Klarinet Archive - Posting 000557.txt from 2002/04
From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Prestige RC vs. Prestige R13
Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 14:10:27 -0400
Chastine, you are too nice a person for me to toy with, and I was being
inexcusably obtuse and rude in trying to lure you into a place where you
should not go. I apologize for having done so, because that is exactly
where you went.
Now having said that (and with absolute sincerity, no kidding), I have
to add that I see you as a victim of a disease known as meaningless
clarinet terminologitis. Referring to sound character of a clarinet
with expressions that have little meaning and certainly no definition
whatsoever, you have succumbed to using descriptions that are, in my
opinion, useless.
One of the things about the character of clarinet sound is that many
clarinetists (and for years, too) have come to speak about it in ways so
imprecise, so inexact, so totally without substance, that the world has
turned on its head and nice people like you get sucked into the vortex
of believing that there is (in your words) a sound that "is a little on
the 'tinny' or 'thin' side" or a sound that is "thicker," "fatter," or
"darker."
And it gets worse. Nice people like you start to think that the sound
character you want (in whatever ways you want to express it) is inherent
to the clarinet itself. Thus, if you want a clarinet with a "dark
sound" (whatever the hell that is), that you can get it with a
particular clarinet, to the exclusion of almost any other brand, make,
or model.
One of the most important things you said in your note below was this:
"I'm not sure how to explain the sound to you since describing sound
is a bit abstract." It is a good deal more than abstract, and since you
realize its limitations, you should also realize that you have fallen
into the trap of using a vocabulary that has little if any meaning.
Somewhere on the clarinet list is an essay entitled "That nice dark
sound" and it deals, partly, with the problems of (1) using meaningless
words to describe sound character, and (2) the difficulties of believing
that the clarinet (and not YOU) is the main ingredient of what
determines your particular sound character.
Don't allow yourself to get buffaloed with descriptions that are not at
all helpful to you. For if you do, then the next question that arises
is, what do you have to do to make your sound dark, and no one alive can
answer that question. You can be told by many fine teachers how you can
influence the character of your sound, but no one can tell you how to
make it dark because there is no definition of what constitutes a dark
sound. I could well argue that you have a lovely bright sound, when if
fact you hear it as a brooding dark sound. My word picture of your
sound may be absolutely the opposite of your word picture, and then we
lose all sense of communication.
There are lots of postings on this subject on the clarinet list, but if
you want to see the kinds of nonsense that you can get into, take a look
at LeBlanc's little catalog of the variety of clarinets they have for
sale. One instrument may be said to have "a youthful sound," while
another is described as having "a rally dark sound." It's all marketing
hype.
You are going to go crazy if you believe this marketing nonsense!
Dan Leeson
Chastine Franklin wrote:
>
> Sure Dan. What I've experienced with the regular R-13s is that the sound is
> a little on the "tinny" or "thin" side of what I look for in a clarinet's
> sound(keep in mind that this is from my playing experience with my
> mouthpiece, reed,ligature, etc combination and not all horns sound the same
> for everyone). My particular prestige R13 plays with what I call a darker
> sound, I'm not sure how to explain the sound to you since describing sound
> is a bit abstract but I also hear it described as "thicker" or "fatter."
> Does this help explain?
> Chastine
>
> >From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
> >Reply-To: klarinet@-----.org
> >To: klarinet@-----.org
> >Subject: Re: [kl] Prestige RC vs. Prestige R13
> >Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 09:09:24 -0700
> >
> >Chastine, can you enlighten me about what you mean when you refer to
> >"the typical R-13 sound"? Also I would find it very valuable to
> >understand what kind of a "dark sound" your particular R-13 possesses?
> >
> >Forgive me for moving away from the sillyness of the vegetable orchestra
> >to something more serious, namely the sound character of particular
> >clarinets, but since you speak about these things with such certainty,
> >I'd value knowing what you have in mind.
> >
> >Dan Leeson
> >
> >Chastine Franklin wrote:
> > >
> > > Well I play an R-13 Pretige that is a fabulous horn for me because I
> >also
> > > don't like the typical R-13 sound. I chose it for it's dark sound and
> > > because of it's eveness in tuning. I haven't experienced the wobble in
> >the
> > > middle joint but then again this horn is not yet a year old. Sorry to
> >say, I
> > > haven't had much experience with the RC Prestige though I tried out some
> > > while I was on my serch for a new horn.
> > > Chastine
> >
> >--
> >***************************
> >** Dan Leeson **
> >** leeson0@-----.net **
> >***************************
> >
> >---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
>
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--
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** Dan Leeson **
** leeson0@-----.net **
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