Klarinet Archive - Posting 000006.txt from 2004/01

From: Dan Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] 5rv tone color
Date: Thu, 1 Jan 2004 11:13:06 -0500

Joseph Wakeling wrote:
> Dan Leeson wrote:
>
> << all things being equal, the moment the air column leaves the mouth, the
> sound character has already been formed and there is little you can do in
> terms of mouthpieces and clarinets to affect that sound character. >>
>
> Hmm. Dan, have you ever tried playing, say, a tarogato? Uses a clarinet
> mouthpiece but the sound is very different. Or a soprano saxophone, for a
> more common example.

You misunderstand the subject that is the heart of this discussion. A
clarinet sounds like a clarinet and not a trumpet or a taragato or a
soprano saxophone or a tuba because of a variety of factors, none of
which have very much if anything to do with what we are talking about. A
clarinet in C has a distinct sound that is measureably different from
that of a clarinet in B-flat, and yet both are clarinets. No one would
suggest that one sounds like a clarinet, while the other does not. This
phenomenon has little to do with the issue that I was addressing. You
have put the natural characteristic of the sound of a particular musical
instrument into the pot along with the issues of individual sound
personality produced by a specific player, and then stirred the soup.

What we ARE talking about is the character of the sound that YOU produce
on a clarinet, and which, all things being equal, will sound the same
from clarinet to clarinet. And the factors that influence your
characteristic sound are due almost exclusively to a number of
uncontrollable aspects of your body, as well as several that you able to
control. You cannot, for example, control the nature of your sinus
cavities. And, barring a tooth being pulled or filled, you cannot
control the nature of your teeth, even though they play a role in your
distinctive sound. You CAN do certain things that affect your air
capacity, which involves learning how to breathe correctly.

Within this precise context, I assert that your understanding of the
production of your unique sound personality is confused. And the
paragraph that you wrote below hilights the nature of this confusion.

Have you not heard about the sound character of certain well-known
players described as being distinctive? You might ever hear a statement
that says, "XXX sounds like a trumpet when plays clarinet." But no one
takes that statement literally. Perhaps to a finely-tuned ear, your
sound character could be spoken of as being distinct. Certainly some
jazz players of the past produced sounds whose personality were very
distinct and quite awful, too. But no one thought that they sounded like
taragatos. And I assert that whatever your sound character is, it has
nothing to do with whether you are playing of a Buffet or a metal
Buescher (presuming both are in the same satisfactory condition).

Views to the contrary are the result of people who held those beliefs
and told you something that you swallowed whole because (1) it sounded
logical, (2) it permitted you to think that you could adjust your
characteristic sound through a choice of instrument, and (3) you were to
some degree driven by ego considerations.

You have got to think of these things that we speak about with a much
more precise vocabulary. And your first task is to unmix the soup of
natural instrument sound character whith your particular sound personality.

Perhaps when you have given this matter the thought that it requires,
you will not think that this patient analysis should be described as
being "daft," as you stated. That an idea which differs from yours is
by definition "daft," is the mark of a closed mind.

Dan Leeson

> This is a bit of an extreme case because you're talking about a very
> different bore design from the clarinet, but it just goes to show that the
> nature of the instrument *does* affect the sound produced. What I would
> suggest is that it's just a matter of degree. Changing between a Buffet
> Prestige and a Leblanc Opus won't change the sound as much as sticking your
> mouthpiece on a tarogato but it *will* change. Different clarinets and
> mouthpieces may make it easier or more difficult to produce the sound that
> you desire to produce. This is because the sound doesn't arise
> fundamentally from either the instrument or your body, but from the
> interaction of the two. So if you have a mouthpiece which doesn't suit you,
> this can colour the sound in ways that you may find unpleasant, and
> similarly for the clarinet itself.
>
> So, inasmuch as you seem to be rejecting the idea that sound colour is
> "inherent" in a given mouthpiece or instrument, I would agree with you.
> There are no absolutes in this game and anything you do is relative to your
> own personal characteristics. But the idea that you can't change aspects of
> your sound or tone by changing your setup seems to me to be ... well, daft,
> frankly.
>
> -- Joe
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org
>
>

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

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