PSA: Instruments Need Retuning During Longer Masses/Liturgies
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 707
    There’s a reason why orchestras re-tune during performances. Instruments go out of tune within an hour or even less if a piece is particularly vigorous (especially for strings), or large crowds of people change the room temperature, instrument temperature changes after prolonged holding, etc. I realize it’s not always practical during Mass to do this, but after sitting through three long Masses/liturgies listening to string instruments slowly going out of tune and sounding like dying cats, and mentally preparing for Easter Vigil, if you’re working with more amateur string players, MDs may need to be more vigilant in managing their instrumentalists’ intonation.

    For example our choir loft has both a washroom and a music storage room lined in sound dampening acoustic foam there’s no reason why a string player couldn’t excuse his or herself to briefly take a tuner with them into such a room and retune, even better, investing in a headstock tuner (they’re not that expensive) that uses string vibration to tune rather than microphones, so you can retune mid-playing in loud environments.

    Failing that, maybe there’s a way to start a church musician scholarship fund to held fund private lessons for church musicians to increase their skill level.
    Thanked by 2Liam CHGiffen
  • Richard MixRichard Mix
    Posts: 2,973
    Papers have been written about the tonal schemes of JSB's organ preludes and how they dwell upon open strings, facilitating discrete tuning; this practice is even thought to demonstrate that some of Buxtehude's works must have been in different transpositions than the later sources give.
    Thanked by 2SponsaChristi CHGiffen
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 707
    Papers have been written about the tonal schemes of JSB's organ preludes and how they dwell upon open strings, facilitating discrete tuning; this practice is even thought to demonstrate that some of Buxtehude's works must have been in different transpositions than the later sources give.


    I was thinking about something along these lines as well, but figured it would be too complicated. I didn’t realize it was a thing.

    Upon further reflection, it also could just be a musicianship skill thing and instrumentalists needing to keep working on developing their ear and adjusting. Even their runs during communion on Holy Thursday were like nails on a chalkboard because it sounded like their fingers were off, but that’s more manageable to deal with in the pews than sustained flat intonation.

    I’m an oboist and my one of my oboe teachers would insist on “perfect intonation” for every single note that I played in lessons. He frustrated me to no end and I dreaded going to lessons, but I developed a very good ear for intonation.

    On a more positive note, the professional hornist with the satisfyingly in tune 5ths and amazing tone quality has returned. I don’t want to make it sound like we have a terrible music program at my parish, because we don’t. We probably have one the best, if not the best in the diocese, and they are improving. They sang the Pange Lingua on Holy Thursday the best I’ve ever heard them sing it. I don’t know how many other parishes can claim to have MD who is so skilled that they can put out a fire while conducting Byrd’s Kyrie for 3 Voices without dropping a beat.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 12,070
    Too bad we can't re-tune some of the singers.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 707
    Too bad we can't re-tune some of the singers.

    I’m just praying the sopranos hit that high G in the Hallelujah Chorus.

    Thanked by 1CharlesW
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