To improve your intonation, get to know each interval intimately. Each interval has a unique color or feeling when it is in tune. Internalize that interval feeling with slow practice and deep listening. Learning to bend the pitch is essential to playing in tune and finding the "in tune" feeling of each interval. I guide you through it here, and will start guiding yall through it at least once a month, but a couple of solo practice sessions when you're not rushed for time and can get into a meditative state will really serve you well. You want to be able to "paint with tone color" by using each of these intervals with intention! 1) Practice them on their own, with a drone tone 2) Practice with a drone tone and alternating between the 1 and each interval 3) Practice with a drone tone, alternating between the 1 and each interval, and alternating between the target interval and its immediate neighbors 4) Improvise freely back and forth between the 1, the target interval, and its neighbors! "Sounds have no moral value." No notes are bad notes, but some of them create a feeling of tension and some of them create a feeling of resolution. Learn carefully to feel the difference, and you can become masterful with painting with tone color. Ignore these instructions and ignore your ears and you are likely to sound out of tune when you play with others. Happy practicing!

If you feel afraid when you hear the word improvisation then you have a problem. If you feel so nervous when you hear it that you think about something else so you can avoid feeling it, this is a sign. Some critic is taking up residence in your mind and who the hell is she or he for talking to you so badly?! Who is talking to you like that?! It is never the voice of Joy. Sometimes it’s our old band director. Our old section leader. A teacher from a masterclass. Or our sister, aunt, or mom. Sometimes it’s our inner critic. She can be a real bitch! Right?! I’ve had to learn to thank her and say, “Thanks Becky, but Not Now.” Why thank her?!?!?!? Because she serves a purpose: to embarrass me before anyone else can, so we don’t embarrass ourselves. Usually, it works. But God knows embarrassing ourselves can’t always be avoided! I used to feel like embarrassment was a negative feeling, to be avoided feeling or talking about at all costs. Now I know that embarrassment is a normal human emotion, and while it doesn’t feel good, it won’t hurt me. I don’t need to be afraid of feeling it. It’s okay and normal to feel embarrassed, and it’s okay to tell your friends you feel embarrassed… so long as they’re supportive friends! (like we are in Flutarians!) The fact is that if you want to be an improviser, you have to embrace embarrassment. It won’t be long before you feel it only rarely. But in the beginning, like a baby learning to walk, you may feel it frequently! You gotta crawl before you walk, right? But… if the Jam is fun, you’ll soon forget! Come crawl some sweet melodies with me tonight at Wed Improv Games or check the Flutarian Skool calendar for the next events. I'm doing an Intervals workshop tomorrow! PS - Most people quit somewhere between improv attempt 3 and 12—not because they lack ability, but because they mistake early discomfort for lack of potential. Come blaze through your first 100 mistakes with us and build your improv confidence! Will tomorrow work? 😝