Baritone tuning

Nan · Post by **Nan** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 7:25 pm

Hello:
I've been playing baritone for 8 months but have yet to figure out how to tune it to match another instrument or to match a tuner. How does one figure out which one of the slides (or combination of slides) are adjusted to get the right pitch?
Nan

jp_euph · Post by **jp_euph** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 10:28 pm

I found more use using my ears and embouchure when playing the baritone. you cant blow through it like a trombone.

practice lip flex, and then practice bending notes in and out of tune with your chops.

Nan · Post by **Nan** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 5:18 pm

Hi JP:
I tried your suggestion last night with an electronic tuner by my side. It's amazing how wide one can bend the tones! Thanks for the advice.
Nan

mgc · Post by **mgc** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:44 pm

It sounds like good advice you've been given, but playing in tune with your chops is best done in addition to moving your tuning slide as necessary. The slide on the back (the biggest one!) is the one to move in to make it sharper or out to do the opposite if you didnlt already know.

Post by **njh** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 1:07 pm

Don't forget that you can't tune an instrument for ever. By that I mean that the instrument will need constant retuning, you need to be able to develop your ear to hear it.

-Nigel

mgc · Post by **mgc** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 3:06 pm

As a baritone player I reckon that its probably about the hardest instrument to tell whether you are out of tune. Other instruments, like basses, might have more difficulty sorting themselves out, but at least they know about it if they are having intonation/tuning problems. Because the baritone sound is in the middle of so many other instruments, I sometimes struggle to tell!