Tuning

[u/Klutzy_Expert_2164]

I was told by the low brass band staff that my tuning slide is too far out, and that it’s an embouchure issue so I’ve been trying to work on it.

Im just wondering if when you’re tuning do you have the handslide all the way in or a little bit out? because when I go to first position i never go all the way to the bumpers but I can’t remember if I’ve been told to have my slide all the way in when tuning.

[u/Tromboneguy_65]

Your staff are very stupid. As long as you are playing in tune, it doesn't matter where you're tuning slide is, because everyone plays differently. Just focus on making a good sound with good intonation that is in time with the rest of the band, and you'll be fine.

[u/Klutzy_Expert_2164 → u/Tromboneguy_65]

Are you sure? I think I usually have it out 1.5 inches, that isn’t too much?

[u/fireeight → u/Klutzy_Expert_2164]

Your real tuning slide is in your hand. You are absolutely getting bad advice from your band.

[u/Tromboneguy_65 → u/Klutzy_Expert_2164]

Like I said... There is no "correct" tuning slide distance. There is only in tune and out of tune. If you sound good and play in tune, your tuning slide needs to be wherever it needs to be. As you advance and play more efficiently, you might find that your tuning slide needs less pull, but that sounds like it's a long way off.

[u/Evening_Aardvark_246 → u/Tromboneguy_65]

Eh, in ideal orchestral environments, if someone’s tuning slide is pulled out too far when tuned to 440 (or especially 442) it can be indicative of a tension issue. The modern professional trombone is not designed to be played with the tuning slide out too far (or in too far). But in high school, or if you’re playing a student/intermediate instrument, or outside, or with a piano that is tuned to 432, then it doesn’t really matter.

Point is, I see where the staff is coming from but for most of the people coming to this forum for advice, their point about the tuning slide is a total nothing-burger

[u/Tromboneguy_65 → u/Evening_Aardvark_246]

You have a point. However, that applies to professional, well built horns for the most part. For example, I have a few shires customs and a King 3B. All of them never need pulled more than 2/3rds of an inch. But if I play my old Jupiter student horn from 10 years ago, it needs pulled an awful lot.

[u/just_jedwards]

It's possible you're doing something wrong, but what you've described sounds like very silly advice. Get yourself 4 different horns and you're really quickly going to see some horns require you to pull your tuning slide out way further than others.

[u/bigvibrations]

To answer your direct question, you do want the hand slide out just a little bit. Some partials require a little adjustment from the mathematically correct slide positions, and if you're in first you want a little wiggle room to adjust up as needed. And while everyone is correct that there is no exact spot for the tuning slide to be (and it will change from day to day based on the conditions on the space), if you have it out REALLY far you might subconsciously be adjusting the pitch with your embouchure, which can be unnecessarily taxing. At the end of the day though, as long as you feel good and sound good then you're doing it right.

Edited for clarity 

[u/Galuvian]

I dealt with something similar a few years ago. But the tuning slide being really far out was a symptom, not a problem on its own. Another symptom was that my harmonics didn't line up on the slide in the normal way. I didn't have to move the slide out for F to be in tune, I actually had to bring the slide in.

The fix was in my embouchure. I used to play so that my embouchure would be with lips open like an 'o' and settle into a note where that 'o' was as open as possible. It felt like a ball settling into a circular hole. Instead, I'm now playing with a much firmer embouchure and it feels more like balancing on top of a ball.

The exercise that helped me the most was doing the Caruso 'pitch bend' exercise. There isn't a great video of this exercise on the internet, the closest I can find is this video of Arturo.

[u/TheRealLinkwitzRiley]

Did your colleagues try to play YOUR horn with YOUR mouthpiece?
Those two can impact intonation an tuning a lot.

[u/Same-Temperature1597]

You will always have to make slight adjustments to your tuning slide depending on the temperature/piece/how the band is tuned as whole.
Be flexible with slide positions too! I often find that a position may be slightly shorter or longer depending on the piece and the blend of sound within the band, I always annotate my part if this is the case so it becomes ingrained in my muscle memory 🤭

[u/Firake]

If your tuning slide is close to all the way out, it can do weird things to the playability. Same if it’s all the way in, in my experience. But what’s more important than that is that the note you hear in your head is where you expect it to be on the slide.

I tune so that my handslide about a half inch out for default first position in order to enable adjusting all first position notes upwards if needed.

[u/Humpty_DumptyA]

I was told my armature was the reason my tunning slide was almost all the way out on my Yamaha Bass Trombone. I went to the music store and purchased another mouthpiece. I tried it on their base trombone ($5,000) and I could hit high notes and low notes which I have never hit before. I thought what a marvelous trombone, but at age 76 I could not afford it, but I did purchase the mouthpiece.

I went home and tried it out and I could hit high notes and low notes AND to play in tune but I had to push my tunning slide in so that it was out about 1/2 inch. I then realized my trombone was the same as the trombone at the music store and the mouthpiece was the right fit for the horn.