SOME TUNING SLIDE ANECDOTES
For a decade or so, I played a Conn 62H with no tuning slides whatsoever – main or valves. I had Larry Minick tune it so 1st position was about ½ half inch out. It responded great all over the horn – and had a super light-weight hand-slide. So . . . one night at Donte’s . . . Bill Watrous noticed this and told the audience, “I thought I was arrogant. I don’t pull my tuning slide, but he doesn’t even have one!” (After all, the trombonist has a couple feet of tuning slide in their right hand.)
I am reminded of a (possibly apocryphal) Phillip Farkas quote on tuning up: "You listen dutifully to the oboe, look at your slides, pull the main slide a bit and then put it back where it has been for the last seven years."
Roy Main told me of splitting a lesson with a trumpet player at Jimmy Stamp's studio. They were playing in unison. Jimmy mentioned intonation and the trumpet player reached for his tuning slide. Jimmy slapped his hand and said, “THAT’S not the problem!”
Jens Lindemann wrote, in a Facebook post, "Brass intonation has nothing to do with the [tuning] slide position anyway. Centered notes on brass instruments are there because your ear knows exactly where to put them. At the professional level, slides are only used to adjust color, resonance, and your own feel for the instrument."
I have written elsewhere on this site: "Putting the [hand] slide in the right place is very important. But it's entirely possible to play an in-tune pitch with the slide in the wrong place. Right place is better than wrong place! If the slide position's off, the tone won't really center, it won't fully resonate – and – it's tough on the chops! In the low register, particularly below the staff, there is more 'room' to get in trouble between harmonics."
Tommy Johnson told me of a prank he once pulled on George Roberts. At the first 10-minute break of a 6-hour double session, Tommy pulled George’s tuning slide all the way out. George played the rest of the date perfectly in tune without noticing the slide had been pulled. At the end of the session, Tommy pointed this out and George responded with a good-natured "[expletive deleted]" and they all went home. After a sufficient time had passed, George returned the favor. Tommy usually pulled his slide a long way and George pushed it all the way in. Same deal – unnoticed all day – perfectly in tune.
Jascha Heifetz was once asked: “How do you play so in tune? You play so incredibly in tune. How do you do it?” Heifetz replied: “I don’t. But I adjust the note before you notice it was out of tune in the first place.” Simon Fischer has written: “A less advanced violinist plays out of tune on an in-tune violin; a more advanced one plays in tune on an out-of-tune violin.”
I am reminded of a (possibly apocryphal) Phillip Farkas quote on tuning up: "You listen dutifully to the oboe, look at your slides, pull the main slide a bit and then put it back where it has been for the last seven years."
Roy Main told me of splitting a lesson with a trumpet player at Jimmy Stamp's studio. They were playing in unison. Jimmy mentioned intonation and the trumpet player reached for his tuning slide. Jimmy slapped his hand and said, “THAT’S not the problem!”
Jens Lindemann wrote, in a Facebook post, "Brass intonation has nothing to do with the [tuning] slide position anyway. Centered notes on brass instruments are there because your ear knows exactly where to put them. At the professional level, slides are only used to adjust color, resonance, and your own feel for the instrument."
I have written elsewhere on this site: "Putting the [hand] slide in the right place is very important. But it's entirely possible to play an in-tune pitch with the slide in the wrong place. Right place is better than wrong place! If the slide position's off, the tone won't really center, it won't fully resonate – and – it's tough on the chops! In the low register, particularly below the staff, there is more 'room' to get in trouble between harmonics."
Tommy Johnson told me of a prank he once pulled on George Roberts. At the first 10-minute break of a 6-hour double session, Tommy pulled George’s tuning slide all the way out. George played the rest of the date perfectly in tune without noticing the slide had been pulled. At the end of the session, Tommy pointed this out and George responded with a good-natured "[expletive deleted]" and they all went home. After a sufficient time had passed, George returned the favor. Tommy usually pulled his slide a long way and George pushed it all the way in. Same deal – unnoticed all day – perfectly in tune.
Jascha Heifetz was once asked: “How do you play so in tune? You play so incredibly in tune. How do you do it?” Heifetz replied: “I don’t. But I adjust the note before you notice it was out of tune in the first place.” Simon Fischer has written: “A less advanced violinist plays out of tune on an in-tune violin; a more advanced one plays in tune on an out-of-tune violin.”
THE POINT OF ALL THIS IS:
Intonation requires intent* – listening – and – adjusting instantaneously! Working with the same folks in the same acoustic environment facilitates good intonation. But great care must be taken. The tuning slide will NOT do it for you!
My experience has been if your mind, body, and horn – are "sync-locked" – and – you are playing dead on center** – it's easy to place the pitch where you intend it. And again, the tuning slide will NOT do it for you!
For a deep dive into intonation, slide positions, acoustics, etc., click here.
*Solfeggio clarifies intent.
**Christopher Leuba defined "center" as “the frequency at which the greatest resonance is produced on a given note.”
My experience has been if your mind, body, and horn – are "sync-locked" – and – you are playing dead on center** – it's easy to place the pitch where you intend it. And again, the tuning slide will NOT do it for you!
For a deep dive into intonation, slide positions, acoustics, etc., click here.
*Solfeggio clarifies intent.
**Christopher Leuba defined "center" as “the frequency at which the greatest resonance is produced on a given note.”