Klarinet Archive - Posting 000054.txt from 1994/02

From: Karen Noel-Bentley <karennb@-----.CA>
Subj: Re: Dan Leeson's question seeking reactions to use of vibrato
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 1994 23:29:30 -0500

On Sat, 5 Feb 1994 Stan Geidel wrote:

> To those of you who oppose the use of vibrato--let's hear from you!
> Give me a *REASON* other than personal preference as to why you are
> opposed!

In _The_Clarinet_and_Clarinet_Playing_, David Pino provides a scientific
reason for why clarinets (and, as he mentions, horns) do not need vibrato.
On page 112, he says:

The clarinet has a unique harmonic series. The general absence of
even-numbered partials in the clarinet's harmonic series means that
clarinet tone is much more sparsely populated with overtones than are
the harmonic series of other instruments. Vibrato necessarily alters
that sparse tonal spectrum in too great a way for the player to
maintain his full, beautiful tone.

Because the clarinet has such a wide range of tone colors, which can be
controlled quite easily, we can rely on the beauty and variety of the
instrument's inherent sound without the addition of vibrato.

Having said this, I must also add that I enjoy some vibrato when it is
subtle. I am thinking specifically of David Shifrin's playing (ex. his
recording of the Copland Concerto). But I personally do not use it unless
it is specifically asked for in the score (i.e. in contemporary music).

Karen