Klarinet Archive - Posting 001111.txt from 1999/04

From: EbKlarinet@-----.com
Subj: [kl] playing with ears
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 14:54:16 -0400

Ed M. said:

>> I recently tried a Concerto right out of the showcase. I checked it with
>> an electronic tuner. The needle simply didn't budge. At first I thought
>> the tuner wasn't working! However, if I tried to make a note sharp or flat
>> the needle would move. There was a little of the usual flatness on low F
>> and E, but they were the only out of tune notes all the way up to high G.
>> It was like playing a freshly tuned piano. Playing such a clarinet would be
>> a very liberating experience. One could concentrate on all the other
>> aspects of making music without even subconcious effort at intonation.
>

Tom R says:
> Maybe if I were a better player I would have a more "out of tune"
> experience. Mediocrity, not biting and double lip playing do have
> their advantages ;-)

and Tony P responds with:

No. Good players play the clarinet with their *ears* -- not with their
lips, single or double

as well as:

<< It's still true, though, that good players play the clarinet with their
ears. And it's part of the deeper truth that good musicians are only
good musicians because they play with their ears.
>>
......................

Science says that ears send a message to the brain, which then tells the
lips, tongue and entire oral cavity, not to mention the breath, to respond to
make the appropriate adjustments to the pitch. So playing with the ears
obviously DOES involve the lips.

We all know that if you're a good musician and you have a tuner in front of
you, you will automatically make adjustments to get that needle centered.
Obviously Ed M. has fewer adjustments to make on an acoustically superior
instrument, since he was able to center the needle over such a range.

Elise C.

ps On my Concerto, I do have a few *slightly* out-of-tune notes, which are
easily adjusted, and the usual *more* out-of-tune notes, like alt. F and F#,
which I know how to fix. However, I have *far* fewer out-of-tune notes than
I had on either of my other 2 professional-level clarinets of 2 other brands.

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