Intonation can be a challenging skill to develop. When I was in high school and college (and not yet diligent enough to record myself), the only tool I had for checking my intonation was a tuner.  At one lesson, I was emphatically informed (by Joe Alessi) that I needed to get the kind of tuner that played drone pitches (long tones) so I would have something to practice against.  I did so right away, but it wasn’t a perfect solution.  Hand-held tuners that play back notes are often not loud enough for trombonists, and practicing with a drone doesn’t directly help unaccompanied melodic intonation.  That said, the core of Joe’s advice was of course correct: I needed to find a way to practice intonation with my ears, not my eyes.

In recent years, several products have been developed that allow players to do just that.  There are now a number of intonation systems on the market that come with play-a-long CDs.  In 2003 I edited the text for the first edition of one of them.

Intonation Repair Tool, by Tom Kociela & Bill Baxtresser, has a unique and effective approach for developing melodic (solo) intonation skills: you play each note of a scale before the CD enters.  This beats simply playing along with a recording because you must place each note as a soloist, without a crutch.  Then, when the CD plays, you will immediately recognize whether or not you have placed your note correctly.

For harmonic intonation (two or more notes together), the CD builds a chord and asks you to join in, then it drops your chord tone, leaving you as the well-tuned root, third, fifth, or seventh.

This is made more clear by this demonstration video:

You can order Intonation Repair Tool for $29.99 (includes first-class U.S. shipping) or $36.99 (for shipping outside the U.S.):

1. Go to www.paypal.com to pay by credit card or from your bank account.  Enter my email address as richardbegel@yahoo.com

2. If you prefer, you can send a check. Please email for my mailing address.

You can also order the Student Edition of the IRT for just $14.99 (includes U.S. shipping) or $19.99 (if outside the U.S.). This version includes the same CD but skips the text & has the music in poster form for a classroom.

Order one of these items and a copy of A Modern Guide for Trombonists and Other Musicians for $15.95 and get free shipping on both.

Paypal payments should be addressed to richardbegel@yahoo.com