Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • December 2014
17
line. I have learned to look at this line in the score as
a “horizontal” moment, as we read the independent
line from left to right. All players that are in unison or
octave who share a horizontal phrase would perform
the line in equal temperament.
• Vertical tuning (pure temperament) - a moment
in the score where multiple voices in the ensemble
combine vertically across the height of the score to
create a chord that would necessitate pure temperament
adjustments from specific players.
Like their director, students are expected to write
the chord analysis in their music. This is a very time-
consuming process and must be done in sectionals.
As we come upon a “vertical” moment, we stop and
isolate the chord. I always play the chord on the
Harmony Director while the students sustain their
notes. The typical result is a very uncomfortable
musical moment—a sustained chord with multiple
flutters and beats around the room as students struggle
to place their notes properly inside the chord being
played by the Harmony Director. I then ask the section
to make a couple of decisions aloud. Is this chord
major or minor? What is the root of the chord? The
entire process does take time at first, but by the end of
the year, the students can often figure chords out by
ear and it goes more quickly.
Once we have answered the key questions, I ask
the students to write this information into their music.
Students with the third circle the note. This is our
shorthand for “adjustment needed.” They raise their
pitch for minor and lower it for major. The fun part
comes once we play the same phrase again and stop
on the vertical moment. On the second try, with their
chordal responsibilities written in, the students make
the appropriate changes in their playing, and voila!
A beautifully in-tune chord (or, at least, noticeably
better) that they took responsibility for making.
Tonal Energy Tuner
I keep the
Tonal Energy Tuner
app open and active
during each sectional on an iPad. I use the
Analysis
tab exclusively to record students down the row. We
band directors have grown up playing for our own
teachers “down the row”—receiving short feedback
after our performance before he/she moves on to the
next student. I go about it in much the same way,
however I use the
Analysis
tab to record the students
down the row and play the recording back for them
instantaneously. I pair the iPad with a Bluetooth
speaker during the sectional so that I can stay mobile
and show the students the spectral analysis and wave
form of the performance as he/she listens to the
playback.
There are a few logistical components involved in
going down the row using the
Tonal Energy Tuner.
I keep an audible metronome clicking continuously
throughout the recording for all students to hear. I ask
each player in the section to wait 8 clicks (sometimes
12 to 16 depending on the current tempo) after
the student preceding them finishes his/her excerpt.
The student then performs his/her excerpt without
interruption while maintaining a steady tempo. Once
I have gone down the row and each player has
performed, I stop the recording, save it, and immediately
begin playback. The students are reminded to watch
carefully the visual analysis while critically listening
to the performance. They are expected to give a
short and constructive comment aloud immediately
following playback. Their comments must fit within
the recorded beats of rest between players. This keeps
rehearsal pace moving.
I hold the iPad in front of each student and press
play . . . moving down the row once each player gives
his/her self-assessment. With a little coaching, the
students become very adept at focusing their comments
on one thing that can make their performance better
Guiding Students to Intonation Independence