Klarinet Archive - Posting 000418.txt from 1994/10

From: "Robert J. Resnik" <rjresnik@-----.EDU>
Subj: On a "national style" of playing..
Date: Sat, 29 Oct 1994 16:43:15 -0400

Listening to this ongoing conversation reminds me of a very
different but
not-so-remote circumstance regarding another type of musical instrument.
When Jimi Hendrix rose to prominence as one of the world's great electric
guitarists in the late 1960s, everyone started going to great lengths to
replicate his "sound" . Fender Stratocasters were flying off the shelves
of music stores, and some people actually went as far as playing the
instruments upside down, which was how southpaw Hendrix handled his
right-handed Strats. Everyone was buying all of these electronic effects
boxes which had been doctored to approximate the home-wiring jobs which
Hendrix had used to customize the sound of his electric guitars. With a
lot of messing around (and a lot of practice!) some people did (and still
do) manage to make their instruments and playing style sound just like Jimi
Hendrix.
Let's get back to clarinets. Let's suppose that I have decided
that Charles Neidich's tone and style is exactly where I would like to be
as a clarinetist. It is impossible to replicate Neidich's equipment,
especially because his most important piece of equipment is his embochure.
However, I can adjust the variables either actively or unconsciously so
that my sound and approach begins to approximate my "ideal".
What I am getting at with this long-winded tome is this: Is a
"national style" just an emulation of highly-regarded approaches in a
certain region? Has the fact that recordings by diverse clarinetists
are now readily available the world over meant the downfall of "national
styles?"
It is interesting to note that some of the most technically adept
"bluegrass" musicians in the world now come from Japan and Germany....

-Robert Resnik