Klarinet Archive - Posting 001161.txt from 1998/07

From: "Kevin Fay (LCA)" <kevinfay@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] re: Loud Brass
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 01:24:57 -0400

This is a real problem.

Asking an orchestral trumpet player to tone it down is of no use--it's like
asking a golden retriever not to run after a ball when you throw it. These
guys (almost always guys, anyway) have been in training for years to "crack
the bell" when they get to the last page of the symphony--what you are
complaining about is EXACTLY the sound that they are trying to get. They
have less than no sympathy for you--your pain is part of their endorphin
rush.

What makes the problem worse--at least for me--is that I am in perfect
agreement with them (when I am in the audience). The trumpet call in Mahler
5 *should* send a shiver up your spine, even if you're only a college
student and can only afford balcony tickets. (Heck--hearing Bud Herseth do
this is why 3 of my college buds drove 2,000 miles to Chicago in midwinter!
It was a great trip . . . but a different story). Part of what makes
orchestral music exciting is the extreme dynamic contrast that great
orchestras can get--the difference between Stanley Drucker's ppp and Phil
Smith's fff is an enormous palette of color.

And as loud as these folks get, it is nothing compared to a big band
(playing Kenton charts, for example). If I recall, the Peanut Vendor
requires the entire section to lip trill a double f . . . I sincerely doubt
that this can be done mezzo forte.

So what to do? For the big band, earplugs are a necessity--I won't rehearse
w/o them, much less play a gig with the amps turned on. For musicals in the
pit, I usually try to make do with 1 plug in the most offended ear. In the
orchestra, I don't like plugs--hearing the flute and oboe is (often) imp't,
and I find that plugs make that too hard--so I beg for "blare shields" and,
if we can, putting the trumpets down on the end where they can bother the
violas.

-----Original Message-----
From: Mitch Bassman [mailto:mbassman@-----.com]
Subject: Re: [kl] re: Loud Brass

The is the first of a few responses that I hope to make time to send today.
I'm trying to wade through several hundred e-mail messages on half a dozen
mailing lists. After spending a week at ClarinetFest, then a week trying to
get caught up with emergencies at my "day job," then last week on vacation,
I find myself far behind in my communications. (To those whom I owe
personal replies, I'll get to you within a couple of days.)

Regarding the current thread on loud sounds and ear protection,
At 03:37 AM 7/27/98 +1000, Floyd Williams wrote:
>It is incumbent on conductors to be sympathetic to complaints from the
>wind players re high levels of loudness from the brass and percussion
>sections.

After sitting directly in front of the trumpet section during my last
orchestra concert, I have to agree. For some reason, our conductor likes to
place the trumpets directly behind the clarinets and bassoons with the
horns to their left (rather than the other way around). I think I'll try
harder to get that arrangement changed.

On the other hand, I have to admit that it isn't always the brass and
percussion who cause the ear pain. I spent most of the month of May in an
enclosed orchestra pit (concrete floor and walls) playing the Reed I book
(piccolo, flute, B-flat clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax) for _Crazy for
You_. Because of the extreme piccolo parts, I was unfortunately the object
of (admittedly playful) abuse by everyone else in the pit, especially the
trumpet players on the far side of the enclosed pit. The arrangement calls
for a lot of forte and fortissimo playing in the picc's third octave. (One
number ends on a fortissimo high B-flat held for about four measures.
That's only a whole step below the top of the piano keyboard.) In response
to the friendly abuse, I could only respond, "I didn't write the part; I
just play what's written." Actually, no one ever complained about the
quality of my playing -- only about *what* I was playing. In fact, the
conductor sometimes asked for more! We all wore hearing protection in that
pit, especially the poor violinists sitting directly in front of me.

Hearing protection is a regular topic on the Flute mailing list. Those
interested in more details might check out the article at
<http://users.uniserve.com/~lwk/flutesor.htm>.

Mitch Bassman
Burke, Virginia, USA

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