Klarinet Archive - Posting 000198.txt from 2005/03
From: Joseph Wakeling <joseph.wakeling@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Bass pick up
Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2005 06:29:52 -0500
kurtheisig@-----.net wrote:
> For years I played with an amplified band on tenor sax, soprano sax,
> and clarinet in a large dancehall. I could be heard with a big clear
> sound throughout the entire building including side rooms, rest rooms,
> kitchen etc. with NO amplification, and no DEGRADATION of my sound
> with silly electronics. If your equipment is made and set-up properly
> and you play correctly there is NO need for a mic in almost ANY hall.
Bully for you. However, there are plenty of reasons for wanting to mike
an acoustic instrument that have nothing to do with "being heard
properly", and your suggestion that something could be deficient in such
players is completely arrogant and stupid. The fact that in one
particular concert situation it may not be necessary doesn't mean it's
not in other circumstances.
For example, have you ever heard a "classical" piece of music using
electric guitar? One where the player sits on stage with his amp near
him? It sounds weird, doesn't it? It doesn't mix with the orchestra
well. Of course, that can be a useful effect, but there are other
situations where one might wish it otherwise, to have something closer
to the beautifully fluid mix of electric guitar and acoustic instruments
found on e.g. many rock albums. The only effective way to do this is to
mike the acoustic instruments and mix the sounds together. Conversely
one might wish to amplify and add to the resonance of a traditionally
"quiet" instrument such as an acoustic guitar so it can blend with a
full orchestra (as done beautifully in Peter Sculthorpe's guitar
concerto Nourlangie).
For the same reason, playing music with tape backing (e.g. Steve Reich's
New York Counterpoint) can require amplification to effectively mix the
acoustic instrument. (On the other hand in other circumstances one might
want to emphasize the difference between live and electronic sound. I
believe Boulez' beautiful Dialogue de l'ombre double does this---in
fact, as I recall, the clarinettist is miked so that some electronic
processing can be applied, but this is *not always used* so that one
gets an alternation between variously true "live" sound, live but
electronically processed sound, and prerecorded clarinet with electronic
modification. I have to get round to getting a copy of the score of this
but it's about €125.00!!)
Then there are "colour" issues. As a composer I may wish to have a sound
coloured like a clarinet echotone, but with a loud and/or resonant
volume. How can I achieve this? Only through amplification. Same for
breath sounds, "bird peeps", string instrument harmonics, etc. etc. etc.
Particularly in modern jazz and similar, players often wish to achieve
similar effects. It's also the only way to achieve some of the blends of
acoustic and electronic instruments in rock music that I already
mentioned (quiet string sound mixed to blend with electric guitar,
etc.). There are also fabulous effects that can be had by sending the
sound of instruments through different sorts of speaker. And what so
sweepingly you call "DEGREDATION" may be a desirable colour effect in
itself. My experience is that if electronics truly "degrade" your
playing than either your electronic setup or your playing (or more
likely both) are at fault. Playing "on mic" is a skill that has to be
learned, just like a sound engineer has to learn how to mix sounds.
And, as JC has already mentioned, there's the question of electronic
extension of sound such as the many tricks available with reverb, delay
effects, ring modulators, guitar pedals, sudden "artificial" volume
changes, sending sounds about the room to different speakers, the box of
further tricks developed at IRCAM, and so on and so on.
So perhaps next time someone asks about what type of mike to use,
perhaps the best response would be, "Well, what type of effects to you
want to get?"
-- Joe
P.S.---On the subject of clarinet mikes, I know jazz player Don Byron
uses a simple pickup that hangs round the bell of the clarinet and can
be removed and placed on bass clarinet too, although unfortunately I
don't know what it is and how effective it is. I do recall it made for
some interesting effects when he accidentally dropped it when swapping
between instruments ... !
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