Klarinet Archive - Posting 000018.txt from 2004/01

From: Dan Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] 5rv tone color
Date: Thu, 1 Jan 2004 13:49:30 -0500

DWH wrote:
> Just to toss out a small reflection, and I see and agree with Dan's thoughts
> and statments. The principal trumpet of our local symphony walked in my
> music store one day and saw those 'wonderful' colored-lacquer trumpets King
> tried to market at the time. He asked to see one out of curiosity, and said
> "let me play it a minute."
> As I turned to grab a mouthpiece, he started playing using only the
> leadpipe! He ripped off two or three passages of orchestral stuff, and then
> asked for a mouthpiece, and played awhile longer...there was no difference
> in his sound, tonal color, etc., with or without, so I asked him to try yhe
> test with a Bach Strad....same thing. I had a room full of witnesses at the
> time and we all agreed on it, amd Dave himself said that he considered a lot
> of the things we're discussing here as 'voodoo', in that each person and
> their 'sound' is unique because of the oral cavity, sinuses (I KNOW that
> plays a big part in my tone production, and having major dental work did as
> well), teeth, etc.
> He also said it was easier to play the leadpipe but tough on his chops. And
> he offered to try a length of copper tubing with a funnel attached if we
> wanted to really see what he was talking about. Gotta love brass players.
>
> Two cents more added to the pot.
>

While I am grateful that we share the same point of view on this matter,
I should add that anecdotal information about how a person sounds under
this or that circumsance does not constitute hard evidence. It may be a
starting point for serious analysis, but that you heard no difference
between the trumper player playing on the lead pipe vs a real mouthpiece
does not mean that there was no difference.

I don't know how many times on this list a point about sound character
has been supported with the dubious assertion that a particular
individual heard and commented on something. I would go even further
and suggest that our ears are not necessarily good enough instruments to
deal with anything other than the most simple aspects of sound.

And this very pont is raised when we hear that "I heard a player perform
on a Buffet" (or some other clarinet), "and I could tell right away that
it was a Buffet." We would do well to put such assertions in the doo
doo bin of history. And it gets worse when we start talking about
hearing a difference between instrumentas based on their medium of
manufacture; i.e., hard rubber, cocobolo wood, glass, plastic, etc.

It's all anecdotal information with questionable value.

Dan

>
>
>
>>>Your substantive point, that the player and the production of the
>
> airstream
>
>>>are absolutely critical, and the stuff that we all should concentrate
>
> on, is
>
>>>of course perfectly true. But you, Forest and I can do a blind test in
>
> Santa
>
>>>Fe next month, and see if we and others can tell any difference between
>
> the
>
>>>sound of ours and his basset horns when played by the same person. If we
>>>can, you owe me a pizza.
>>>
>>>Cheers
>>>
>>>Keith Bowen
>>>
>>
>>You get no pizzas from me. See my response to this very issue, and
>>start saving your money!! I hear that Santa Fe has very expensive
>>pizzas, many of which you will to buy for me when we are there in about
>>6 weeks.
>>
>>Dan
>>
>>
>>
>>>[snip from Dan Leeson]
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Mark, if you believe that the mouthpiece and the clarinet are the
>>>>principle ingredients to creating a pleasant sound, in tune and
>>>>pleasing, then I guess we have not reached you with the various
>>>>assertions that, 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.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>--
>>Dan Leeson
>>leeson0@-----.net
>
>
>
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> Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org
>
>

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

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