Klarinet Archive - Posting 000371.txt from 2005/04
From: "Steve" <steve@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] RE: TUNERS
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2005 10:09:07 -0400
Doing what I do, this thread is of particular interest to me.
I was recently at one of the country's top conservatories doing intonation
training clinics. At the end of the clarinet clinic, the professor, a great
teacher (and player!) came up, shaking his head and said, "We've got so much
work to do!" Even his best players, who win orchestra jobs all the time,
struggled with basics.
I guess the point is this; Walter is right about "raising the bar" on
intonation, but half the time (or more) the conductor has no idea what "in
tune" sounds like, the horn section (or whoever) is struggling to follow a
Principal with a tin ear and the strings are off in La La Land ("but my
fingers are in the right place. I can't be out of tune!")
Intonation is an individual skill. Personal responsibility rules here. I
must take responsibility to "fix" myself. But the problem is, many of us
don't know when we're out of tune and don't have an attitude of
approachability by others about the subject. As I say in my clinics, "God
has a sense of humor; He made us able to hear others' pitch easier than our
own to keep us humble!"
Once again, any section, professional or non, that would like to try Tuneup:
Basic Training for Clarinet as a section may contact me privately.
Just to support Mark (Charette), I will continue to offer a special price on
Tuneup and devote half of that price to www.woodwind.org. (I confess, I am
late in sending the previous support to Mark and will do so this weekend!)
Let quick talking about intonation problems and do something about it!
Steve
Stephen Colley
www.tuneupsystems.com
804-852-8219
-----Original Message-----
From: GrabnerWG@-----.com]
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2005 9:49 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] RE: TUNERS
In a message dated 4/22/2005 8:29:47 PM Central Daylight Time,
jstackpo@-----.org writes:
How many in a "typical" audience can hear the problem being worked
out? (This is probably an unanswerable question.) Or really
appreciate it when you get it "right"?>>
I believe that the "typical audience" is a lot smarter and more savvy than
we think> The "collective ear" is being trained to hear music played well in
tune with very few if any mistakes. If you do not believe this, listen to
modern film scores and then compare to the standard of playing, say pre
Star Wars.
(1977)
Or listen to any of the major symphony orchestra from the 50's or 60's. You
will hear some great players, no doubt, but the general standard is often
surprisingly shabby.
Today's typical audience may not be able to identify that the "bass
trombone
is very sharp" or that "the horn section seems to be on another planet
rhythmically", but they will recognize that something was missing or not
right in
the performance.
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetXpress.com
World-class clarinet mouthpieces
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