Klarinet Archive - Posting 000865.txt from 2003/04

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Stage movements, redux
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 00:43:21 -0400

Karl Krelove 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.

Yes, I've noticed that "wow wow weeeeyow" Doppler shift effect, too. It
drives me nuts.

>Not to mention the headache it must cause the audio
>engineer who tries to record that kind of moving sound
>source.

Well, I can't offer a cure for stage fright, since stage fright cured me of
trying to cure stage fright, but I may have the remedy for teachers who
want to cure their students of those audible squirmies. Loan the student a
copy of that grand old musical, "Singin' in the Rain" (1951), in which Jean
Hagen plays a memorably bitchy, screechy-voiced actress trying to make the
jump from silent movies to talkies at the end of the 1920s. She's not the
brightest bulb in the lamp: She can't understand why she must change her
style, quit swooping around with exaggerated, silent movie mime mannerisms,
hold her head still and aim her voice at the scenery where the microphone
(directional, in those days before boom mics) is hidden. I can't imagine
anybody who's seen and heard her hilarious "Oh, Pierre!" scene ever
forgetting what excessive head movements can do to a soundtrack! At
concerts, anybody who bobs and weaves reminds me of that scene. I have to
bite my lip and look away to avoid laughing. Tell the student to watch
"Singin' in the Rain." Next time the kid starts davening, I'll bet all you
have to do is wail, "Oh, Pierre!"

Lelia Loban
lelialoban@-----.net

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