We were sitting in band one day, trudging through a particularly difficult song. Outside, it snowed. Inside, we shivered. My flute was an icicle in my hands as I muddled through sixteenth note runs.
Mrs. Blossom was conducting, and suddenly she stopped. She waved her arms. "You! Trumpet!"
The redhead looked up from, bewildered. "Yes?"
"How often should you tune?"
"Uh..." The girl was dazed, tired, cold.
"Come on now, how often should you tune?"
"Seven."
The band broke into waves of laughter. A nonsensical answer was appropriate because our musical tone is a joke. Us? In tune? With 22 flutes? Funny joke. You got us. *slaps knee*
Mrs. Blossom laughed too, but grew suddenly solemn. She stood up straight as an arrow again and pointed at the trumpet player beside the girl. "Wrong. You, Jordan. What's the right time to tune?"
"All the time!"
"Correct!" She pumped her fist. "Now everyone fix yourselves and let's try again."
Instruments were adjusted, warm air blew through mouthpieces, horns came up. Mrs. Blossom counted us off again, and something magical happened.
It sounded better.
It's difficult to explain to a non-musician how tuning works. But basically, two instruments are in tune when they play the same note together and it sounds like one instrument. They blend flawlessly. Usually it takes a lot of adjusting of the strings or mouthpiece to get this to happen.
In good bands, each section sounds like one instrument. No one sticks out. None can be picked out above the rest. A blind listener shouldn't be able to tell that there are 5 alto saxophones. They should sound like one.
For stringed and percussion instruments, you can pretty much tune after you warm up and you're good for the performance. But woodwinds and brass-- instruments that require air from your mouth?
No.
Every note is different; you have to adjust constantly. Your instrument may play one note that is beautifully in tune with your neighbor, and the next note will be horribly flat. You have to fix it. It's up to you to make those little adjustments that make a big difference.
In the past few months, I've learned that life is very similar. It's unpredictable; nothing ever happens the same way twice. One moment things will be going perfectly, the next your plans are in broken shards at your feet. You have to be ready to adjust and make those little changes so that things are smooth and even in the long run.
When you realize you're in the wrong place or making the wrong decision or going the wrong direction, you have to change something. Otherwise, nothing will get better.
The beautiful thing is that with life, it's never too late to "tune" yourself-- to adjust things or start something new.
You never know. Things might just get better.
