Helen Bledsoe

Category: tuners

  • Spectral fun with Hyena

    Advice on how to prepare the microtonal, spectral works for large ensemble and orchestra of Georg Friedrich Haas and other spectral composers.

    These remarks are a culmination of my years of experience playing spectral works and coaching the academists at the Grafenegg Festival 2026 for the premiere of Hyena II for Orchestra and Storyteller under the direction of Ilan Volkov. (See also important changes to the first flute part towards the end.)

    Figuring it all out:

    This is an example of the notation we were faced with:

    Haas was very considerate in providing the following approximate accidentals:

    Translation: Notation of Microintervals:

    Quarter-tones, sixth-tones, eighth-tones, and twelfth-tones respectively

    Using these accidentals is a practical strategy for large orchestras. The indications allow players not familiar with spectral music to rely on their instincts to at least approximate the pitch. However, the circled numbers above the notes indicate the partial number and therefore the true pitch.

    These partial numbers represent a position in an overtone (harmonic) series based (in this piece) on C0. Here I use the terms harmonics, overtones and partials interchangeably, although there are some subtle differences. Note that because this is a mathematical series that starts with 1 (not 0), the 1st partial IS the fundamental.

    So the first thing you need to know for playing a harmonic series is: what is the fundamental? The score says only ca. 16 hz as an indication, because this will change according to what your group tunes to – A=440 or higher.

    Once you know that fundamental, you “only” have to multiply that number by the circled number above your note. That gives you your frequency. However, for many musicians, it is easier to think in terms of cent deviations, where the half step is forther divided into 100 equal steps. Modern tuning apps give us cent indications, so they have become a way many of us think when it comes to being sharp or flat.

    I can understand a composer not wanting to put a cent deviation above each note of an orchestral score, that would indeed be messy. But it would have been practical to have this chart from Wikipedia, for example, in the performance instructions:

    In order to make all this easier, to calculate the partials above 31, and to have a quick alternative to view these notes according to cent deviations, I created this app:

    Here is the link

    Note that the transpose feature will only change the “Nearest Note” display!

    Troubleshooting for Partial Plus app:

    • – Make sure JavaScript is enabled on your browser (see your browser settings).
    • – Low frequencies need a lot of volume boost,
    • – If your ringtone is muted, this may mute the sound of the app too. For iPhone, there is a small button on the side of the phone, on the upper left.
    • – If you have an old phone (iPhone 11, for example) it just may not work. Use an iPad instead (or laptop).

    Knowing what frequencies to play and what fingerings to use is only part of the work. There are two other important factors: listening and sound quality.

    Listening:

    Despite the mathematics involved, this work, and many other spectral works, involves listening, being able to hear and predict your pitch from either the fundamental or the fifth (which you can hopefully hear or remember).

    With the app (or any listening aid), I recommend listening up to the first 16 partials. If you want to challenge yourself to a new scale exercise, learn the partials 8 – 16 in all keys. (It’s kind of a whole-tone bebop scale :)) I am developing other exercises for listening, recognizing, and playing partials, so stay tuned.

    To become confident in this piece, you really need to hear up to the 13th partial. If the instrument playing the fundamental is sharp or flat, you may not be able to rely only on a fingering you learned, you have to be able to adjust in real-time using your ears. Remember, if you have to play the 2nd, 4th, 8th, or 16th partial, that is just an octave relationship to the fundamental. If you have the 3rd, 6th or 12th, that is a perfect fifth relationship. If you don’t get that right, the other players who have to play the partials of a 5th, 7th, 9th, or above will have trouble.

    The very high partials can (at least in Hyena II, say, above 37) be relativized. That is, there is often a play between players, In the passage below, for example, the flutes, oboes and clarinets enter on pitches where each is slightly lower than the other. Tricky, yes! But doable by ear with practice.

    Modulations:

    Sometimes, especially in the works of Haas, the fundamental will modulate. This is a real challenge for the lower instruments, because sometimes their fundamental falls off the equal-temperament grid. In Hyena II, there is a chain of modulations where the 9th partial becomes the 7th partial of a new spectrum. For this I made the another modulator app. The instructions are pretty much identical to the one above, but you can choose a new partial, preview the modulated fundamental, then push “Make Current” establish it as the current partial system.

    Sound Quality:

    Despite this being contemporary music, in an orchestral or large ensemble context, spectral music is often most effective with a “nice” classical sound. That is, not too unfocused or airy. You have to produce a sound that others can easily hear and tune to. The sound has to have enough partials in it to be interesting and to mix with the partials of other players – no matter what dynamic.

    This is important to know when choosing fingerings. In our first session with the flutes, we were considering using some rather bamboo-sounding fingerings involving the trill keys. These didn’t really work in context. In addition, one also has to take into account the speed and dynamics as well as the sound color when choosing fingerings.

    Important changes in the first flute part:

    • Bars 722 – 731, and 856 should be played on piccolo (sounding as written, the piccolo fingering an octave below).
    • Bar 471 F# should be an 1/8th tone up
    • Bar 801 D natural should be a 1/6th tone down
    • Bar 813 F natural should be a 1/6th tone down

  • Piccolo Warmup

    To get started before doing the exercises specifically for piccolo, have a look at this exercise on page 5 from this collection of harmonics exercises (sorry the pages are not numbered). For some reason, I find them especially beneficial for piccolo. It’s good for developing awareness of exactly what combination of physical actions you need for going high – abdominal support, embouchure, placement of the tongue and jaw, and notice how the throat sometimes tries to help. Very kind of it, but not necessary 🙂

    This preliminary harmonics exercise will help with the challenges found in these two piccolo warmups which I have developed over the years. The first is meant to be quite slow, ideally to be played with a drone / tuner on the fundamental. The second is of course a rip-off of TG EG no. 1 and Mozart, but it works esp. for articulation and agility with large intervals. It’s kind of a killer when you go high, so take it easy if you are new to the piccolo.

    Composers often write for the piccolo not only because of its high frequencies, but because of its agility. That requires strength and training, and smart body awareness in order to avoid injuries or strains. Also, please protect your ears while practicing! If you don’t have professional earplugs, I find the silicone ones (also used for swimmers) quite good, you don’t even have to stick them inside your outer ear canal, just a little bit to cover the opening of the right ear is sometimes enough for me.

  • Intonation Exercises

    Here is a compendium of intonation exercises I have written over the years. They require either two players or one player and a sound-generator such as a tuner or an app. (The exception is the “Exchange” exercise.)

    These exercises are based on being able to discern and manipulate difference tones, and contain a basic introduction to just intonation.

    If you distribute these exercises please give credit where it is due. Have fun!

    CLICK HERE FOR INTONATION EXERCISES PDF

  • Intonation I : Flutonation

    Practicing intonation, I’ve noticed a few funny quirks of mine which I know are shared by many other flutists, so I think it is worthwhile confessing and hanging them out to dry.
    (By the way, barring any live musicians I can scare up to do my nerdy exercises, my partner in intonation practice is my Korg OT-12. It’s a bit chunky and pricey, but it offers decent range of sound output. It is also recommended by orchestral piccoloists for its good registration of high pitches.)

    But first I need to get another pet peeve off my chest: flutonation. It’s the natural intonation of the flute. I often hear it when a flutist is playing a solo piece without accompaniment, esp. a contemporary (atonal) piece that they think doesn’t need to be in tune. Oh boy….eyes rolling…..
    I admit that I have flutonation in spades: C# too sharp, low and mid Eb too flat, but the high Eb too sharp. This is why I hate hearing it in other players 🙂

    Now for those other quirks:
    When tuning unisons, I notice I tend to tune just a few cents sharp. I realized why after awhile: when perfectly in tune with my OT-12, the sound of the OT-12 disappears completely! The harmonic structures are so interlocked that they are indistinguishable. If I’m a little sharp though, I can still hear the tuner. And in my quest to always listen, to play so I can hear my partner (even if mechanical), I play so that both can be heard. Funny, huh? A case where overdoing one aspect can mess you up in another area. Sort of opposite the way pitch rises in orchestra – where you play sharp so you can hear yourself.

    Another thing is octaves. I can tune vertical octaves without any silliness, but melodic (horizontal) octaves are another story. They are almost always too wide. I don’t know why, maybe I have played the flute too long and have a severe case of octave flutonation. Then there is picctonation. I hear octaves on the piccolo too narrow. That’s probably because I like to play with the cork rather close to the embouchure hole – but still, I should know better. I really have to re-train my ears with a fixed pitch instrument or my korg. I’ve developed some exercises for octaves with my korg that involve listening, not looking at the blinking lights.

    In general, I’ve got several exercises for tuning with a tuner that involve listening to combination tones, complete with explanations. They are no longer publicly on my site because I am considering publication, but- if someone is really interested I can send them pdf.