Tuners and Metronomes

A tuner and a metronome are both essential tools for any musician. Both of these tools are incredibly helpful in developing key skills and for effective practice.

Oboists need a good tuner for when they’re asked to tune the band or orchestra. A good tuner should have the ability to sound at least one octave of pitches so the musician can listen to one pitch and tune a different pitch by ear. This is important for developing a good sense of relative pitch. It is very helpful to have a metronome that will subdivide beats and will indicate meter. It’s also convenient to have one that uses AA or AAA batteries instead of watch batteries.

All of the tuners, metronomes, and combo units I mention below have the key features mentioned above. While you may be able to find slightly cheaper prices at some online stores, I’d like to encourage you to support local music stores that carry such items. It’s nice to help our local merchants stay in business, providing us the ability to get music and some tools locally.

If you don’t already own one of these tools, it’s smart to get a combination tuner/metronome of good quality. I recommend either of the following:

• Korg TM40 (available for $35.95 at Flute World on Orchard Lake Rd. in Farmington Hills)
• Trevor James Tuner/Metronome (available for $39.95 at Flute World)

If you just need a tuner, I recommend the Korg CA-30 ($24.95 at Flute World).

If you just need a metronome only, I recommend the Korg MA-30 ($29.95 at Flute World).