Klarinet Archive - Posting 000748.txt from 2002/11

From: Bi6W@-----.net (Bill Wright)
Subj: Re: [kl] Centred tone
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 23:59:36 -0500

...in regard to your question, John, I think that comparing the spectral
graphs labelled "C6" and "F#6" at: http://hughes38.som.ohio-state.edu
may interest you.

Disclaimers: (1) since we haven't heard the student's sound sample, we
have no way of knowing whether we would've declared the student to have
a centered tone or not. (2) While these two graphs are in the same
octave, they are different pitches and the student's graph reaches
higher into the difficult altissimo than the professor's graph does.

With the above disclaimers in mind, the student's graph has:

(1) noticeable peaks between each of the odd-numbered harmonics, and

(2) more "fuzz" --- namely, vertical lines so closely crowded together
that the space between odd-numbered harmonics is a white smudge, even
though the student's graph is printed with more distance (on the paper)
between the odd-numbered peaks.

These two qualities are the **visual image** of 'not centered' that I
carry in my mind.

But again, I am talking of visual image here. If I heard the actual
sound samples, I might need to gulp and say, "Oh! That's not what I
thought they would sound like!"

Karl Krelove's comment, that a person's response depends on what the
person is already accustomed to hearing, is obviously true. My
daughter who sings, and my grandson who plays bass guitar, both think
that every clarinet sound is a "squeak".

(So do certain animals who invade this list occasionally. If anyone
misunderstands "centered", it's Manny the Major Mynah! He thinks that
**his** is the centered voice! ...and have you ever truly listened to
the scratchy voice of a rat or cat....?)

Cheers,
Bill

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