Klarinet Archive - Posting 000557.txt from 2002/03

From: "John P. Varineau" <jvarineau@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] R-13 and intonation...good grief
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 17:37:37 -0500

Yes, Mark, what you say is correct. We would be tied up in knots if we
were having to adjust each note for just intonation throughout a lenghty
piece. So we must choose the proper intonation for the context. I
suggested the little experiment to help some people undertand how we can
be in tune, and yet still out of tune.

An example of this little tuning problem is hearing an orchestra rehearse
Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream overture. Even directly after
initially tuning the orchestra, those opening chords can sound really
badly out of tune and it takes a lot of work to get the woodwinds and
horns to tune those chords. I tend to favor just intonation for those
chords, but that means the first clarinet really has to pull the first
note way down as it is the third of the major chord. Then the second
clarinet has to bring the second note up, because it is the third of the
minor chord. Finally, the first flute and second bassoon both need to
pull down the last note. They are both playing the third of a major
chord, three octave apart!

John Varineau
Associate Conductor, Grand Rapids Symphony
Conductor, Grand Rapids Youth Symphony

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