April 1, 2001
CYBERCOLUMN:
Playing in tune
___By Berry D. Simpson
___I have played the trombone since 1968. I've played in numerous bands and orchestras and ensembles, and for all those years I've listened to countless band directors and orchestra conductors hammer the entire trombone section for playing out of tune. "You are holding your tuning slide in your hand," they'd say. "There is no excuse for a trombone to be out of tune!" (Note: Nowadays, as an adult playing in all-volunteer groups, I don't get yelled at as much. It's too difficult to recruit new volunteers.)
___A trombone is unique among instruments because it uses a slide to change notes. Other instruments have valves or keys or strings or pedals. All of us instrumentalists are responsible to play our own instruments in tune—except for pianists (who justblame the piano tuner) and percussionists (who just play loud).
Berry D. Simpson
___Because a trombonist is holding a moveable slide, he should be able to make slight adjustments as necessary to always be in tune. Of course, that same flexibility can also be a liability, since the same slight adjustment done incorrectly might put the note out of tune.
___Playing out of tune is bad. Even if a musician can play every single note without error, virtuosity is worthless if it is out of tune. It ruins the entire ensemble for everyone and makes everyone sound bad.
___I remember when my son and daughter were learning to play the trombone, I asked them, "What is the most important part of your body for playing music?" The answer was, "Your ears," because only by listening can we play in tune.
___Lately, whenever I tune my horn, I think about one particular song, one of my favorite hymns, "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing." My favorite line from the hymn is from the first verse, which says, "Tune my heart to sing Thy grace."
___Isn't that a great phrase? "Tune my heart to sing Thy grace." And isn't it appropriate that the lyricist, Robert Robinson, didn't write "teach" my heart, or "direct" or my heart, or "conduct" my heart. He said "tune" my heart. I think he meant we have to listen.
___Listen with our ears, and listen with our heart, to the grace of God.
___I like to joke that my King Silver Sonic 3B trombone, the one that I play most often, is such a finely crafted horn that it was tuned at the factory, and so I don't need to retune every time I play. However, the musicians who usually sit beside me and can hear me play seldom agree with my claim. And they are correct. The fact is no instrument stays in tune for very long. As the horn warms up the tuning changes. If the ambient air gets warmer or colder, the tuning changes. Sometimes when playing louder or softer, the tuning changes.
___And isn't that true about our relationship with God? A one-time tuning at the factory isn't adequate. We need constant help from God to keep our relationship in tune. We also need occasional reminders from the Christian brothers and sisters who sit beside us that we are starting to drift out of tune.
___Even after 34 years of playing, I still need help tuning. I can often tell that I am slightly out of tune, but I can't distinguish whether I'm sharp or flat. That's partly because my ear isn't as good as I wish it were, but also because when I am playing the sound of my own horn is so close it crowds out the other instruments, and I can't compare my sound to everyone else. I've always thought that since the sound produced by my horn includes the air still in my own lungs and the sympathetic vibrations within my own head, I don't hear the same sound everyone else hears.
___In the same way, we don't hear our own voices the same as others do when we are talking or singing. Because of all that, I don't have as much confidence playing in tune since I know the true sound is masked by my own self.
___I have the same problem keeping my heart in tune with God. I can't totally separate my relationship with God from my own air and vibrations. I am too full of myself to stay in tune. And so, like the hymn writer, I need God's help. I need him to do the tuning.
___The good news is this: The longer I play, the easier it gets to stay in tune. I hope that is also true with God; the longer I seek him, the more in tune I'll live.
___ Berry Simpson, a Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church in Midland, is a petroleum engineer, writer, runner and member of the city council in Midland.
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