Robert Sprenkle is professor of oboe at the Eastman School of Music and principal oboist of the Rochester Philharmonic. His students occupy positions in leading orchestras and universities across the country. This article is reprinted from Woodwind World with the kind permission of the author.

• Do you constantly maintain a uniform pitch standard in your practicing and playing? Or do you conform only when it becomes obvious that you are "out of tune?"
• Do you know what effect heat and humidity have on your own and other instruments?
• Do you know what the pitch-deviation tendencies of each of the woodwinds, brass, and strings are?
• Do you realize that if you and I play a duet and one of us is a little sharp, the other will feel quite flat?
• Do you feel less responsibility for the pitch when playing in a large group than in a small one?
• Do you blame everything on the strings?
• Do you know why we have to use the tempered scale in general, though we can't bear it in particular?
• Do you feel helpless about tuning?
• Do you try to anticipate the rise in pitch by tuning sharp in the first place?
• Do you tune sharp for brilliance?
• Do you think the oboe player is trying to outsmart you?
• Do you worry even half as much about being sharp as you do about being flat?
• Can you think of anything that sounds better than being in tune?

Competent instrumentalists take pride in cultivating good pitch control. Intonation is as popular a subject for discussion and complaint among them as is the weather. Why, then, does it continue to be an everlasting problem of such magnitude that one can almost measure the caliber of orchestra by the excellence of its intonation?

One reason, perhaps, is that it is not capable of solution by the conductor or management, but only by the players themselves. Except for control of one's instrument, the most essential ingredients are tolerance, understanding, and a willingness to cooperate.

Awareness

Each instrumentalist must be aware not only of his own pitch tendencies (and none of us is perfect) but also of the general deviations of the other instruments as well. For instance, the oboe and flute tend to be flat in their low registers, while the clarinet and bassoon tend to be sharp. The wind groups tend to go up in pitch with a rise of temperature, while the strings go down.

These and similar problems make us realize that tuning in general can't really be perfect but is, instead, a compromise that puts perfect intervals within the reach of all the players. For instance, if an individual tunes so that he hasn't any flat notes, some of his sharp notes will be too high to correct. This, then, puts the properly tuned player in an untenable position.

"A" 440 has been internationally agreed upon as a proper pitch level, and each of us should consistently practice and play so that our particular instrument performs most efficiently at that level. Only then can we expect to be able to maintain it under the stress of performance.

We need, furthermore, to continually remind ourselves that an orchestra is merely a large group of individuals and that its pitch can only reflect that of the individuals themselves. We each have at least one-half of the responsibility for tuning -- not one fiftieth, or one seventy-fifth, or one one-hundredth.

The string players are generally blamed for many of our tuning problems especially, it is complained, in that they raise the pitch. To disagree may be heresy, but I can't agree. It is true that they are reluctant to tune down if you want them to. But generally speaking, they mirror the winds' pitches. If they tend to go sharp, it is because they hear sharp-pitched notes from the wind sections which make the open strings sound flat. If the wind players uniformly stay in tune, so will the string players.

Cooperation

To achieve this ideal state of affairs, there must be control and cooperation. In addition, a reliable and impartial source for setting the pitch is imperative. A good electric tuner with a strong steady tone is far superior to a bar or fork, and much to be preferred to getting the pitch from an individual player.

Once a stable pitch standard has been established, each player has within his easy grasp the possibility of playing in tune, because his control will be adequate to pull the occasional sharp or flat note into its proper interval relationship. "A" 440 and the tempered scale are without virtue in themselves, but should be neutral reference points by mutual consent of all the players.

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