Klarinet Archive - Posting 000058.txt from 1994/02

From: "Jay Heiser (Product Manager, Govt Systems" <jayh@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Dan Leeson's question seeking reactions to use of vibrato
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 1994 15:47:57 -0500

-->> 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!
I love a good fight!
-->
-->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.
-->
Nice try, but it doesn't convince me either. Seems a bit vain to
attempt to prove that something human cannot be improved upon.

Vibrato has always been one of strange little style things is much
more prevalent than anyone admits. Its a lot like dyed-hair. You
do it, and its an aesthetic improvement, but you really don't want
to brag about it. That always seemed odd to me because the other
woodwinds do it and make no bones about it. Isn't vibrato yet another
string technique that wind players need to understand & attempt to
emulate?

Its my contention that vibrato raises an undesirable connection with
pop music,and especially Lombardo-ish sappy bigband music. Some
atrocious things can happen with clarinet vibrato, especially with
sax players who don't take time to learn to play it properly.
This has mad it unstylish to admit to the use of vibrato (or even
worse, to never learn how to use it).

I was surprised to learn about the variety of difft vibrato sources.
Finger? Wow. I have a 1924 saxophone method (Eby's) that shows
how to create vibrato by physically wiggling the entire horn! We all
owe a debt to the genius that first developed a practical lip vibrato.

I really hadn't realized that some players were using wind vibrato
on the clarinet? Is this like a flute diaphragm-generated vibrato?
Isn't lip vibrato easier to control?
======================================
Garden Status:
Started pruning the grape vines.