Intonation

[lhampton]

Lately I've been working diligently trying to get my ear trained and my notes in tune. I work with a tuner and piano everyday but can't seem to fix my super sharp C#. (It's around 25 cents sharp btw). The rest of my notes are pretty in tune but I just can't seem to lower this stupid C#. Any suggestions?

THANK YOU!!

P.S. It's the two mid-C#...not the low one or the super high one...well, I can't really worry about that one right now..... one step at a time.

[flutepicc06]

Well, the best way to adjust pitch is with your air. Try directing your air down into the flute more rather than across the embouchure hole. That should bring pitch down significantly. If this doesn't prove to help, even after plenty of practice and work with your teacher, you can try alternate fingerings (such as adding fingers in the right hand), though these will usually result in poor tone if they correct pitch 25 cents. As a lead-in to adjusting pitch with your air, see how far you can bend a pitch (both sharp and flat) without moving your head or rolling in. You should be able to get about a 1/2 step in either direction (possibly more or less depending on what note exactly you choose). If you can't manage that, start working on your pitch flexibility until you can. That will make it much easier to adjust notes like C#, and will give you more to choose from when it comes to vibrato.