WWW.ASTASTRINGS.ORG | 47 American String Teacher Vol. 72, No. 4, November 2022, pp. 47–52 DOI: 10.1177/00031313221121765 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions Copyright © 2022, American String Teachers Association FEATURE When one listens, they are “giving thoughtfulness to sound” (Merriam-Webster 2022). In today’s busy world, we are surrounded by sounds. The constant bombardment of sound desensitizes your listening rendering it a mindless activity that makes active listening voluntary. To train ourselves and students to think about intonation, we must develop active listening practices (Anderson 2016; McNaughton et al. 2008; Oliveros 2005; Rogers and Farson 1987; Shapiro and Walsh 2003). This article provides student-centered best practices for fundamental intonation development as well as assessment strategies for all levels of orchestra students. What Is Active Listening? Helping students develop their capacity to perceive hearing as the “physical means that enable perception” and merit “intelligence” facilitates their increased attention and awareness of intonation (Oliveros 2005). The first step in helping students build awareness and understanding of how to actively listen is to focus their pitches through physical adjustment or recentering. What Is Student-Centered Pedagogy? Student participation and “learning by doing” does not meet the fundamental ideology of student-centered pedagogy (Scott 2006, 17). Student-centered pedagogy, on a deeper level, is a constructivist approach to students actively learning while continuously building and shaping musical capacity through reflection and self-assessment. As music educators we should frequently reflect on students’ learning to ascertain knowledge and skills best acquired through student-initiated questioning and problem-solving as opposed to those best acquired through teacher-directed instruction (Scott 2006). Student-Centered Approaches The following strategies focus on individual, student-centered approaches to helping students to actively listen by physical and mental focus as well as develop foundational skills of instrument setup and maintenance, body setup and alignment, and fingerboard geography. Instrument Setup and Maintenance The process of adjusting pitches, with fine tuners or pegs, can be physically difficult for students. Beginning and intermediate violinists, violists, and cellists benefit from fine tuners on all four strings. Lubricating the threads of difficult-to-turn fine tuners with WD-40 or liquid soap on a cotton swab helps students turn them more easily. If fine tuners are not preferred, investigate several companies that integrate the fine tuner gears integrated into the pegs to prevent slipping. Body Setup and Alignment Culprits of body alignment that impact intonation include flat wrists or fingers and improper thumb or elbow alignment in the left hand. Resolving setup and body alignment issues is a prerequisite to listening to and adjusting pitches. Malcolm Gladwell said practicing a skill “10,000 hours is the magic number of greatness” (Gladwell 2008). To obtain that greatness, students’ awareness of correct and relaxed left-hand alignment is necessary. Wrist angle, weight, and position alignment affect intonation. Teachers modeling proper alignment and relaxed posture will help students build self- awareness of their posture. Students could then self- or peer assess by filling out a checklist or rubric while watching their posture via mirrors, selfies, or video reflection. We all have different finger lengths and hand sizes. Developing students’ finger pattern awareness for whole and half steps are essential for upper string players’ intonation success. To build kinesthetic awareness, students should learn the physical distance of a whole or half step using imagery; for example, the violin spacing for the whole step distance is a mini-size candy bar. Students could create a list or draw pictures to encourage each other to visualize physical finger spacing. In addition, before beginning a piece, teachers can question students about their knowledge of key signatures by asking about finger patterns and positions across all strings to help students make connections as they learn to play in multiple keys and modalities. How does the right hand contribute to intonation? The bow is the magic and artistry of producing sound on the instrument, and it does, indeed, impact intonation. From the beginning, students need to focus on contact point (where), weight (how much), and speed (distribution of) to avoid cracking pitches and produce, instead, ringing tones for pitch centering. Having students explore pitch changes when using too much weight or playing too close to the bridge while also modeling proper bow technique encourages reflection on the resulting intonation. 1121765STA American String Teacherwww.astaweb.com DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? FOUNDATIONS OF INTONATION FOR ORCHESTRA STUDENTS By Elizabeth A. Reed