Klarinet Archive - Posting 000201.txt from 2004/06

From: Gary Truesdail <gir@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Multiphonic in Elliott Carter's "Gra"
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 23:00:51 -0400

Does anyone know if Jerome Rosen ever published anything regarding
multiphonics? Fingering charts, books, essays, compositions?

In his later years, either as a Professor at UC Davis, CA or after he
retired, he composed a number of pieces for instruments using
multiphonics. I performed in a clarinet quartet with him in which he
used the, as then, new beasts for notes. He gave us the fingerings and
several alternate fingerings he had discovered himself. Some of the
fingerings used half-covered tone holes or partially opened side keys or
actually forming different vowels with the throat without using the
vocal cords to make a particular note come out. Some combinations
actually produced three, yes, THREE, tones simultaneously. The extra
tones were not in tune but they were there. It was not easy and, if I
remember correctly, it was most difficult on a reed of 2 1/2 or
stronger, easier on softer reeds.

I have often wondered if the techniques he gave us caused the reed to
vibrate differently or if what we did in the throat and half-hole
business enhanced or dampened specific overtones. In other words, did
what we were doing cause the reed to vibrate with more than one set of
frequencies or alternate between 2 different sets of frequencies.

GaryT

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