Perk up your ears! Improve your Intonation by Ear! Ingenious and Simple!

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Are you already listening or are you still looking? Intonation Training by Ear!

Are you already listening or are you still looking? Intonation Training by Ear!

Are you already listening or are you still looking? Intonation Training by Ear!

Are you already listening or are you still looking? Intonation Training by Ear!

Features

The INTUNATOR is an innovative, new training aid to assist in the development of correct intonation for all wind, string and plucked instruments, as well as for vocalists. The App recognizes the note being played and plays it back with the correct intonation. While you are practicing, you will intuitively match the note you are playing to the note you are hearing. You are literally training your intonation by ear as you play. At the same time, INTUNATOR is a high quality tuner. The App offers countless training options, and there are no limits to your creativity and flexibility.

Pitch Detection

INTUNATOR immedately and accurately recognizes the note played over a range of nearly 7 octaves.

Audio Output

The recognized pitch is corrected in equal temperament (like the piano) and output is via headphones or speakers for length of time you choose. You may choose to have the output sound be played in fifths or octaves. Three special sounds were developed specifically for this purpose. When combined with the volume control on your mobile device, they allow you to create the optimal balance between your instrument and the tone being played back by the INTUNATOR.

Visual Aids

The note you are playing is shown on the Display. You may choose to have the notes named by letter (C,D,E) or using Solfege designations (do, re, mi). A simple graphic shows you your pitch deviation with a white line.

Transposition

The note names are shown in their transposed form.

User's Assistant

An automatic User's Assistant is there to ensure a quick and easy application of the App for the user from day one.

Individual Settings

There are many possible settings: 56 different instruments to choose from, Transposition, Concert Pitch, Volume of Background Noise, Display of Frequency and Deviations in Cents, Mute Button, Notation Preferences in either sharp or flat, 3 different audio output sounds, fifth or octave offset of the control tone, drone mode, just temperament and the Pitch Detection Number, which is determined by the instrument being used.

Drone Mode

Train your intonation in Drone Mode over a continuous drone note of your choice. You may play freely in harmony with the audible drone tone, which will improve your perception of harmony and pitch, and thus your intonation. The notes you play are displayed in interval numbers 1 2 3... or in Solfege intervals (do re mi...). The white line shows you if your intonation is correct or needs improvement. You may also practice in just temperament in the Drone Mode if you wish!

Tuner

The INTUNATOR is also a high quality tuner with the help of the tone off button.

Instructions

Set Up

Connect your headphones or a speaker (via bluetooth or wired).

Choose your Instrument.

Start INTUNATOR.

Select your concert pitch in the settings (e.g. 440 Hz) and tune your instrument with the usual tuning notes.

Use the volume control to find a good balance between you and the control sound.

Play

Now you can play what you'd like on your instrument. The INTUNATOR will always accompany you with the "right note". Improve your intonation by matching the sound you hear in your headphones to the one you are playing on your instrument. Depending on the instrument, you can achieve this by changing the embouchure, lip pressure, finger position, air flow, support or with the help of compensating fingerings. The octave option of the control tone can be a pleasant variant for very high and very low instruments.

Intunator’s Visual Display will help you with this. Over time, you should slowly try to wean yourself off of the visual aid and use your ears more and more to help you improve your intonation. Learn the intonation quirks of your instrument! Learn the intonation quirks of your instrument! Correct your intonation intuitively. Enjoy exerting control over your instrument.

The Author's Tips for Wind Instruments

Create an intonation profile for your instrument (see PFD-Download). With it, you will get a clear overview of the Intonation deviations of your instrument. This knowledge will make your work with the INTUNATOR easier and support you on your journey to perfect intonation. After warming up and tuning up, play all the chromatic notes one after the other (slowly) and have a second person draw them on the chart. Then connect all the points to form a line and memorize this intonation profile well. Your knowledge of the basic tuning of your instrument is the prerequisite for perfect intonation. Your goal should be to play all notes on the zero line like a well-tuned piano (equal temperament). Only when you succeed in this, should you attempt the just temperament tuning option in the Drone Mode. If you are accompanied by piano or play along, the equal temperament applies to you. If you play in an orchestra or ensemble, then the just tempered third and sixth intervals will also be crucial, from a harmonic perspective. You can explore and train these tuning differences very nicely in the Drone Mode.

INTUNATOR intonation profile DinA4
INTUNATOR Intonation profile Letter
Intonationsprofil Bass-Klarinette
Intonationsprofil Euphonium Bassschlüssel
Intonationsprofil Fagott
Intonationsprofil Flöten
Intonationsprofil Horn
Intonationsprofil Klarinetten
Intonationsprofil Oboe
Intonationsprofil Oboen
Intonationsprofil Posaune
Intonationsprofil Saxophone
Intonationsprofil für Tenorhorn (Violinschlüssel)
Intonationsprofil TrompetenFlügelhorn
Intonationsprofil Tuba

Tutorial Video

The creator of the App explains how INTUNATOR works and demonstrates how it works using an alto saxophone.

Create your intonation profile

The creator of the app demonstrates how to set up your intonation profile (german).

Screenshots

Story

rombach

Markus Rombach holds degrees in music theory and saxophone performance. He teaches aural training and solfege at the Conservatories of Music in Freiburg and Karlsruhe, Germany. He is also a professional saxophone player.

MARO Software was founded by me in October 2014 in order to facilitate the creation of this app.

As a teacher of aural training and a saxophone player, my mind has been occupied by the topic of intonation for as long as I can remember. Intonation is the art of playing music at exactly the right pitch. The ability to play IN TUNE with other musicians is one of the most essential basics of music making and is able to be learned by all. However, up until now, there has not been a technical aid capable of helping musicians practice and improve their intonation. The ubiquitous tuner offers musicians a visual aid toward improving their intonation. It is, however, very static and fails to support musicians' elementary control of their ear. I thought to myself: "There must be a way to train and improve intonation using your Ear."

I found the obvious solution in the development of an app for smartphones. It's inexpensive, accessible at all times and able to be used universally. It is simple to use. The idea for this App emerged in 2013. After more than two years of planning and development, it's finally finished! Now available, in the Summer of 2015. In particular, I would like to thank the development company Remolution Software GmbH for their productive assistance on this project. It has been a pleasure working with you!

The INTUNATOR gives all musicians the chance to work on improving their intonation on their own, at their leisure. Whenever they have time, they can practice and improve their intonation on their individual instruments without any outside pressures. Just play what you want, without any pre-set requirements being placed upon you from the outside. You just have to perk up your ears and allow yourself to be led by the notes being played in your headphones. It is my wish that the INTUNATOR helps many musicians on the path to better intunation, thereby increasing the amount of pleasure they have when playing music.

Download

Let the INTUNATOR help you learn how to improve intonation on your instrument! Our method teaches all musicians how to improve their intonation in the most obvious way: By using their ears! Practice independently and without outside help. Our App is waiting for you in the store!

Technical Support

FAQS

Which headphones work best with the INTUNATOR?

Generally speaking, you can work with all types of headphones, both wired and Bluetooth. The best type of headphones are so called "open headphones" that allow you to hear your instrument directly in your ear, and how it mixes with the sound being played by the INTUNATOR device. In some circumstances it makes sense to leave one ear free of headphones.

A tip: A tip for cable use: If you set the Background Noise to very low in the settings, you can even put your phone in your pocket during use. The sounds are still recognized and you can move around the room freely. A tip for Bluetooth use: You can also place your phone somewhere in the room and then select the ambient volume in the settings so that the sound detection still works well. The quieter the setting, the more sensitive the sound detection.

Is it possible to use the INTUNATOR without headphones?

In order to improve your intonation while using INTUNATOR, hearing the control tone is essential. However, you can use the INTUNATOR without headphones as a professional tuner. It is accurate for a range of almost 7 octaves. You must press the Sound Off button on the cell phone, because otherwise it will record its own sound, which can cause it to become hung up on a particular sound. We recommend against using your cell phone's speakers with the INTUNATOR app for this reason. However, the control tone can also be heard via an external speaker, both wired and via Bluetooth. In this case, however, you must set the Background Noise to very loud in the settings so that INTUNATOR only recognizes you and not the speaker signal.

Can I practice my singing with the INTUNATOR?

Yes, this is now possible. You can choose between soprano, alto, tenor and bass. First, turn off the Control Note (press the tone off button), so that INTUNATOR shows you a reliable tuner for the notes you are singing, either using note names (CDE) or solfege (do, re, mi) note names. With the control note, you can train your intonation by ear. You can choose between equal, fifth offset and octave offset pitch. The Drone Mode offers you, the singer, the additional option of improvising over your chosen sustained note. You may also do scale exercises. Your notes are displayed in relation to the heard fundamental as scale steps (1,2,3...) or solfege steps (do,re,mi…).

Can I also use the INTUNATOR to improve my intonation using the just scale?

Yes, you can! In the Drone Mode, you can choose between equal temperament and pure temperament. In this mode, a fundamental tone is set that can be heard as a sustained note (also called a drone). You can then play freely over it in this key and hear all your notes in relation to that note and in harmony with the set fundamental tone. The display supports you visually with the recognized scale steps, either in step numbers (1,2,3...) or with Solfege (do, re, mi…) names. The possibility of switching between the two tuning systems allows a direct comparison between the temperaments. This is especially interesting and impressive with thirds and sixths.

Why is the note that being played in the headphones sometimes an octave higher than the one I am playing?

The pitch detection algorithm of the INTUNATOR was perfected so that it recognizes and replays the note at the proper pitch for all instruments over a range of nearly seven octaves. However, sometimes overtones of the pitch being played affect the ability of the INTUNATOR to correctly recognize the note. This results in the octave (1st harmonic) playing louder than the actual note being played. In these rare circumstances, the octave is played rather than the desired note (sometimes also the fifth, 2nd harmonic). Consider the resulting intonation exercise with the octave or fifth as an additional training method on your path toward perfect intonation.

How does the background noise setting work?

The recommended default setting is normal background noise. The quieter the setting, the more sounds and external noises will be picked up by INTUNATOR. If you want to carry your mobile device on your person while using the App (in your pants or shirt pocket, for example), or place the device at a greater distance from you, choose a quiet setting so that it can pick up as much sound as possible. If you want to carry your mobile device on your person while using the App (in your pants or shirt pocket, for example), or place the device at a greater distance from you, choose a quiet setting so that it can pick up as much sound as possible. If there is a lot of background noise, please choose either the loud or very loud setting. Fewer signals will be picked up, and you can visually check your intonation while playing in the orchestra or big band.

What does the default setting of 442 Hertz mean and what happens when changes are made to this setting?

In order to play together with other musicians or in a "Play Along" scenario, it is necessary to use the same concert pitch for all instruments. This concert pitch is determined by the so-called standard pitch "A", which generally lies between 440 and 444 Hertz. The standard pitch frequency determines the relationship of all the other notes to each other as well. Most orchestras these days tune to at least 442 Hertz, which is why we have chosen that as our default setting for the App.

What information does the INTUNATOR's display setting give the user?

Main Mode: The notes being played are displayed by name. In addition, all possible transpositions of notes are given in the Choice of Instruments, for example B flat for trumpet or E flat for alto saxophone. Deviations from the desired pitch are shown graphically with a white line. Additionally, you can also choose to have the Display show the exact number of cents deviation. High line means high intonation, low line means low intonation. If the white line is level with the two blue lines, you have perfect intonation. You may also choose to activate an option which allows you to show the exact frequency played in Hertz.

Drone Mode: In the Drone Mode, the detected notes are displayed in relation to the selected fundamental as scale number steps 1-2-3 or as Solfege steps (do, re, mi...). Here, too, you can read your exact intonation from the white line between the two blue ones.

How does the pitch detection number work?

The complex pitch detection settings of the App are optimized so that all notes can be recognized for every instrument. This is particularly important for lower pitched notes. Every instrument is assigned an individual pitch detection number according to its pitch range. If for some reason the lowest notes on your instrument are not being recognized, please choose a smaller pitch detection in your instrument settings.

What operating system does my handheld device require in order to be able to run the APP?

  • Android 4.1
  • iOS 7.1

To what extent can INTUNATOR keep up with me when I play quickly?

The INTUNATOR, with its unique ability to monitor your playing via your ear, has been developed to the very edge of what is technically possible. The result is overwhelming. Whether you are playing a single note, an etude or a piece of music, you can freely play and be constantly accompanied by the INTUNATOR. It takes a relatively quick tempo to reach the technical limitations of the INTUNATOR. The basic reason for the App must, however, be emphasized at this point. It has been designed to support the improvement of intonation by helping you to train your ear. And with that in mind, the INTUNATOR offers a very comfortable and unique play along tempo. (Tempo range: 80 - 140, depending on your instrument, operating system and cell phone model)

Is it possible to test the App free of charge?

INTUNATOR STARTUP can be tested in the IOS version free of charge and in its entirety (Intonation Trainer incl. Tuner Pro) for 4 weeks, after which you may choose to purchase or rent the app. The TUNER PRO without control tone is available for 2 weeks free of charge for testing.

For Android, this possibility of renting and free testing is unfortunately still in the planning stages. If you don't like INTUNATOR, you can return the app within 2 days (48 hours) on the Google Play Store after purchase, according to Google guidelines.

What influence does the default setting have on the "Assistant"?

There are two settings that are automatically chosen with the help of the App's "Assistant": the transposition of the notes and the optimal pitch detection number for every instrument. The pitch detection number guarantees the recognition of pitch for the entire spectrum of sound for the selected instrument.