Klarinet Archive - Posting 001363.txt from 1999/03

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] mistakes
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 23:50:15 -0500

On Sat, 27 Mar 1999 15:53:11 +1200, dodgshun@-----.nz said:

> Self-expression is something which is not always easy to grasp, but I
> think I'm getting hold of it now. The way I look at it is that the
> audience should be getting some sort of message through the music.
> I'm playing Weber 1 right now, and I'm discovering that it's a piece
> which is full of angst. Sometimes expressing that becomes quite
> difficult - there's tremendous depth to it. But I do see Tony Pay's
> point - dynamics don't mean much unless there's an understanding of
> what's behind it.

Just two things about that.

First, in my view, some of the mystery about expressivity evaporates if
you take the 'self' out of it. (Or, alternatively, you can have an
expanded view of what you mean by the word, 'self'.)

What you're expressing is what the music expresses, for you. Sometimes
you may need to try a few ways of playing it before you're relatively
satisfied. You might have several possibilities available.

You get to make the judgement, but the focus is on the music.

(When I see 'espressivo', I always ask myself, "expressive of what?")

The other thing is, of course dynamics, character and atmosphere all come
into that. But my point is, I'm better off not having dynamics written
in, because sometimes the performance at that moment (notice, 'it', not
'I') requires something other than whatever was written in.

If I'm present at that moment not just to what the composer wrote, but
to something added by somebody else, this possibility can be obscured.

I even avoid writing stuff into my own parts, as a general principle.
(Of course, I sometimes do write things in.)

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE GMN family artist: www.gmn.com
tel/fax 01865 553339

.... (A)bort, (R)etry, or (I)nfluence with hammer.

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