Klarinet Archive - Posting 000324.txt from 2000/05

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Tone descriptions
Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 23:29:34 -0400

At 11:37 PM 5/5/2000 +0100, Roderick Ellem wrote:
>Rather than "dark" which seems to be universally
>hated, could we not use the descriptions "Full sound"
>and "thin sound" or perhaps even better "reedy" or
>"round". these are descriptions my teachers and indeed
>some composers/arrangers have used in the past. But it
>is well to remember that whatever the sound, (and let
>us face it every clarinet player has a sound that to a
>certain extent is different from every other clarinet
>player and there are factors such as reeds and
>mouthpieces that will effect that core sound) is going
>to please some people and not please others as some
>forms of music and indeed breakfast cerials will
>please some and not others :-)
>
The trouble is that, as you say, every clarinetist has his own core sound.
Assuming that sound is pleasing to him, that sound becomes "dark" or "full"
or "round" to him and other sounds are inferior. That same sound may very
well be what another player would refer to as "bright" or "reedy." I have
even heard of people referring to "dark" sound as that which contains a
large proportion of higher partials, although I think most people, myself
included, would describe it in exactly the opposite manner. Still, as long
as such differences of opinion exist, terms like "dark" and "bright" are
useless in serious discourse.

Do you think that helps any, Dan?

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://homepages.go.com/~zoot14/zoot14.html
Essexville, MI 48732 ICQ UIN 4862265

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

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