Klarinet Archive - Posting 000337.txt from 1997/03

From: Roger Shilcock
Subj: Re: Hard/Close (was Re: Breathing on the clarinet) (fwd)
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 03:49:09 -0500

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 11:45:55 -0500
From: Jonathan Cohler <cohler%SHORE.NET@-----.UK>
Subject: Re: Hard/Close (was Re: Breathing on the clarinet)

>> At the risk of sounding argumentative, I need to interject at this point
>> that I use (as do many of the clarinet players here in Philadelphia) a
>> Gigliotti P facing (around 1mm opening) with VanDoren V12 #4 or 4-1/2. I do
>> adjust the balance of most of the reeds I play on and am fairly selective
>> about which ones I actually use. I don't play with white noise at any
>> dynamic level, nor do any of the good players I know here. I never heard
>> white noise in Gigliotti's sound in all the years I studied with him. White
>> noise doesn't need to come from a hard/close setup. Some players who play
>> on those setups tolerate it because they just like the resistance they get
>> from a very stiff reed, but that can be gotten from an open facing as well
>> - just use stiffer reeds. White noise is more likely the result of
>> unbalanced reeds or reeds that are just too stiff for whatever mouthpiece
>> they're being used on. It isn't a necessary result of hard/close
>> combinations if you select/adjust your reeds to be responsive and don't
>> want the noise to be there.
>>
>> Just my $.02 worth of point-counterpoint.
>>
>> Karl
>
>I would like to second what Karl has written re "hard/close" set-ups.
>Some of the most admirable of American clarinetist have preferred just
>such a combination, i.e. Robert Marcellus(a Kaspar 13 or 14, which trans
>lates to a 1.13 or 1.14 tip opening)and Harold Wright(a Chedeville with
>a tip opening of c.1.01 with a #5 Vandoren). Both of these players
>produced a clear, pure tone with no noise, even up close. Another
>example is Dick Waller, ex-principal of the Cincinnati Symphony, who
>used a Kaspar 14. In any event, I don't think it's possible to
>characterise combinations like the above as producing particular
>problems. As Karl said, balanced reeds of the correct hardness for a
>particular opening can be played with a clear tone without noise.
>
>Floyd Williams
>Brisbane, Australia
>http://gu.edu.au/acsc

I agree with Karl's statement that one can (and will) get white noise from
a hard reed whether it is on an open or closed facing.

However, I don't believe that one can avoid the white noise of hard reeds
by balancing the reed. Balancing can of course reduce the white noise to a
minimum for a given piece of cane and optimize the response of the reed.
However, I believe that the white noise is inherent in the cane itself
(hence the more cane, the more noise).

What I have observed is that hard/close setups consistently produce white
noise at low dynamic levels. At the louder dynamic levels, the white noise
is less prominent as it gets largely masked by the normal clarinet sound.

Lighter reeds are more flexible and are therefore more controllable by
subtle changes in lip pressure and positioning. Open facings give one more
dynamic range, because the reed has further to move before it beings
beating on the mouthpiece.

The other important variable that enters here is the shape of the baffle in
the mouthpiece which has a dramatic effect on how "easy blowing" the setup
is.

Also, it is important to remember that white (pink or shaped) noise doesn't
travel far and is masked by other louder musical sounds. Therefore, most
of the time in orchestral environments, you would not hear the noise from
an orchestral player in performances or on record.

If you listen close up, however, as in a solo performance, for example, you
will hear it.

I have never heard a hard/close setup that did not produce white noise very
audible at close range. I would, of course, be interested to learn about
such a thing if it does exist.

---------------------
Jonathan Cohler
cohler@-----.net
I suppose it's a question of just how much "white noise" is tolerable (a)
for the audience, (b) for the player - fellow musicians can be assumed to
have things of their own to worry about. If you find difficulty in
applying small muscular corrections, as I do, you will find that a harder
reed (within reason) favours this problem - there is rather more leeway
than with a soft reed, which may need a considerable (and unnecessary?)
amount of mental effort to control. However, J.C.'s idea of a soft reed
as previously described by him seemed perfectly normal (average hard) to
me, and to some other readers, I think.
Roger Shilcock