How ‘Tartini Tones’ Can Sharpen Your Intonation
It is a footnote in music history now, but Giuseppe Tartini earned himself some lasting fame in part due to his conscious use of an acoustical phenomenon.
When you play 3rds and 6ths on the violin, especially on the A and E string where the effect is most audible, you will hear, if you listen carefully, a third note well below the two you are sounding.
Now, though Tartini was fortunate enough to get his name associated with the effect in some music history books, he certainly was not the first to be aware of the phenomenon of combination tones, also referred to as resultant tones.
My reason for bringing them up to you now, however, is not to talk musical trivia. I rely on them daily to keep my left hand ‘fine-tuned.’
Resultant tones, by the by, are not just produced from 3rds and 6ths. They exist when any two notes are sounded simultaneously. If you want some good reading on the subject, try to find a book entitled ‘The Science of Music’, by Sir James Jeans. I believe Dover publishes it.
Let’s cut to the quick and talk about how you can use them.
Play some 3rds and 6ths on the A and E strings. Listen for a ‘buzz’ well below the two notes. Once you hear it you have your ‘Tartini tone.’
That pitch should be absolutely consonant with your double stop. Move one of your fingers slowly to adjust the resultant tone until a beautiful triad in formed.
Now the two notes played notes are in tune relative to each other. Obviously this does not tell you anything about the pitch of the double stop relative to notes before or after it.
What this exercise should demonstrate to you is the ‘feel’ of major and minor 3rds and 6ths in different locations on the fingerboard. It will ‘set your hand.’
Once you are in the habit of listening for and tuning resultant tones your intonation will rise to another level. I guarantee it.
Incidentally, Kreutzer for Violin Mastery, Vol. 1 does not address double stopping, they will be covered extensively in Vol. 4.
All the best,
Clayton Haslop
