Oboe 101: How to play a good tuning A

Last week I played a run of “Turn of the Screw” by Benjamin Britten. If you’re not familiar with the opera, it’s a ghost story/psychological thriller with themes based upon a 12-tone row. Talk about fun and weird and spooky and hard! The orchestration is for a small orchestra, basically a string quintet (with bass), a woodwind quintet, harp, percussion, and piano/celeste. Although the show closed yesterday, I think I’ll have the melodies floating around in my head for the rest of the week! 

Since I was the only oboist, I had the task of tuning the orchestra, and it made me think about the characteristics of a good tuning A, so I’ve made a little list for you to consider the next time it’s your turn to tune your ensemble. 

What makes a good tuning note: 

• Pitch stability:  Practically, you need to sustain the pitch steadily without the pitch wavering over time, so take a good breath and set a sustainable embouchure position before you play. Be prepared to hold the A without breathing for up to 45-60 seconds. 

• Projected sound that can be heard over the ensemble:   Play loud enough that your sound projects out into the room so the full ensemble can hear you as they tune themselves. 

• Consistent pitch between different breaths:    When playing with a large ensemble, you’ll give 2-3 tuning notes for each section. Typically one for winds/brass and one for strings. Your tuning note needs to be the same each time you give it. 

• Ability to match the pitch center of the piano:    When playing in a chamber or recital context, you’ll be expected to take the A from the piano, then give it to the orchestra. It’s a good idea to tune the A’s from the piano before rehearsal begins so you can select a reed that matches the piano’s intonation. Depending on how recently the piano has been tuned, it might be sharper or flatter than you expect. 

Bonus points for: 

A beautiful swell:  In orchestra context, it’s nice to start your note piano, then quickly swell to a projected mezzo forte to sustain for the ensemble. Typically players wait until it sounds like you’ve settled into the pitch to take the note. You can see this technique expertly demonstrated in this recording of a masterclass with Eugene Izotov of the San Francisco Symphony. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDxJzpay_Mn/ utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==