Klarinet Archive - Posting 000356.txt from 2004/07

From: "Benjamin Maas" <benmaas@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Amplification of music (was RE: [kl] re: clarinet to saxophone)
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 15:25:52 -0400

Well, being off for two weeks and now I come back to a great discussion
about the abuses of sound in concert settings...

I'll start off by saying it is an exceedingly rare thing that jazz
performances do not need some sort of amplification. Part of the reason =
is
the arrangement of the charts that are played these days and the other =
part
is because most players are used to performing with "help." Probably =
the
best example of a band that I've worked with that doesn't need sound- =
the
Clayton/Hamilton big band (forgot to turn the system on and it still =
sounded
great)... Their charts, though, are very "old school" in their =
arrangements
and the players are good enough to balance themselves. =20

The problems that many of you are mentioning are the problems that are
encountered as a result of the fact that most sound engineers out there
learned their craft through working with rock music. As you know, rock =
is a
very different animal than jazz... This can be seen with engineers that
turn it very loud to an emphasis on the kick drum of the kit (rather =
than
paying attention to the snare, hat or ride as the center of time), too =
much
bass, etc....

The engineers that know their stuff almost uniformly do NOT turn the =
system
up to a level where you can even hear it on. Rather, the point is to =
"fill
in" the sound that is missing naturally in the hall. I've had clients =
ask
me if the system is on... At that point, I turn it off and the look on =
their
face as they notice how much is missing is usually priceless. I =
consider
that the highest compliment.

I find that when I mic up an ensemble, I put a microphone on just about
everything on stage. It is needed to create an even sound. Often, I'll
even amplify the drums a touch (even when they are the loudest thing on
stage). The reason why is that when some things are amplified and =
others
are not, you end up with an uneven sound. The unamplified things sound =
out
of place... I also find that often the smaller the room, the more =
important
it is to have a good sound system. In a small room, you have some
instruments that will totally overpower other instruments because of the
size of the space to fill. A clarinet will loose to the drums every =
time in
a 200 seat venue. In a larger space, the sound has somewhere to go and
often I can get away with less of a system. In the big spaces (1000+ =
seat
halls, etc...), a large system is always needed- even for the large
ensembles.

What it comes down to in the end is an engineer that knows how to design =
a
show for the given space to make it work... It requires an =
understanding of
the music and how the instruments and the sound system work in an =
acoustic
environment. Unfortunately, there are precious few that have that
background and therefore there is a lot of bad sound out there.

--Ben

Benjamin Maas
Fifth Circle Audio
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.fifthcircle.com

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