Klarinet Archive - Posting 000270.txt from 2006/04

From: Martin Baxter <martinbaxter@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: Buffet Festivals
Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2006 10:01:55 -0400

I strongly believe that a player will get the sound from any
instrument that they hear in their mind. I once found that on a
blindfold test half a dozen other bassoonists could not tell whether
I was playing on a good (Ludwig) reed or a single reed bassoon
mouthpiece. Of course I could have had a lousy sound even then
(bassoon being my principal instrument ) but since I got plenty of
gigs I can kid myself that that wasn't the case; also none of my then
teachers ( except occasionally Cecil James, who didn't like German
bassoon tone ) ever comment disparagingly on my sound. I think one
chooses an instrument that helps produce the tone you want rather
than fights against it.
I play a Peter Eaton Bb and an old Selmer A. I think they sound as
different as chalk and cheese but nobody else hears any difference.
Remember it is like listening to a recording of your own voice; what
you hear is not what everyone else hears.
Martin

On 22 Apr 2006, at 01:23, Tski1128@-----.com wrote:

> There are a lot of people that will say things like "you won't
> hear it in
> the orchestra, or this brand of clarinet can't project in a hall".
> Be careful
> who you listen to. Most people that offer this advice have never
> heard strings
> up close and haven't ever been to a hall. Experience has taught
> me that a
> good player can make just about any kind of sound on just about any
> instrument. We spend too much time discussing equipment and not
> enough time discussing
> music. In the end, all the stuff we obsess about:
> mouthpieces;reeds; bell,
> barrels and undercutting only serve to make playing easier. Who
> knows what kind
> of paint brush VanGough used? Who cares!
>
> Tom Puwalski, former soloist with the US Army Field Band,
> Clarinetist with
> Lox&Vodka, and Author of "The Clarinetist's Guide to Klezmer"and most
> recently by the order of the wizard of Oz, for supreme
> intelligence, a Masters in
> Clarinet performance
>
>
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>

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