Intonation

Intonation in Ensembles

Someone on the FLUTE listserv asked a question about a flute ensemble's poor intonation:

Is there a way to practice listening for, and then correcting, bad intonation? I can usually hear if [a student] is obviously flat or sharp when...playing with the piano, but I've never been good at correcting bad intonation in a flute ensemble...Anyone have any ideas on how to improve this?

This is an edited version of my response:

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Fixing ensemble intonation is a skill that takes time to develop. The best gift you can give to your flute choir is to teach them how to make corrections on their own.

Start by having the flutists help each other. Have 2 people play, and then say to the group, "Help them out...whose pitch is lower, and whose is higher?" The rest of your groups may be able to figure it out. (You can then give suggestions for correcting the problem.) If they can't, see #3 below.
Using the "buddy system," have your flute choir use Chris Potter's Seven Steps for Better Intonation, published by Falls House Press. Chris uses a chart for students to discover their own pitch tendencies. Great resource!
The ear seems to tolerate sharpness better than flatness (remember the old joke, "It's better to be sharp than to be out of tune"?). The sharp student may be perceived as "in tune," which makes our job more challenging. I like having student A play the pitch, have student B join in, and then have A drop out while B is still playing. The difference is much more obvious. If you still can't tell, have player B start low/rolled in, and have them gradually roll out. You will know when the pitch is right--it will seem like the sun has come out from behind the clouds! :)
Tune chords with your group. I like using a sequence of root, fifth, third. Once you've been practicing tuning exercises with your group, they'll be able to help with this process. After the chord is tuned, have them practice moving from the preceding chord so they can hear the resolution. Otherwise you're just practicing isolated notes...which won't do you much good in a performance.
Part of the reason flute choirs can sound really out of tune is the way the parts are written. Don't be afraid to rewrite chords. IMO, a lot of flute choir music is written too "top heavy," with too many flutists up high. I like to re-write the final chord of a piece or section with almost everyone on the root (preferably the lowest register), a few on the fifth, one strong player on the root in the octave originally written, and just a few (maybe even just 1 person) on the 3rd. Remember your freshman music theory and the rules for doubling! :) Experiment with voicing, avoid the third, and reinforce the (lowest) root, and your intonation problems will diminish.
Sometimes the pitch is fine, but the color of the group doesn't match, so we perceive intonation as "off." Have students try to match each other's tone quality and vibrato (which means they will usually not play as loudly!). If one person is playing with a straight tone, and the other has a nanny-goat vibrato, you're in trouble! :) Encourage them to match vibrato, too.
If you find yourself losing the ability to hear pitch problems at the end of a rehearsal (or even after a few minutes), don't worry. I think it's pretty common for our ears (brains, really) to get tired after listening to intonation for a while. I think it gets easier with time. (And some days are better than others, too...)
Get a copy of The Tuning CD: thetuningcd.com. It's also available on Amazon and iTunes. Follow the directions and you'll be amazed at how your own listening skills improve.
Keep a tuner on your stand.