**** Is the difference in meaning between TONE and INTONATION in music the same as it is in speech? ****
Interesting question. Not quite the same, but related.
The meaning of “tone” can be said to be the same in both speech and in music. One could say, for example, “Miles’ voice had a raspy tone”; or, “Johnny Hodges had a sweet tone on alto”; just as one could say the same about the character of the sound of a person’s voice. In both cases it refers to the timbral quality of the person’s voice or player’s tone.
“Intonation” has to do with pitch (higher/lower). In speech, the meaning of intonation refers to the rise and fall of the pitch of a person’s voice; used for expressivity and is a big part what we call a person’s ethnic “accent”. In music, “intonation” has to do with the rise and fall of the pitch of the notes in a musician’s playing or singing. HOWEVER, in music this deals with the accuracy of the player’s pitch relative to an agreed upon standard/reference. In an orchestra, before the beginning of a concert, the oboe gives the tuning note; an “A”, most commonly (but not always) A=440 hz. The entire orchestra will use that pitch as a reference; not a little bit higher or lower. In a Jazz setting, the piano’s tuning is the standard. The piano is usually tuned to A=440, give or take a couple of hertz. It is the only instrument in the band that has no flexibility to adjust the tuning on the spot, so it becomes the reference. The bass player and horn players will tune to that reference. The saxophone player’s “A” should be exactly the same as the piano’s. If the piano is tuned a little high, a saxophone player has to push his mouthpiece further unto the neck of the horn, thus shortening the length of the instrument slightly and causing the pitch to be higher. If the piano has been tuned a little low, the saxophone player has to pull the mouthpiece out a little on the neck, thus essentially making the length of the instrument’s tubing a little longer which causes the pitch to go lower. The goal is always for everyone to be “on the same page” pitch (intonation) wise.
Johnny Hodges not only had a sweet tone, but his sense of intonation was great. Jackie Maclean, on the other hand, always played sharp; his pitch center was higher than that laid down by the other instruments. He just heard things that way. Some players have a tendency to play a little under, or a little over the communal pitch center. They simply hear things that way. Most times its subtle and sometimes even manipulated for effect. Other times, when it’s too far in one direction or the other it can be perceived as a “tone” issue when, in reality, it is an “intonation” (pitch) issue. If he were playing by himself with no piano or bass establishing a pitch center, it wouldn’t be noticed (unless the listener has “perfect pitch”).
