Klarinet Archive - Posting 001263.txt from 2000/12

From: Bilwright@-----.net (William Wright)
Subj: [kl] Reed above vs. below
Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 21:25:00 -0500

With thanks to Michael O'Neile who, after significant labor, was
able to send me a copy of the "reed above" article that my software can
read....

I am struck by the apparent fact that the 'reed above' setup can
achieve certain combinations of tone color and dynamics that cannot be
reproduced precisely on the 'reed below' configuration that we all use
today.
Whenever someone asks "which mouthpiece or embouchure is best?",
the standard answer is "whatever works best for you and pleases you the
most." It's quite an eye opener to learn that opinions about "what
sounds best" have changed over the centuries.... which is different than
the more common observation that equipment has improved and we can do
more with it now than our ancestors could with their equipment in the
past. In fact, the Pearson article suggests that there are a few
things that we _can't_ do with our modern equipment that they could do a
century or two ago, and that to some ears, these things may have been
the most pleasing to our ancestors but lost popularity simply
because.... simply because they did.... just as clothing styles come and
go.
This is a really interesting thought to keep in the back of one's
mind when somebody instructs that a certain technique produces the
'best' tone or intonation or whatever. Modern equipment may easier for
the average person to play in an 'acceptable' fashion; but then,
'acceptable' can change over the centuries just as 'best' can.....
This is one of the benefits of knowing history and of being 'just
curious', of course.

Cheers,
Bill

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