i just got into the high school band (long story) but i never had to tune by ear before..... anyone got any tips about how to learn to tune bye ear!!!!!!!!! please and thank you

Basically, listen to a lower voiced instrument (tubas are great for this if you can trust their pitch), and if you hear that you're clashing, try to adjust. If you adjust in the wrong direction, it'll get worse, so then adjust in the other direction. Once you sound like one instrument, you're probably in tune. Eventually you'll become more adept at figuring out which way to adjust (if you need to at all). Do some tuner work on your own to figure out where the pitches are on your instrument, and it should make things a lot easier.

if you roll your flute in our out, that will change your pitch, and if you hear the clashing get better you know if you are sharp or flat...

I have to tune by ear (we have a piano though). It's easy and hard. I am getting better at it.

I highly recommend a tuner...it also helps. ;D

No reason to roll in and out when the same effect can be obtained by manipulating the air. It's important to learn to adjust pitch using your air anyway, so figuring out which way to adjust can be good practice for actually playing in tune.

I've seen some flautist alter pitch by slanting and raising thier flute, but that seems like cheating to me.

Rolling your flute in to adjust the pitch is a temporary fix, because it will have a bad effect on your tone.
My flute teacher was quite strict about rolling in, and would threaten to balance a penny on the end of my flute to startle me when I rolled in or out to adjust the pitch.

please young people, don't ever suggest that anyone roll their flute in and out, arghhhhhh...

the pitch is controlled by the angle of the air...

If I do roll in/roll out while tuning, I do fix my headjoint after I do.

please young people, don't ever suggest that anyone roll their flute in and out, arghhhhhh...

A lot of younger kids most likely say this because they have been misguided yet once again by another band director.

TOUCHE!

KOZA: moving the headjoint in and out is regulating the pitch, in other words, agreeing on a starting point with the other musicians, playing in tune is playing all pitches in tune relative to the A or Bb you started with.

"KOZA: moving the headjoint in and out is regulating the pitch, in other words, agreeing on a starting point with the other musicians, playing in tune is playing all pitches in tune relative to the A or Bb you started with."

True, true. Naughty me. I do fix it on my headjoint instead of remaining in that position, then continue tuning.