Posted by Joseph on June 23, 2001 at 20:41:29:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Sharp vs. Flat posted by Klaus on June 23, 2001 at 18:44:08:
You touch on this a bit in your post Klaus but for the sake of pontification I would like to expand on your ideas.
A point to consider is that sound waves do not travel in a straight line through a brass instrument. Rather, sound bounces off the sides and meander a bit. It is my understanding that it is possible to find the nodal point for a given note and place a strategic bend or dent to adjust intonation. The problem with this is that as soon as you add a valve to play another note the nodal point will likely be in a completely different place! An ideal perfectly in tune instrument would probably look like a train wreck for all the odd kinks. No one would buy it because our mental image of an ideal tuba has round tubing and nice smooth curves.
Another variable that is oft overlooked when battling with intonation is the response of an instrument. How a player responds to the response of an instrument can have a very very dramatic affect upon how in tune an otherwise perfectly in tune instrument sounds. It is my belief that when players comment that their horn plays better in tune with mouthpiece A vs. mouthpiece B what is actually being discussed is a change in response rather than intonation. The instruments resonating frequency isn't likely to change just because of a different mouthpiece. Is it?
FWIW- opinions always subject to change at my discretion,
joseph 'too much pontificating not enough practice' felton