Guides for musicians
Practical articles to tune better, practise more effectively and look after your instrument, with data you can verify.
- A = 440 Hz or 442 Hz: what it means and which to useTwo musicians who are each perfectly in tune can still clash if one tunes to 440 and the other to 442. This guide explains the reference pitch and how to choose it.
- How to tune your instrument properlyA tuner shows whether a note is sharp or flat, but good tuning is also an ear skill. Here is a method that works for brass, woodwinds and strings.
- Notes and frequencies to tune your instrumentThe open strings of string instruments and the reference notes of brass instruments, with their exact frequencies at A = 440 Hz. Use them to check your tuner or to tune by ear against a drone.
- How to practise with a metronomeA metronome is not just for “playing in time”: used well, it is the fastest tool to improve your pulse, technique and muscle memory. A practical method, with numbers.
- Brass fingerings explainedMemorising a fingering chart helps little if you do not understand the logic behind it. Here is the logic: harmonic series, valves, positions, and why some notes play sharp.
- Brass instrument care and maintenanceA clean, well-lubricated instrument sounds better, tunes better and lasts decades. Here are the basic routines, what to avoid and when to take it to a repairer.