Klarinet Archive - Posting 000118.txt from 1994/03

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: Why Shouldn't We be Better Players? (was: Mozart...
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 09:32:48 -0500

Bob, I am not in agreement with your assessment of Stubbins book. And
I do not believe that the contrast with a TRW computer manual of
some time past is at all the correct comparison.

You ask two good questions (which I paraphrase): one asks why we
use all these new instrument if they were not so techologically superior
and the other (with words very revealing of your feelings about
worth) that asks why we waste our time studying all these
musicological questions. "Waste our time" was your very phrase.

In my opinion, the main reason why we think that newer instruments are
technologically superior to old ones is because the manufacturers
condition us to think so. We are a manipulated marketplace and most
of what we read and believe about clarinets is media hype. The
constant announcements by Buffet, Selmer, LeBlanc, and Yamaha as
to what they have done to their bores, their barrels, their key
design, etc. and how these things will remarkably change the
way we play and sound, is marketing doo-doo.

Certainly these things do affect our playing and improvement is a
good thing, but the effect of these changes on our playing is
exaggerated for the purpose of selling us their products.
For whatever it is worth (and it may be nothing), that is my view
on why we buy newer instruments.

As for why we "waste time" on musicology, I can add nothing new
to what I have said in the past. I think it to be important, but
if others don't, so be it.

Finally, returning to Stubbins and the comparison between his book
and the TRW manual, I would like to offer a different comparison.

My degrees are in mathematics and that is how I made my living for
30 years before retiring, though not as a research mathematician.
Now, in order to keep occupied, I teach math at the local
community college and part of my work is textbook selection. I
just went through a dozen or so books on the subject of "Pre
Calculus Algebra" and was struck by the fact that one of them,
first published in 1951 was as contemporary in its content (not
style of presentation) as all the others, which were printed in
1992. And I have seen roughly equivalent books from the mid 1800s
that would be perfectly suitable from a content point of view in
any contemporary junior math class. As for style of presentation,
that is important to be sure, but content is still king.

My point is that some things don't change very fast and Stubbins
book is far from being obsolete. His discussion of embrochure
is very contemporary and that statement would be true if he
wrote 100 years ago. We just don't do much different in that
respect from what Bellison taught his students who taught students
who are now the leading teachers in America.

Like you, I had not read Stubbins in many years, so I took it
down from my shelf and read some portions of it after seeing
your posting. I think it is still very good and if I had
students, I wouldn't think twice about suggesting it as an
excellent perspective about the clarinet and clarinet playing.

Rosie Mazzeo lives nearby and we have been friends for years.
I think that he is either close to 90 now or maybe a little
over. He has not played serious clarinet in more than 20
years and, prior to that time he was more involved in being
personnel manager of the Boston Symphony than he was in
playing. One has to go back to the late 1930s before Rosario
was a solo clarinet player. BUT, his view of playing is
as contemporary as anyone in the world. He is like a
rich fountain of knowledge about how to play the clarinet.
And whenever I have to play some contemporary work about which
I know nothing, I coach with him. He knows it all.

Also nearby is Alec Williams who was 1st with the NBC many, many
years ago. Alec has not touched a clarinet in 20 years. Kell,
during his last days, could not even find his instruments.
Yet every one of them has as much value to give and to say
about the clarinet as any functioning contempary. And I still
enjoy the few things that Kell wrote about and find them
stunningly contemporary in their content.

In the case of Stubbins, his comments are valuable even though he
has to reach out from the grave to give us his message.

====================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
(leeson@-----.edu)
====================================