| Like they said, sing. I like the term audiate. Sing inside your brain what you are playing on the horn.
For years I could sit and listen to players and think, he's sharp or she's flat with ease, but when I played myself, I sometimes struggled. I'd be worried about the pitch and thinking too much. I'd sometimes invert what I was hearing. This got really band the first year I played in the shows at Opryland. I was a little nervous, and one of the guys gave me a hard time about it. The harder I tried, the worse it got. I took a tuner into the pit. It was a mistake. You have to focus on what you hear, not what the machine is saying. Tuners are good for practice, but not the gig. Then I had a couple of lessons with Richard Steffen. He got me audiating. It was like an epiphany. So much easier, and intonation was locking in.
As far as the keyboard player goes, tell him what he can do with it. (unless he's the leader) Somebody who picks at you for being sharp in the extreme range is an idiot.
__________________
"Music is a fire in your belly that has to come out of your mouth, so you'd better put a horn in the way before someone gets hurt" (paraphrase of Bleeding Gums Murphy) |