Posted by Jay Bertolet on July 02, 2001 at 09:57:30:
In Reply to: Silent Brass/Pitch Inquiry posted by Inquisitor on July 02, 2001 at 00:12:08:
The short answer is yes.
I believe that much of what we do to help us play in tune is based on how and what we hear. How we understand and process what we hear is based on how we practice hearing, as in what we hear when we do certain things while playing, etc. My personal belief is that I hear pitches based on what I'm used to hearing (when playing alone) or by comparing the pitch I want to play to what I'm already hearing (typically in some sort of ensemble situation). If you're playing often by yourself and you don't use some accurate and fixed pitch source to constantly match to, I believe it is possible to learn bad intonation based on what you're constantly hearing when you play with the Silent Brass mute (which is very sharp).
I hope that isn't too convoluted or complex to understand! I had exactly the same problem with the Silent Brass mutes I've tried and that is one of the reasons I don't own one.
My opinion for what it's worth...