Klarinet Archive - Posting 000398.txt from 2006/08

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Fwd: pitch centers
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 23:14:11 -0400

At 05:22 AM 8/30/2006 -0400, Stephen Colley wrote:
>I think it is not so much the ability to discern a certain amount of
>"distance" as it is to discern pitch discrepancy in general and learn how to
>adjust to match the context of the ensemble.

The "distance" is not really the issue, it is the
DIRECTION. Psychoacoustically speaking, the human ear is much more
tolerant of sharpness than of flatness. Sharpness can be dismissed as
"brightness" or "projection" or a "more forward sound." Flat is just
FLAT. If string players tuned DOWN a couple of cents in order to stand out
from the crowd they would soon find themselves standing out IN the crowd
instead. Strings, unfortunately, have the luxury of almost limitless pitch
adjustment to their instruments, where woodwinds can only go so far without
throwing the whole instrument out of tune with itself. Guess how much the
string players care.

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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