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Tricks to help with tuning?

Posted by Help! on 1/8/2026, 2:26 pm

My main goal is to help my students understand tuning better. They have a better concept over the years and can tell when they're out of tune, but they're having trouble adapting the longer they play.

What are some tricks you've used to help kids better understand tuning?

Re: Tricks to help with tuning?

Posted by Kevin on 1/23/2026, 1:24 pm, in reply to "Tricks to help with tuning?"

The secret is to teach them what "in tune" sounds like. MSers have played out of tune most of their lives... so they will naturally gravitate to that sound. It's a bit tedious at first to use a warmup and go down the line and tune each kid with the drone... but it will be a fix they remember and be able to reproduce. I often say "playing sounds like you disappear in the band sound". Kids will often start in tune and then adjust out of tune because they can hear themselves more... thinking they are contributing more.

Kevin Russell

Re: Tricks to help with tuning?

Posted by Duck on 1/20/2026, 1:49 pm, in reply to "Tricks to help with tuning?"

I teach middle school and I have tuners on all my stands for my students. When students are playing warm ups the directors walk around and remind students to look at their tuners. Just because a kid has a tuner does not mean they are in tune. I have a kid that watches her tuner all the time and I still have to tell her to adjust because it is not in tune with the band. I use a drone when we warm up as well. In beginner band I play basic chords with my kids which helps train their ears to hear what a balanced chord sounds like. It is interesting when I put up tuners and the kids don't have them they ask about where are the tuners. Being able to see that they are flat or sharp does help fix it when you address it. However students will not automatically fix their tuning you have to teach them how to fix it. The tuner is just one tool that we use to help fix it faster.

Re: Tricks to help with tuning?

Posted by DesertJazz on 1/9/2026, 5:28 pm, in reply to "Tricks to help with tuning?"

This is a process that has to be ongoing. If you're only doing it by ear, one thing I've always said is if it feels like you're louder/sticking out, you're probably sharp. If you hear a lot of the wah-wah waves, you're probably flat.

I truly think the absolute best tool though is to have personal tuners for every student and clip them to the stand. Train them to look up especially on longer notes. Use Tonal Energy/Harmony Director to do drones, practice adjusted intonation as your kids get more solid with tuning understandings.

A lot of kids can be told 'you're out of tune' and not understand at all. Having a tool in front of them that they can see/be trained to understand will then help them develop the ear to adjust without it later on.

Re: Tricks to help with tuning?

Posted by Tuners on 1/9/2026, 4:49 pm, in reply to "Tricks to help with tuning?"

You need to have every student use personal tuners with a tuner caddy on every stand. If they can "see" it in tune, they will better be able to hear it in tune, and their ears develop by leaps and bounds. You will notice a huge shift in your pitch center of your band by using personal tuners. It saves so much time tuning in class with them!

I also recommend harmony director drones alongside tuners and matching the drones.

Re: Tricks to help with tuning?

Posted by Harmony Director on 1/9/2026, 2:41 pm, in reply to "Tricks to help with tuning?"

Use a harmony director (get one if you don't have) and show them what out of tune sounds like and what in tune sounds like. Use the individual controls to adjust the pitches so you can show them what 20 cents out of tune sounds like, 10 cents out of tune, then in tune. Same thing when it comes to chords.

Re: Tricks to help with tuning?

Posted by Me on 1/9/2026, 9:31 am, in reply to "Tricks to help with tuning?"

I teach that tuning isn't a product, it's a process. You can't tune once and then say "it's done" - you have to tune more than once throughout class so kids know what happens to their tuning as fatigue sets in.

Re: Tricks to help with tuning?

Posted by Yes on 1/9/2026, 8:47 am, in reply to "Tricks to help with tuning?"

First of all, there are too many who do not actively teach this so thank you for your effort.
First, force them to listen. Ask them what they hear. "Do you sound the same as the person next to you?" "How does it sound different?" Once they know to expect this, they will actively listen more. Then start asking them if they are flat or sharp. they can play a note at the same time as another player or with a drone. If they are not sure, ask them to make their best guess and adjust for that. Then: "did it get worse or better?" Thats how they learn.
Take the time to talk about all of the things that affect intonation, and most importantly all the solutions: lip up/down (and what that actually means), airstream, fingerings, slides, etc.
More than anything else, be persistent.
Good luck

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