Posted by Rick Denney on March 05, 2004 at 19:34:10:
In Reply to: Workable Intonation? posted by EL on March 05, 2004 at 19:14:43:
To me, workable intonation is when I and the fellow next to me are in tune with each other and with the rest of the ensemble, and I didn't have to exert myself to attain that in a way that interferes with making music.
I had a Conn 20J with a third partial that was 40 cents flat. I played F at the bottom of the staff 1-3, E 1-2-3, Eb 1 with considerably cringing and hoping nobody would notice, and D on the third valve alone. Below that normal fingerings were okay.
I once owned a Vespro with a fifth partial that was about 30 cents flat. I built a tuning stick such that when my left hand was on the first valve slide, my thumb was in a ring attached to the main slide. When I pushed in the first-valve slide, the main slide went in, too. Then, I played the C using 1, the D using 1-2, and the Db with 2-3.
Both were a pain and a big part of the reason I no longer own neither instrument.
Rick "becoming pickier about intonation as I age" Denney