violin with a piano or an accordion. The good news is that you can still play the octaves above or under the open strings so they resonate with the open strings.

Regarding Trevor Jennings' mentioning different intonation on the same note. Here is a very easy drill that demonstrates the point with ease: Tune the violin in perfect fifths, play this double stop: open G string and first finger on D string, the note E, so you get a nice sixth. Keep the first finger on that exact spot and play it together with the open A string. It is now out of tune, you need to intonate the E slightly higher.

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