Rehearsing Guys and Dolls at Everest Academy in Clarkston. Stop on by for the show Friday at 7, Saturday at 2 and 7, and Sunday at 2!
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I had a great time playing for the Camp Cedar Ridge Fundraising Gala last week, and tonight for Everest Academy's fundraising event. Everyone sang great! I hope to see everyone next year.
Warning: There will be math involved I recently saw a quote form a 2007 article in The Strad Magazine by Christopher Brooks that reads "Pitch and tone color are the subjective perceptions of the objective phenomenon of frequency." I love this quote. It is basically stating that notes only sound nice together because it is how we perceive it at that present moment. Intonation is not something that is set in stone. Being “in tune” changes throughout a song. There are certain instruments that are “tuned” and cannot be altered while playing like with a Piano but that does not mean that they will always be in tune with themselves. Lets take a step back and describe why something sounds in tune. All sound is created through vibrations. If a sound is vibrating at 100Hz it is vibrating 100 times every second. A note one octave above it will vibrate at 200Hz (200 times per second). Another Octave above that will vibrate a 400Hz. All of these vibrations will sound pleasant together because the sound waves match up when they hit our ear. If instead of 100Hz, 200Hz, and 400Hz we played 100Hz, 101Hz, and 199Hz, it would sound out of tune because the waves/vibrations do not match up in a way that we perceive as pleasant or harmonious. Just Intonation There are different methods of tuning. “Just intonation” uses fractions to created the intervals. If C=1 than D=9/8, E=5/4, F=4/3, G=3/2, A=5/3, B=15/8, and C and octave up=2. Because everything is based off of fractions every notes sounds in tune with the starting note C. Here is where some problems come into play though. This is an issue that occurs quite often on a string instrument like the violin, viola, cello, or double bass. Let say we are tuning our A on a violin to 432Hz. If you tune the G string perfectly with the A will be 192Hz. Now when we play an E (first finger on the D string) below the A we must have the note vibrate at 324Hz to sound good with the A string (432 x 3/4). 324Hz will not mesh very well with the G string though. If you lower it to 320Hz to sound in tune (192 x 5/3). 5:3 is a much nicer ratio than 81:48 which is what it would be if the E was still played at 324Hz You can see that the note E in this example is not set in stone. It can be both 324 or 320. Both are correct depending on what other note you are playing it with.
You can see that the frequencies are very similar but do vary on every single note between the octaves. Sometimes the 12-TET version is more sharp and other times it is more flat. The idea of Equal Temperament is that it is a good “middle road.” The notes will not be perfectly “in tune” with another note a large majority of the time but it creates less of an issue if you are unable to alter a pitch like on a fretted instrument like a guitar (Although you are still able to bend a pitch by pulling the string). You can see that in many ways you can say that this method has many flaws. When a piano is tuned well it will be altered as much as 30 cents from this method. The upper section of the piano will be tuned sharp while the lower end will be tuned more and more flat compared to Equal Temperament to make the piano sound more “in tune” to our ears. Beat Frequencies
If a note is close to being in tune with another note but not exact you may hear a “Beat Frequency.” I have also described this in a less scientific way as a WA-WA-WA-WA-WA sound. This occurs when the notes are a few Hz (Vibrations per second) off from sounding harmonious. If you are playing two A notes together with one is vibrating at 440Hz and the other is 441Hz you will hear one beat frequency every second. The sound is created because the amplitude of the sound wave which can simply be described as it’s volume rising when the frequencies match up. There are many other tuning systems that exist, but going down that rabbit hole is note ideal for this setting. In a nut shell, tuning can never be perfect across the board. Many compositions, especially in the Baroque era avoided certain pitches because they would clash too much to be used. Practicing scales with a tuner is a good start for beginning students to hitting close to the correct pitches but as we progress we need to adjust each individual note to be harmoniously in tune with other notes being played either by your own instrument or by those around you. After many emails I can now say that the classical music on this site is usable for Solo & Ensemble and there is a letter you may download which will show that you have the right to use the music for free.
To celebrate I have uploaded my arrangement the entire first Bach Suite (BWV 1007) to the site. I have focused a lot on the Anna Magdalena Bach manuscript. I plan to do the other suites in the future. Finally, I have gotten word that I am now on the list for musicians that are contacted when groups like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra are in town. I have gotten confirmation that the music from my site can be used for Solo & Ensemble. There are a couple things that must be done first. The most important one is that I write a letter stating that the student has the write to perform the music. For now I ask any student to contact me directly. In the future I plan to have a letter available on the download page. I am editing the music to say "For Solo Instrument" so there is no confusion.
There comes a time with every student where I must inform them that they have been taught the incorrect meaning of a breath mark. Beginning orchestra music as well as books like Essential Elements have only perpetuated the misinformation. Some people may argue that it can be both, but once you reach a more advanced level breath marks are never bow lifts (or I have yet to encounter one in my almost 20 years as a musician). A comma written above the staff in band or choir music indicates a breath. If you were a trumpet player you would see that marking and know that it is a time you can stop the note short to breathe. This is also the case in the string world, but it has become common practice to say that it means "bow lift." We need to stop saying this since it only creates confusion later in the students life. Yes string players can breathe whenever they please a breath mark is more of a style marking to add a breath of space between two notes. As a violinist you can usually tell if the bow should be reset even without a breath mark written. In the first three examples (a, b, and c) there are rests between the notes which give you time to reset your bow. In the fourth example (d) there are no rests but it would only make sense to lift and reset the bow for each note. In the first example (e) of this line you can see how a breath mark is utilized for a bow lift purpose. What we need to realize is that the down bow marking is what tells us to lift the bow. The breath mark just gives us a "breath" of time to lift the bow. This can be very confusing for students when they encounter exempts f and g if they have been taught that a breath mark IS a bow lift. Both of those examples just want you to pause as if you were a wind player taking a breath.
For students who are reading this just remember that a breath mark is not a bow lift. Down bow markings and using good judgement while playing are what lets you know to reset the bow. The better we explain musical concepts early in a students education the easier it will be later on.
I have finally added a CD to the album section. Only physical copies are available at the moment.
I have also added my performance of the Forsyth Viola Concerto in the Audio/Video section. |
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