I’ve been playing the whistle for about six months now, and music for about the same length of time. I have a tough time playing anything by ear and have always considered myself musically inept and partially tone deaf. I played bass for a few months, years ago, and I could NEVER tune it. People would always say, “Can’t you hear you are out of tune?” Well, no, I couldn’t.
However, the other day I was playing a duet with a friend, and when we got to the last note (which was the same note), it sounded off. My friend said we were out of tune, but since she was playing a recorder, it was up to me to fix it. I thought my Walton’s Mellow D wasn’t tunable but just for kicks, I tried to move the mouthpiece, and it moved. I had no idea if out was higher or lower or what but I kept pulling and pushing and we kept trying our notes.
Just as I was feeling that this was pointless and I was never going to figure it out much less be able to TELL when we were in tune, suddenly we both blew the same note and IT SOUNDED RIGHT. I actually could hear it was finally correct.
Now, I always assumed that having an ear for music was a god-given gift and you either have it or you don’t–but I’m starting to learn that all things musically CAN BE LEARNED. Maybe it’s easier to start off with talented. Yet I never thought I’d be able to do something as simple as get in tune and, after a mere six months, now I can.
On 2002-09-01 14:31, Kar wrote:
both blew the same note and IT SOUNDED RIGHT. I actually could hear it was finally correct.
Now, I always assumed that having an ear for music was a god-given gift and you either have it or you don’t–but I’m starting to learn that all things musically CAN BE LEARNED. Maybe it’s easier to start off with talented. Yet I never thought I’d be able to do something as simple as get in tune and, after a mere six months, now I can.
So, there’s hope for even the lamest of us!
Isn’t that the greatest feeling? I’m not musically talented at all, but I love the whistle, so have been working at it hard since Feb, in spite of never played any instrument before. But after a few months, little by little, I’d hear a tune or song and suddenly I’d KNOW how to play it, and I was right every time. It was like being awake for the first time in my life, or suddenly finding out that you have eyes for the first time in your life, so I know the adrenaline rush you’re feeling, Kar. Congratulations!
This is one of those skills that develops the more you play with other musicians. I’d spent about 5 years behind the whistle before started playing with others. Even though I had a lot of whistle experience, I didn’t really hear when I was or wasn’t in tune, and left it up to my trusty tuner to tell me. Now, a couple years later, I can usually hear tuning problems right away, and prefer to tune by listening to someone sounding a note (since it’s no guarantee that the session will be tuned to A440).
Tuning on a whistle is enough to drive me shrieking for the hills. I get it sounding right with the concertina player, then have to remember that when I play I tend to breathe too hard, so flatten it a bit to compensate, then the instrument warms up and oh geez, here we go again. Sometimes I am more than happy to go back to a non-tunable and a quiet one at that.
Tuning the hammered dulcimer is an exercise in extraordinary patience. Picture having to get the EXACT SAME NOTE out of 6 strings on one instrument, and the EXACT SAME OCTAVE on up to six more. When it works and you pluck one of them, the whole instrument seems to thrum. (oh yeah, add into the mix that you’ve got to get 60% of those strings to sound two notes perfectly) When you don’t, you get some pretty hideous sounds.
Tuning the hammered dulcimer is an exercise in extraordinary patience. Picture having to get the EXACT SAME NOTE out of 6 strings on one instrument, and the EXACT SAME OCTAVE on up to six more. When it works and you pluck one of them, the whole instrument seems to thrum. (oh yeah, add into the mix that you’ve got to get 60% of those strings to sound two notes perfectly) When you don’t, you get some pretty hideous sounds.
… and then take it from an air conditioned house, outside into 98% humidity and have to tune it all over again!!!
My rule of thumb for tuning is if someone is out of tune, I first assume that it is me. That way, if it is, then I can change it. If it’s another person, maybe I can still fix it by tuning to them, depending on the size of the group. I never play with the attitude that I am always in tune. Tuning is something that needs one’s constant attention.
My flute teacher showed me an interesting thing. Get with another person, in a very quiet room. Stand with your heads close together and whistle the same pitch. It’s hard to do. This might help teach the ear how to hear. But anyway, while both of you whistle in unison, have one of you slowly start to slide the pitch downward. While you’re doing it, you can hear a third note ascending upward. It also happens in reverse, where one of you whistles upward, you can hear a third note descending. It’s fun stuff! JP
My understanding (or rather what I theorize) of “talented” is that they have senses (yknow, the five, sight, hearing, etc) that are more sensitive than the average guy/gal.
I agree that tuning, or in better terms, ANYTHING can be learned. What’s a (potentially) talented person who isn’t taught compared to someone who’s certified tone-deaf but taught tuning/play by ear?
To back-up Tyhgress and chattiekathy: My band contains twin 4-octave hammer dulcimers, 6 and 12 string guitars, bass, bowed psalteries, violin, and (of course),
whistles…Our first CD was entitled “228”…It refers to the number of strings we must tune each time we play…Fun…
Cheers to all.
Byll
