Klarinet Archive - Posting 000152.txt from 2001/12

From: "Tim Roberts" <timr@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Material...was: Clarinet Bores - not me - the internal dimension kind.
Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 17:56:41 -0500

On Fri, 07 Dec 2001 14:44:40 -0600, "barnes mike" <pappychillmo@-----.com>
wrote:
>
>With all due respect, some of you folks sure are awful stuffy nitpickers. I
>believe Walter used his ears to decide there was a difference and I'll bet
>he don't care about science in this circumstance.

The problem here is that the human senses are not precision, unbiased
scientific instruments. Our brains will often perceive things that aren't
really there just because we want them to be there, or because we think they
ought to be there. The act of playing adds yet another variable. Most
people probably think they sound different when playing a concert in a tuxedo
than when playing in sweats and a tank top.

This is more than an academic discussion. If some material can be shown to
be provably better than other materials, then all of our instruments ought to
be made out of that material.

>The difference between (some) materials may be so subtle our ears cannot
>detect the difference, but there HAS to be some difference.

At the risk of overgeneralizing, if our ears cannot detect the difference,
then there is no difference. Oscilloscopes cannot judge "good" vs. "bad".

>I'm glad I enjoy music for the pleasure it brings me. Too much science and
>mathermatical precision destroys the pleasure.

I, personally, find this debate fascinating, if only because these rather
large questions continue to be unanswered after centuries of research.

--
- Tim Roberts, timr@-----.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.

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