Klarinet Archive - Posting 000720.txt from 1999/05

From: "Dee D. Hays" <deehays@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: Clarinet blow out
Date: Sun, 16 May 1999 02:05:53 -0400

-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Hill <Christopherhill@-----.net>
Date: Saturday, May 15, 1999 3:00 PM
Subject: [kl] Re: Clarinet blow out

>Older instruments are a great way for students
>to get ahold of better clarinets. However, if players with extremely
>high standards notice that their instruments lose something with use,
>that is an important observation. Perhaps I am a bit unscientific, but
>I'd rather have an instrument play and sound a certain way, than have
>it measure a certain way. If the sound is not what the player is looking
>for, why does it matter to anyone what can and can not be measured
>scientifically? Music making is an art, not a science. If science had
>answers for everything acoustic, then all violins would play
>like Strads, and all concert halls would sound like Carnegie.
>Chris
>P.S. I'll make it easier for you: Ready, aim....

Anecdotal and subjective indications are important in that they can be
good reasons to start a controlled investigation.

Even though how the instrument plays is the most important criteria, there
are many good reasons to work on obtaining objective repeatable data.
So here goes.

1. If the clarinet is playing poorly, objective data lets you determine
whether the
cause is the clarinet or mouthpiece or player. No point in buying a new
instrument
if the mouthpiece or player has deteriorated.

2. Since the phenomenon has not been OBJECTIVELY proven or disproven,
it may be a disservice to other players to state categorically that this
happens
or doesn't happen. The mind is a very strange thing. If they believe an
instrument
will be blown out in say 5 years, the subconscious could actually make the
person
play badly toward the end of that time and thus "prove" that blowout exists.
On the
other hand those players who don't believe in it will continue to go merrily
along, perhaps playing as well or better than ever simply because the
subconscious will
make whatever adjustments are necessary to get a good sound. Thus they
"prove"
that blowout doesn't exist. i.e. Anecdotal or subjective information is
easily
countered by other anecdotal or subjective information.

3. Acoustic science (including that of clarinets) has made some significant
strides
in the last 100 years. Someone who plays a 50 year old horn and then tries
a new
one may then think it is blown out when it simply doesn't have the benefit
of the
acoustical advances of today.

4. Objective investigations can lead to better instruments. By determining
if blowout
exists and the actual causes, designers have the necessary data to work on
the
next generation of clarinets.

Dee Hays
Canton, SD

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