Klarinet Archive - Posting 001175.txt from 1999/04

From: Fred Jacobowitz <fredj@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] section deafness
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 22:07:05 -0400

Bill,
In the Annapolis Symphony we have that problem because the stage
is not big enough for the trumpets to be situated where they should be -
far away from anyone else. They are 4 feet from us. So the entire woodwind
section uses ear plugs of various materials. I personally use cotton. We
just got the management to purchase some clear plexiglass sound shields
for us and they help a little but I still have to use cotton because
the trumpets are just too close. There is probably nothing you can do
short of assassinating the trumpeters. If they have any class at all,
they'll apologize for having to cause you pain. Ours DO feel guilty about
being placed where they are. There's nothing they can do. In the military
bands they are issued hi-tech ear plugs. I bought a pair of them and
decided that cotton performs better for my purposes (they screen out TOO
much sound).
This really is a danger in the modern musical world because
trumpets are now louder and more focused and trumpeters are better trained
so they can produce generally bigger sounds.

Fred Jacobowitz
Clarinet/Sax Instructor, Peabody Preparatory

On Wed, 28 Apr 1999, William Fogle wrote:

> David N. wrote:
> "There are two sides to a trumpet player's personality. There is the
> one that lives only to lay waste to the woodwinds and strings, leaving
> them lying blue and lifeless alongside the swath of destruction that is
> the trumpet's fury. And then there's the dark side."
>
> I do wonder (as a person who has now been at exactly two orchestra rehearsals in his life) whether anyone has had the experience of not hearing his or her own clarinet and as a result "losing" the tone and even the ability to play. Group newbie speaks.
> Bill Fogle
> Washington, DC
>
>
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