Klarinet Archive - Posting 000559.txt from 1996/03

From: Brad Behn <BradBehn@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: What type of sound carries?
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 1996 19:11:20 -0500

What type of sound carries? A good sound! A sound that is interesting.
A sound that draws the listener inward. A sound that intreagues the
listener and flirts with the listener. A sound that has spice, a well placed
tonal edge, a focus carries in the concert hall. A sound like Steve Girko's
projects beautifully!

The type of sound that does not project should be another topic of
discussion. It is in my opinion that "Dark" sounds don't project in the
concert hall very well.

I think all you folks that are so keen on having a dark sound, are simply
afraid of a little tonal edge. I would like to say one thing...Lighten up!

I just read some rather harsh criticism regarding Steve Girko's sound. Well,
I feel that that critic missed the boat. Steve should be commended for
holding out against the current fashion of "Dark, Fat, Diffused and...boring"
sounds. In my opinion, one thing is certain when thinking of Steve and his
sound. He plays with a very unique and very interesting quality. Yes, it
may be a "bright" sound. And I say bravo! It's about time we clarinet
players start playing the clarinet to sound like the clarinet...rather than
the French horn.

By the way, Has the critic of Steve and his sound ever played steve's set up?
How does the critic know if the reeds Steve playes are very soft? The last
time I saw Steve, He was playing Vandoren five strength reeds....Pretty damn
hard in my book. And He was using an "oldish" Selmer S mouthpiece that
Everett Matson refaced. It measured rather open (as far as I am concerned)
at about 1.08 at the tip. Indeed the rest of the curve was fairly open as
well to compensate for the potential of too much resistance. But never the
less, I would say that at that time, for me, Steves "set up" was quite
resistant to air pressure and required quite a bit of embouchure pressure as
well.

Anyway, I would like to say that I do apreciate Neil Leupold's comments...I
don't mean to slamm him for his comments and observations (frankly, I think
most of us are way to timid with our comments) But I would like to say that I
disagree with him completely.

I would like to end with a thought. Is it only the sound we hear or the way
in which the sound is used that helps create projection. I am a great
admiror of the way Harold Wright played the clarinet. When I think of Harold
Wright's sound, I have difficulty seperating the sound from the way Harold
Wright phrases and nuances the music. That is what makes him unique...not
just the sound alone, but the way he used his sound.