Hi,
I have my university recital coming up soon, and was wondering if anyone had any tips, techniques or exercises I could use to help me with my intonation. I'm alright with the basics, but need to really fine tune it, as this is where the most marks are lost apparently.

Thanks

Try playing everything slowly, double stopped with the open string below (make sure your strings are perfectly tuned first) - it's amazing how many intonation inaccuracies this picks up!

What are you playing?

first mvt beethoven cello sonata in A major

Bach cello suite no. 2, prelude

and Shostakovich Cello sonata, 2nd movement to finish!

Thanks btw, i'll give it a go!

Have you tried practising with your eyes closed? It can be a bit freaky to start with, but it really sharpens up your hearing.

Good Luck with it all.


Iona

Think of each note as an interval away from the next note, ie if you're playing a G followed by a C (up from the G), don't think 'now I'm playing a G, then I'm playing an C' but think of the interval between the G and the C, ie the perfect fourth, and make sure when you play the C it's an exact perfect fourth above the G. How to recognise it?

Well, play a first finger on the G string (the note A) and an open string on the next string (D) together - this will produce a double-stopped fourth, and it'll be perfect when there are no 'beats' (a jarring sort of pulsing sound). Listen very hard and the 'beats' will disappear when the notes are perfectly in tune with each other. Concentrate on the sound and then play the notes separately - G, C, G, C, until you get used to the sound and the distance between them. Then replicate that exact distance when playing (open) G followed by C.

Do the same with all the other intervals, using an open string for one of the notes. You have to listen very hard for the beats to disappear, moving your finger around until they do. The beats are evidence of a discord, ie a non-perfect interval. Remove the beats and you have perfect interval and this is what you have to train your ear to recognise.

It does take work and focus but it's very much worth it!

I find taping myself and playing back one of the most helpful things in the run up to a performance. It can be a bit daunting but you really get to hear things back in a more detatched way which can help you to focus your efforts on the areas of your performance you would most like to improve further.

Yeah, playing with my eyes closed REALLY does help with my listening because if one sense is disabled then the others become sharper because you're concentrating on less things

And also playing double stopped with adjacent open strings really helps, because you can really tell if something's out of tune using this method