Klarinet Archive - Posting 000335.txt from 2001/05

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Materials (was[kl] buffet clarinets)
Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 18:16:25 -0400

At 12:06 PM 5/11/2001 +0100, Tony Pay wrote:
(I wrote)
> > But can you "feel" the difference between really GOOD wood and so-so
> > wood? Or between wood and Greenline material? Or are such feelings,
> > as I suspect, mostly psychological? If your fingers can actually feel
> > the difference when playing, such hypersensitivity must cause you
> > AGONY when performing even the most mundane household tasks.
>
>I suspect he means an extended sense of the word 'feel' -- as in, how we
>perceive the instrument to respond.

Still, does a plastic Howarth respond so much differently from a wood
one? I'd rather play on a plastic clarinet in good regulation than a leaky
wood one any day. It would "feel" much better!

>Slightly more frivolously: I wonder what would happen if you did an
>experiment designed to determine whether listeners could tell whether a
>performer had a good reed or not?
>
>And if it turned out that an audience *couldn't* tell the difference
>between good and less good reeds, would it mean that the difference
>between good and bad reeds was 'only' subjective or psychological?

The audience is unlikely to be able to tell, unless given the opportunity
to make direct A/B comparisons. One of our jobs as performers is to only
let them hear the good ones anyway. It will make a BIG difference to the
player, however, and his/her STRUGGLES with a poorly performing reed may be
apparent to the audience, since different reeds certainly DO feel (respond)
different(ly). A reed you do not trust may even cause you to attack
tentatively. This could be a purely psychological response, if the reed is
actually fine but you are just not certain about it. More often, of
course, the reed is truly unsatisfactory for some more objective reason.

Bill Hausmann bhausmann1@-----.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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