I believed that the trombone stands almost alone among wind instruments, in that it allows to play a continuous pitch range. The rest have a discrete set of possible notes (pitches), hence things are somewhat easier, in that (providing that the instrument is ok) you almost cannot play "out of tune" (I mean, by a fraction of semitone). Something like the difference between a fretted and unfretted bass.
But the "out of tune" scene in Whiplash left me wondering.
Is the above -more or less- true?
Yes, wind instruments can play out of tune, even when the instrument is "tuned properly" (which isn't as well-defined as it seems). In fact, the same can be said for fretted string instruments as well.
For wind instruments, the way you blow into the instrument can drastically affect your pitch. As a flute player, I can vary between as much as a whole step above and below the note I'm fingering by basically just rotating the instrument. I've heard single-reed (saxophone and clarinet) players slide up an octave without changing fingering. For brass instruments, you can get a lot of different pitches out of each fingering due to the nature of the instrument and the interaction with the mouthpiece. I would say, in general, that playing out of tune is the default situation for all wind instruments, and playing in tune requires a lot of practice and very good ear.
For fretted string, the amount of pressure you put on your fretting hand affects the pitch. It's not as much as an intentional bend, but it can be up to a quarter step or more, and definitely enough to sound out of tune even to untrained ears. This issue become much more pronounced with scalloped frets. It's not as much of a concern as wind instruments, however, because it's a universal solution: fret lightly and you will stay in tune, vs. wind instruments needing to take care of many different things for each note and situation they are in.
The instruments which cannot (without effort) play out of tune are non-fingered string instruments (harp, dulcimer, lyre), percussion instruments (drums, keyboards, auxiliary), and those instruments which are somehow both (piano, harpsichord, celeste). These instruments are all basically just a set of pretuned objects which are vibrated by picking, plucking, or striking to create the sound. Assuming those objects are in tune and you aren't going out of your way to touch or bend them inappropriately, they will play in tune. However, you can make them play out of tune in various ways, but it will not be an accident, and may be harder than playing in tune.
Yes, all wind instruments can be played out of tune. Very out of tune.
Source: I work with junior concert bands.
To elaborate, the frequency produced by a given wind instrument is a function of the fingering, but also the embouchure (mouth position), airspeed, and any number of other factors.
Learning to play in tune is a major part of starting to learn a wind instrument. This is not the case with something like piano (no tuning at all), or guitar (where a beginner will play adequately in tune).
I have a number of brass family instruments (mellophone, cornets, trumpet, euphonium). I regularly bend ("bluesify") notes on them intentionally. On the lower-pitched ones this may be easier for some players. Brandon Ridenour does that famous Rhapsody in Blue bend on a soprano trumpet here, very impressively:
In this case he's using partial valve closure, but I find that I can generally do up to a whole tone by adjusting my embouchure.
Actually, due to the physical constraints of the instrument, for many notes a brass instrument will naturally play "out of tune" unless the player adjusts his/her embouchure to correct it. On the three valved instruments, each of the valves increases the length of the plumbing by 1/2, 1 whole, or 1-1/2 steps thus allowing all the notes of the scale to be played as harmonics, but this is only strictly correct at the natural pitch of the instrument.
When you are playing at, say, an octave higher than that, the extra length actually added by the plumbing does not change even though the added length required to lower the note would be less. For the higher notes "lipping up" to avoid flatness is necessary although it is usually unconscious.
Oh dear higher power, yes. Wind instruments can play out of tune. So very much out of tune.
Already starting with the humble recorder, you first have the challenge of matching concert pitch by slightly pulling out your mouth piece (which wrecks the coherence of the instrument's basic tuning) and then using embouchure and articulation and dynamics in a manner where the focus of a tone is at the core of where it should be.
There is such a difference between conservatory-level recorder players and the humble school beginners regarding the fine points of pitch control that one wouldn't believe it until having sat through a number of school level concerts as well as concerts people actually pay for hearing.
Now the straightness and purity of tone actually make the recorder one of the cruellest instrument for ensemble play regarding pitch control, but the same considerations apply to a good degree to other winds even though the means of pitch control differ individually.
With brass instruments you have the additional problem that the valves are getting combined and the resulting resonator length modifications are arithmetic while the required frequency modifications would be geometric. So every scale needs individual corrections to each note.
Mr.Buzzkill suggests what he's really asking is -- what other instruments can be positioned to play any wavelength without bending from the design fundamental for a given fingering/setting/etc.
Playing "out of tune" strictly means the whole instrument is off-concert pitch.
" Bending" is just a way of forcing production of wavelength which is not dead-peak resonance for the instrument.
Thus, for a specified bore length and specified set of holes (i.e. fingering on woodwinds), there is only one fundamental resonance wavelength. The trombone can adjust the bore length to arbitrary precision, hence play any wavelength fundamental. Most brass instruments can adjust the bore length a small amount via tuning slides (most often used to go from natural to tempered scales, for example). To my knowledge there isn't any woodwind which has variable position or variable size holes designed in. Performers can and do "partially cover" some finger holes to bend pitches by virtual adjustment of the hole size (wander on over to Helmholtz Resonator for more on this).
Yes, in addition to the points mentioned by others, the temperature and humidity conditions in the room, for example , when playing the Indian bansuri the artist has to make sure to avoid sudden rise or dip in temperatures and has to allow the instrument to adjust to the room temperature. Check this website for some tips.
Most wind instruments have fingerings or positions that will create a "general" pitch at each semitone. But a player can actually sound a different semitone or pitches between the semitones based on embouchure and air support, or even things like the shape of the mouthpiece or barrel of a clarinet or neck of a saxophone.
A young player who has not developed a strong embouchure or proper air support will play terribly out of tune. A more advanced player may, at times, slide the pitch up or down on purpose.
Even a player with proper embouchure and air support will have to adjust notes while playing because each instrument has notes that tend to be out of tune, just by the nature of the design of the instrument. A good player will know the instrument and which notes tend to go flat or sharp, and adjust accordingly. Sometimes alternate fingerings will be more in tune.
An unusual type of wind instrument is the humble steam whistle fitted to vintage locomotives, ships, and even factories. Despite having a fixed resonant length, listening to any of these with a critical ear will reveal their pitch dependence on the temperature and pressure of the steam actuating them, the latter of which is commonly varied by the driver (known as "quilling").
It's rather interesting you'd mention the trombone, but not unsurprising.
One thing of note in regard to this instrument is that there are, in effect, despite common impressions to the contrary, two boundaries to the trombone's ability to accurately play a pitch*: that is, first position is first position and can go no higher, and seventh position is limited by the length of the player's arm.
As an example, "D" above middle C is the 1st position note in the 5th partial (aka 'overtone'), which tends to sound flat. If you want to play this D in tune you cannot do so in 1st position without "lipping it up"; alternatively, some professional model trombones have a spring-loaded slide receiver, and the player pulls the slide in harder than normal on 1st-position "D", compressing the springs, but merely puts the slide against the springs for standard usage of first position, such as B-flat in the 4th partial (which is typically in tune).
For this reason advanced trombonists often play D above middle C in 4th position, 5th partial (or have the aforementioned spring-loaded receiver).
For reference, a chart of the trombone's overtones/partials and their pitch tendencies is at http://www.olemiss.edu/lowbrass/studio/overtonecharts/tenorandbasstromboneovertone.pdf
*"accurately play a given pitch" --- within a given partial/overtone series.
