DESCRIPTION:
Inspired by Noa Kageyama of the Bulletproof Musician, here is a breakdown of what my teacher Dan Mason used to call the "Total Recall" technique for fixing intonation problems.

The more you practice a passage, the more resistant your brain is to accept changes. That's especially true for intonation, where old habits die hard! So instead of trying incremental fixes that likely won't stick, try Total Recall instead.

In the Schwarzenegger movie from 1991, a man has memories implanted in his brain. To him, these memories are as real as anything he actually experienced. You're going to do something similar involving pitch, with the help of your own voice and a keyboard!

Don't worry: I'm neither a pianist nor a singer, but this technique has worked wonders for me any time I'm stuck with pitch problems. Once you see how it's done (it's very simple to grasp), you really need to try it for yourself. Most people experience instant results, although of course the best results come through refinement over time.

In this video, I use the Total Recall technique on the last movement of Beethoven's violin concerto.