Klarinet Archive - Posting 000800.txt from 2004/07

From: "Warren Rosenberg" <wrosenberg47@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Measuring sound character (Clarinet Olympics!)
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 20:28:37 -0400

Idea: What about a future "Clarinet Olympics" or a "Clarinet Beauty
Contest" (:-) so to speak.
There are only 50 or so possible clarinets in the five or so major lines.
Ok, maybe 100 in ten lines? Why not have a fun competition, ok, a deadly
competition, to see what clarinets clarinetists seem to judge the best on a
number of factors. A contest eliminates the theoretical issues and the
scientific equipment for the present and concentrates the evaluations on
what is actually manufacturered and can be purchased.
I would imagine the ClarinetFest would be an ideal place to have such an
event. It would be fascinating to see the scores based on judges and
audience opinions. Warren
----- Original Message -----
From: "Forest Aten" <forestaten@-----.net>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 9:45 AM
Subject: Re: [kl] Re: Measuring sound character

>
>
> > Hello Dan,
> >
> > I just wanted to give an example that a well trained person has the
> > possibility to hear the slightest difference - for example the way a
reed
> is
> > produced without any help of oscillators or such stuff only using the
ears
> > (something musicians shoul do more often :-))
> >
> > So I think if the difference could be heard why should it not be
possible
> to
> > hear the difference between different materials?
> >
> > Regards Georg
> >
>
> Georg,
>
> How do you know the "difference" perceived is due to materials alone? I
> believe this is what Dan is trying to sort out.
>
> Many additional variables regarding the way a clarinet plays have been
> introduced and discussed in this thread about material. Any or all of
these
> variables could/do effect a "difference"....even within a identical
> material.
>
> Which brings me to this point.
>
> Clarinet manufacturers do a fairly amazing job at bringing certain
> consistent elements to a particular brand/model. They do this by
controlling
> certain factors involved in the design and manufacture of a clarinet. Even
> then, as players, we can detect slight (and sometimes not so slight)
> differences between instruments of the same brand/model. (and the same
> material I might add....and even wood from the same tree...right
Dan?)(even
> the same branch of the same tree) Sometimes the differences between
> clarinets of the same brand/model are very "different".
> I often perform on my Buffet, Greenline clarinets. No one sitting around
me
> in the Dallas Opera even knows I play a synthetic clarinet. The conductor
> doesn't know. The audience doesn't know. The management doesn't know. The
> player sitting next to me doesn't know. I have Greenlines that play as
well
> or better (in my opinion) than any clarinet that I've ever owned or
played.
> Differences? I could line up the five Bb clarinets that I own and you
could
> not only listen to...but play them all....and I am very sure that you
would
> not be able to tell which one was the Greenline. You WOULD be able to tell
> that there is are differences between the instruments. All of the
> instruments. I have selected and maintained these clarinets for different
> reasons over the years...they all play differently and I count on it. All
> are Buffet clarinets. Two R13's, two Festivals and one Greenline. I've
> played many, many clarinets over the years...100's. Most of these were
> played in selection processes for myself or students. All played
> differently...even within the same brand/model.
>
> I've asked Francois Kloc (at Buffet) about this issue of "difference".
> Buffet tries very hard to control elements that almost all players expect
to
> have in a quality clarinet. For example, good intonation...or perhaps I
> should say controllable intonation. Some of their clarinets "fix" pitch
> better and some allow players flexibility. Players can choose.
> As far as sound quality...Buffet (should say every manufacturer) has an
idea
> about how the clarinet should sound. They all try to build that into their
> clarinets. Players can like it or not. Their concepts are based on many
> years of player input, engineering input, listeners, conductors,
> management....etc., many factors and a lot of tough decisions made by the
> executives go into what a company brings to market. The fact that there
are
> differences in sound from clarinet to clarinet within one brand/model
isn't
> necessarily a bad thing. Manufacturers count on it. How many different
> opinions or ways of playing have we seen expressed on the list? Players
with
> very "different" way of performing....often play the same clarinet...and
> sometimes even use the same mouthpiece and reed. I'm not sure that (even)
if
> clarinet manufacturers had the material and technology to produce an exact
> duplicate....clarinets produced one after the other all without
> differences....that they would do so. I'm not sure that the manufacturer
or
> the player (well...the player that liked that particular clarinet would)
> would necessarily benefit.
>
> I believe if you had a clarinet with a similar bore....in every
way....that
> you wouldn't have any greater differences perceived by a player than you
> would from two identical clarinets made from similar materials. Buffet has
> demonstrated this pretty darn well with the Greenline clarinet.
>
> I think it would be great to have a first rate study done and
> published....but in the end, players are still going to play clarinet
after
> clarinet to find the one that they like best. And the one you like best
may
> not be the one I like best.These clarinets might both be from the same
> factory, the same model, the same people working building them, the same
> material used...and different.
>
> Forest Aten
>
>
>
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