Posted by Mark on July 30, 2002 at 00:07:35:
In Reply to: My ears deceive me!! posted by Nick on July 29, 2002 at 18:29:27:
Nick:
When this phenonmenon occured, were you:
a) indoors, in a rather small room
b) indoors, in a room with an "acoustic tile" ceiling, or
c) outdoors, far from any reflective surfaces (like buildings, bleachers, etc.)
d) playing a sousie
If the answer was "Yes" to any of the above, it is possible that the acoustic environment washed out or ate-up your overtones, causing you to have trouble really finding the pitch. That is why I generally hate practicing in a small room, unless it has really been engineered properly to control tonal balance; pitch is hard to hear on the bottom. Singing ain't as bottom-rich as the tuba (if it is, you got a real gift).
If you were on a Sousa-ma-phone, then it could be the above, Plus the afterglow problem of the bell producing non-harmonic tones that screw-up pitch for the player. That's the prob. with a bell forward setup: everyone in front of you gets a better idea of your sound than you do.
Mark "King brass sousa for sale, very good condition, with case" Mazak