Klarinet Archive - Posting 000650.txt from 2003/05

From: Barbara Reimer <muse@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Take pity on a limey please
Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 01:54:03 -0400

> . In marching bands, all woodwind players have a part, it's just that
> they are not heard very well. Brass can project straight to the
> audience, and saxophones as well. With woodwinds, it's a problem of
> projection. Clarinets play directly to the ground, and that's why
> they can not be heard. However, woodwind parts still exist.
>
>
>

Although I agree brass and percussion have dominance in the marching
band (especially in DCI) and clarinets are harder than those
instruments to project from a football field, it must be said that
there is a place for clarinets in marching bands. I remember some
awesome performances from the senior and open categories at MACBDA of
the Robin Hood Suite by one and another who played the Moorside March
by Holst (and not a version adapted for marching band either).

The strengths of these groups was that they chose the repertoire based
on their instrumentation. The Robin hood suite was played for the
entire time allowed (no breaks in sound coming from the field) with the
differing sections taking over when others were resting their chops.
It sounded fantatsic. Also, at one of our western canadian
competitions one band had a clarinet solo where a group of brass
players (mostly trumpets if memory serves) lifted the clarinetist up on
a circular platform while he was playing to bring visual attention to
him as well. That just blew me away because the sound coming out of
this guy's horn was just beautiful and so clear and just so amazing to
hear coming from a football field. And I was sitting in the boonies
with the other bands waiting to go on. It was obvious of the talent of
this particular player and why should he/she be excluded because he
plays clarinet or eefer? (this , of course said with understanding of
the drum & bugle corps and DCI competitions.) It, to me, is more a
question of focus of the director.

I believe that the woodwind parts exist for a reason much beyond that
of just existing. The whole is made up of the parts. One may not
think they can hear a clarinet sound coming from the field as such but
if the section is playing you should hear that addition to the sound
character of the group as a whole. As with any other type of group
playing, be it chamber, or orchestral, or wind ensemble or marching
band it all comes down to balance between your sections. If you can't
hear your woodwind section, and they are written into the score, maybe
it's because your other sections are playing too loud? (Or vice versa)
There is NO reason why a marching band can't play with a dynamic range
and balance.

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