Passing the note / chord around the room or section .
Hear discrepancies in tuning by hearing how the snares on a snare drum rattle when two or more players play out of tune . This is most effective in lesson groups .
Use an acoustic piano to hear overtones and sympathetic vibration of notes being played in tune .
Have a student play a note , and another student tune to the first student . Have band members answer if the 2nd student is sharp , in tune , or flat . Let them know they only have a 1 in 3 chance of being correct and it ’ s fine to be wrong in the guessing . We learn to tune through our answers to this question . Very useful in band warm-up time .
Droning . More drone lessons .
Having students work with a tuner to find their tuning tendencies .
I have my kids tune so it is “ close ” with tuners and then we do a few warm-ups . Finally , we will play a concert Bb in unison , telling them to make the waves disappear , then I have them split into other notes ( concert Bb , concert D , concert F ) to tune those as well making the major chord pretty .
I have students play with professionally recorded accompaniments to hone listening skills .
I teach chords with a xylophone / piano and have them listen and match .
I usually have a student and myself play one note together with me way out of tune . The rest of the band closes their eyes and listens .
Listen to your tone and your stand partner but also strive to listen to your section and then from one side of the bandroom to the other . Then from the front of the room , all the way to the back !!
Listen to your trio ( person to the left and to the right ) and balance yourself within that group . ( Really has more to do with balance but affects intonation as well ).
Pick your favorite note and when I point go to tuning note !
Singing first , and often , is so beneficial and effective .
Smooth out the road .
Sound as 1 person even if you play a different instrument .
Singing goes a long way toward teaching and cleaning up intonation . We “ sing ” our lines as beginners to help learn pitch centers , etc . We continue to sing as they get older as well .
We use a Harmony ( keyboard ) for developing intonation , tuning , and ear training daily in our rehearsals this year .
While tuning each section , I ask the other sections to help me decide if they are sharp or flat .
Work with both a tuner and fixed pitch .