Klarinet Archive - Posting 000028.txt from 2003/04

From: Dan Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Curious
Date: Wed, 2 Apr 2003 09:54:44 -0500

Nancy, I have no way to dispute your personal opinion of the value of
Peter Eaton clarinets, nor do I wish to do so. But your statement is
just a further assertion that the character of sound one gets from the
clarinet is due exclusively to the clarinet itself, and I once again
suggest that statement to be very problematic.

While Eaton may make a superior clarinet with respect to many mechanical
things, neither he nor anyone else can make an intrument that
fundamentally produces a radically different sound character FOR YOU.

Your sound is fundamentally formed when the air leaves your mouth. It
is due mostly to the nature of your body, your chest capacity, your
sinuses, even the dental formation in your mouth and the shape of your
lips. It is true that a bad mouthpiece can ruin all of this, but I am
presuming that you have a good one and used it on both the Eaton
clarinet and your current instrument.

I'm not trying to jump on you, but I point out that much of the "this
time around" portion of this discussion began when a nice young person
said that he or she wanted to change from his LeBlanc to some other kind
of clarinet because he wanted to get a better sound. It is has been
continuously argued by me and other players over the last 10 years of
this list that such a change may bring many fine things to a player, but
a better sound is probably not going to be one of them, presuming one
goes from one well-manufactured instrument to another.

And we say this over and over because your sound character produced on a
clarinet does not, all things being equal, come from the clarinet.
Thus, when you say that the Eaton clarinet produces the richest sound
you ever got from a clarinet, I am suspicious of what you say, not
because you are an untruthful person but because it violates logic,
physics, and common sense.

What you get from a clarinet in terms of sound is the basic clarinet
personality. You know it is not a tuba or an oboe or a flute. It's a
clarinet sound and it is recognizable as one. But the character of that
sound -- the thing you want to sound like chocolate fudge -- is produced
by your body, your embouchure, and your mouthpiece.

I once knew a very good tenor. Lovely voice. He would go to
performances of great tenors convinced that they had a secret which
enabled them to get a great tenor sound, and all he really needed were
the details of that secret. He once suggested that it was the patches
on the elbows of Bjorling's sports coat that gave Bjorling his exquisite
sound. Nothing would convince him that Bjorling sounded the way he did
because of his body characteristics, and nothing ever convinced him that
his own sound came from his body, and that, all things being equal,
there wasn't much that he could do to change it beyond studying to
achieve the best sound that his body was capable of producing.

Clarinet players spend years of aggrevation trying to improve their
sound character by changing clarinets, reeds, shoes, ligature,
sweethearts, and hair styles. And in those years of work, their sound
gets better because they get greater control over those body parts that
enable a great sound character. But, not knowing this, they presume it
was the clarinet or the reed or the shoes or the hair style or whatever.

Don't ask a manufacturer or a musical instrument salesperson this
question for he or she will tell you that only THEIR clarinet will make
you sound like a god. It's a lot of marketing doo-doo.

DNL

Buckman, Nancy wrote:
>>>>I am extremely happy with my Peter Eaton.
>>>
>
> If I didn't have the problems with my hands and heavy clarinets, I would have bought Peter Eatons. My first experience with them was when I was in England in 1995. I was traveling through the country and while in London, happened across them in a shop. The shop owner was playing on one and let me try it. Someone recently spoke of "chocolate fudge" in reference to a bass clarinet. Well, let me tell you, there is no Bb to equal the "chocolate fudge" Peter Eaton. It has the richest sound of any clarinet I ever played. The only drawback was that it was heavy, and my hands won't support the weight, even with a strap.
>
> Nancy
>
> Nancy E. Buckman, Technical Assistant
> School of Health Professions, Wellness and Physical Education
> Anne Arundel Community College
> Arnold, MD 21012-1895 USA
> Phone 410-777-2316 Fax 410-777-2233
> E-mail nebuckman@-----.edu
>
>
> -
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

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**Dan Leeson **
**leeson0@-----.net **
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