Klarinet Archive - Posting 000830.txt from 2003/04

From: Neil Leupold <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Stage movements, redux
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 00:42:46 -0400

I've articulated at least a few times my suspicion that exaggerated movements are, more often than
not, a manifestation of nervous energy. I've seen cases where it is not so, used rather for
specific effect, e.g., to muffle/darken the sound during a passage of chamber music by lowering
the bell between the knees. For the most part though, bodily motion up & down, side to side,
round & round ... this sort of thing reveals tension in a player's mind and/or body that has not
yet been addressed during practice/lesson time. If this is the case, such a player would have a
difficult time standing still, consciously restraining their movement while playing those passages
of music.

It takes practice, like anything else, to be able to play without tension...to, in other words,
consciously invoke physical relaxation throughout the body, subordinating all elements of
technique to musical considerations rather than sacrificing that concentrated energy to wasteful
unconscious physical motion. What's remarkable is the real sensation of freedom that results when
one *doesn't* flail & rock about all over the place. The associated dividends are enormous when
one can relax the muscles and let the fine motor control (as opposed to needlessly involving the
larger clunkier muscles) assume the burden of technique. Two things happen: (a) the technical
part itself becomes a lot easier, and (b) the once-wasted nervous energy is now able to be
channeled into the art of making music.

Neil

--- Karl Krelove <karlkrelove@-----.net> wrote:
> Well, I guess it's an individual matter whether a listener is distracted or
> not by exaggerated motion. I am more curious why players move so much when
> it has an audible effect. I've heard more than one player whose sound
> actually changes because of the movement of the mouthpiece relative to their
> embouchures. Often the change is a loss of focus, clarity and, therefore,
> projection at certain points and angles in the players' motion. I suspect
> this isn't the case with Meyer (I've only heard her play on recordings and
> never seen her play at all). But it is a problem for some players.
>
> Not to mention the headache it must cause the audio engineer who tries to
> record that kind of moving sound source.
>
> Karl Krelove
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: James Hobby [mailto:jhobby@-----.net]
> > Sent: Saturday, April 19, 2003 12:02 PM
> > To: klarinet@-----.org
> > Subject: [kl] Stage movements, redux
> >
> >
> > Stage manerisms were discussed some time ago, but I saw an
> > interesting clip
> > last night. It was Sabine Meyer playing the Strauss Romance in Eb for
> > clarinet & chamber orchestra, with the Munich Phil. Chamber Orch. She
> > sounded great, as usual, but her emoting easily got on the nerves. At
> > times, she would bend over so far that her bell was almost touching the
> > stage floor. While I realize this is an individual "thing", I wonder if
> > performers know that, to some people, it's distracting from their playing.
> > Opinions?
> >
> > Jim Hobby
> >
> > This Email has been scanned for viruses, courtesy of Tnets.net
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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> >
> >
>
>
>
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> Klarinet is supported by Woodwind.Org, http://www.woodwind.org/
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