Klarinet Archive - Posting 000456.txt from 1996/03

From: "Daniel A. Paprocki" <dap@-----.US>
Subj: Re: German music, German clarinets; French, French clarinets
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 1996 16:16:59 -0500

Roger,
I think you're right. It probably doesn't matter what type of
clarinet (German, French, etc) or key we play. What does matter is the
mental picture of what we want to sound like. Granted it might be easier
to sound German on a German clarinet or have the lightness of tone on a
French, but it's really what's upstairs that counts. If I'm playing
Brahms, I'm going to have a tonal picture that I'm going to go for that
will be different than if I'm doing the Milhaud Suite.
This brings up a good point. When I was teaching at Ohio State I
found that most of my students didn't have this picture. All my studets
were music ed majors, not to belittle that major. I had to insist that
they buy CDs of the pieces that they were working on. Most didn't have
more than 1 or 2 clarinet recordings. How can you have a picture of what
you want to sound like when you don't know what sounds are out there? I
feel that professors should insist on students buying 1 CD each semester.
By the time someone graduates they would have 8 to 10 clarinet CD's, know
more of the literature, and know what other professional clarinetists sound
like.

Dan

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Daniel A. Paprocki
dap@-----.us

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