Ask Augustin 10 - About Intonation Part 1

In this episode I talk about intonation - since this is just a big subject and there is so much to say, so there will be two more episodes on other aspects of intonation after this one. In this episode I cover some of the basics - mainly, that intonation is relative, not absolute.
When practicing intonation in tonal music, the first step is making sure the tonic, dominant and subdominant (I, IV, V of the scale) are in tune - then you have the framework to know where the other notes fit in. That is because the fundamental, subdominant and dominant are perceived to be either in tune or not, it's pretty objective - whereas there can be different ways to intonate the notes in-between and the leading tones.

When you play with other people, there can be as many different opinions on and ways to hear intonation as there are players! So, the most important skill to develop for playing in tune is to listen and adjust your intonation to how the piano or whoever is playing with you. This is particularly important when playing with orchestra. A violinist sounds in tune relative to what else is going on - so it doesn't matter if you are "right", you may still need to adjust!

[jimdunleavypiano]

I like the principle of 'if we're going to be wrong, let's all be wrong together'. For me it perfectly describes how you should approach playing with others.

[TwelfthRoot]

The master of intonation speaking about intonation. What else could you want??

[davidthomas]

Yes, that was very helpful - and generous of Augustin - to get an insight to how many worms there are in this can! Thank you 🙂

[thierryperrenoud]

Absolutely great 👍 👌 👏 so clear and simple, without any disturbing ego; just constructive, helpfull: a real maestria.
Thank you so so so much!

[quest-cequecesttonvisage]

brilliant! that's very helpful, looking forward to the next one

[MM-eneq]

Thank you for this video! I visited London from Japan 4years ago for sightseeing. I enjoyed your Tchaikovsky’s violin concert with London philharmonic orchestra. I was so impressed. Since then, I support you!

[alexsaldarriaga]

It was helpful in raising an awareness of additional things to worry about when playing with others! 😂. Thank you Augustin! I was so looking forward to attending your concert tonight in St. Petersburg with The Florida Orchestra. Hope you will visit us someday when this pandemic is over. Please keep safe and be well. 🙏🏻

[Vegathlete]

Awesome explanation —
and beautifully simplified as well.
Thank-you maestro

[heidi.m.mantere]

Thank You for this short cut - I so agree with you about I, IV, V and while playing we need to adjust the surrounding intonation feel and try to fit.

[eugenmodri]

I surely hope you'll make more episodes on this ever confusing subject. To my ear some players sound fine despite not quite accurate intonation. Oistrakh would be an example. Others sound minutely irritating despite being accurate. There must be some formula there but I never worked it out. I think it is related to how individuals listen to what is coming out from the violin and I would be very curious what you think about this. Another issue is how is the vibrato overlapping the note. Higher, lower, centered ? Many, many thanks !

[gum]

I have no choice but to like this video

[smcaqua]

Very helpful! I especially have trouble hearing the intonation of the F that you played (on the A string). I'm always second guessing when I play it. Now I'm going to practice with the piano backing track to hear how it should be tuned ^^
Thank you!!

[ViolinTimeWithERI]

Thank you very much for this very important lesson 🌼
Tonic & Dominant & Subdominant💜

[xNeoGenesis]

Thanks for all the videos you are making Augustin. It would also be great if you covered topics like posture and in general how your whole body comes together when playing because it's a topic not a lot of people talk about and it's an issue that afflicts novice and advanced players alike.

[bartlomiejkucharski]

Thank you sir, that was beautiful to listen.

[fiddlestix]

A vexed issue…
I remember Perlman’s story, of one of his teachers once asking him: “Itzhak dear, what is your concept of this F-sharp?” (rather than telling him that he was flat or sharp) 😉
Intonation is indeed no Absolute -which makes our job as string players (or singers or wind players) sooo hard and so exhilarating…
(Jacob Collier has a few things to say on this as well.)
Then there is the issue of how to make each note on our instruments sing and reverberate in the best possible way.
The intonation issue, its possibilities and limitations, extends endlessly in every direction, I feel.
Thank you for this, Augustin 🙏

[uqutis]

When I was in my university orchestra, one of our French horn players simply did not understand this at all and refused to play anything other than the intonation her tuner gave her for a certain section of music. She and our conductor got into it during rehearsal over this issue when she was clearly playing out of tune with the orchestra and kept denying that she was out of tune. She ended up leaving rehearsal that day.

[khreed]

The opening of the bach c major largo (in f) always makes me want to put the f sharper than normal. This helps me understand why :)

[jorgezuluagarestrepo]

I think you have a beautiful sound and the intonation color is very nice and wonderful, thanks for the video and sorry for my english

[АлексейГолимбиевский-фд]

How much time per day did you devote to practicing the instrument when you were a student and how much time do you devote now?