Klarinet Archive - Posting 000296.txt from 1999/05

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] re: Different pitched Clarinets timbral qualities
Date: Sun, 9 May 1999 17:43:45 -0400

At 06:20 AM 5/9/99 EDT, CEField wrote:
>
>In a message dated 5/8/99 11:44:52 PM, bhausman@-----.com writes:
>
><<Or would a
>given passage, played in isolation and as written on one or the other
>instrument to someone WITHOUT perfect pitch be identifiable by timbre
alone?>>
>
>I don't have perfect pitch but I think the difference in timbre of the four
>soprano clarinets with which I'm familiar (Eb, C, Bb, and A) is quite
>distinct. I don't know if I could pass a blind test on this issue, but I do
>get a "sense" about which instrument is being played on recordings. Each of
>these clarinets seems to have its own personality.
>
Only if you could pass the blind test would it show a real difference.
Some of the rest of it may be that you already know which instrument the
music is scored for. I'll give you some latitude on the Eb -- it is far
enough off the pitch of the others that it might be distinctive. But is it
not also possible that, when playing Eb or C, the traditional concept that
these instruments sound "bright" might bias the player toward a setup that
emphasizes that quality. I believe it was Roger Garrett who mentioned that
Yeh's playing of all of them was very similar in sound, which proves it is
possible to minimize any difference that may exist.

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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