It would make more sense the other way around–it’s cold, the instrument contracts, smaller instrument = higher pitch. But years of band and orchestra and it’s always been “Warm your instruments up! It’s freezing on this stage and I don’t want you all to be flat!”
In: Other
[deleted]
Cold air contracts much, much more than cold metal. That means you have more air in the instrument and it takes more energy to vibrate it.
Also, it is not just the instrument that needs to be warmed up. If your lips are weak and your embouchure is poor, you are going to play flat.
The metal contracts, but the instrument wouldn’t get smaller. The pipes would get thinner, making them wider and the tone flat.
Latest Answers