Klarinet Archive - Posting 000913.txt from 2000/05

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] Simple exercise -- Take #2
Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 16:06:24 -0400

On Fri, 19 May 2000 12:45:59 -0700 (PDT), Bilwright@-----.net said:

> I know someone is going to answer my previous question with: "Bill, I
> don't know what 'dark' is, so I cannot answer..."

Well, I didn't answer it that way.

> So here's my question revised:
>
> Suppose you were playing a piece whose composer described it as:
> "...sketch of pigeons singing early in the morning. In my perception,
> their singing is dark."
>
> [This is a real life example, by the way, taken from a recital that I
> attended last night.]
>
> Regardless of whether you have a personal definition for 'dark tone'
> or not, what would you do with your embouchure or breath support or
> throat or tongue or anything else in order to match your playing to
> the composer's description?

I think I'd either ask him what he meant, or if that wasn't possible,
play it quite quietly or restrainedly.

I preferred your first question, which has a more interesting answer.

The truth is, some people talk a load of rubbish. Other people say
things that on examination, make more sense. The question always, when
somebody says something -- a composer, say -- is, "Is this a useful
thing to take seriously? Does it make sense?" And if it is, or does,
we use it.

For me, 'bright' and 'dark' have very clear meanings. They're not
particularly associated with sorts of sound, but with sorts of
modulation of sound, or the sorts of ways sounds follow each other.
They have all the associations that night and day have, even though
things can happen in some nights that are much 'brighter' than
'darker' things that happen in some days.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE www.gmn.com/artists/welcome.asp
tel/fax 01865 553339

... Our necessities are few but our wants are endless...

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org