Klarinet Archive - Posting 000132.txt from 2007/03

From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Bright and dark sounds
Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2007 15:49:10 -0500

Bud, it does not matter who she got the term from, she did not
invent it. She is parroting someone. It is all anecdotal.

Dan Leeson
DNLeeson@-----.net

-----Original Message-----
From: Hinson's [mailto:bud@-----.net]
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 12:13 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Bright and dark sounds

Wasn't me she learned it from...I can only say she brought it
home from
school. I still have trouble accepting it. We've decided that we
differ in
the type of tones we like. I remember when she needed a plastic
clarinet for
marching band. I rebuilt an old Carl Fischer with a metal insert
in the top
joint. She played it for a while and came back to me saying, " I
hate this
clarinet, it doesn't sound good." I took her out in the barn and
said let me
try it. I turned up the volume and showed her what it could do.
After she
learned to play it like a rock guitar, she got along fine with
it.
I sold a clarinet recently (a 1932 rubber Conn) to a pro simply
because he
heard someone with one and wanted to try for the same tone. I've
had
customers send me recordings to find a horn that sounds like
that. I believe
that musical tone is so subjective that it can drive you nuts.
But there is
a valid point, though hard to describe, that different equipment
produces
differing spectrums of sound. I think also that a musician who is
experienced enough to be comfortable in performance can make
great music
almost regardless of the equipment.

----- Original Message -----
From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 2:43 PM
Subject: RE: [kl] Bright and dark sounds

> Bud Hinson,
>
> These are charming and delightful anecdotes. I am sure that
your
> daughter likes the tone she got from the Boosey, but what on
> earth motivated her to say that she liked the dark tone? Could
> she not have liked the way she sounded by simply saying that;
> i.e., "Dad I like the way I sound on the Boosey!" For her to
> say, "I like the dark sound I get on this Boosey," says to me
> that someone told her that it was a dark sound, maybe you, so
she
> accepted the statement as fact, particularly if it came from
you.
> I presume she did not invent the concept of a dark sound out of
> her own knowledge, inner being, and experience. If she did
that,
> she might have called it a velvet sound, or a vanilla pudding
> sound. Think about why she used that vocabulary. Who primed
> her?.
>
> That you can identify your daughter when she plays is very
nice.
> It's fatherly. It's the kind of thing that warms you. You may
> have a great ear for recognizing one instrument from another,
but
> to suggest that you know a dark sound when you year it, is not
> evidence. It is an anecdote.
>
> Dan Leeson
> DNLeeson@-----.net
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Hinson's [mailto:bud@-----.net]
> Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 10:51 AM
> To: klarinet@-----.org
> Subject: Re: [kl] Bright and dark sounds
>
>
> I make a meager living restoring vintage clarinets from my
small
> shop in NC.
> My daughter, 1st chair high school and community band, had the
> opportunity
> over the years to try many different makes and models of
> clarinets. I first
> bought her a Selmer Signet that she still has. When she needed
or
> wanted a
> better quality clarinet I bought her a new Buffet. One day she
> tried a King
> Marigaux, and traded her Buffet for it because of the tone. A
> couple of
> years later she tried a Boosey & Hawkes 8-20 and traded with me
> again. She
> insists the "dark" tone is what she likes and gets from the
> Boosey. I do a
> lot of old Selmers for some very good pro jazz players, and I
> know
> beforehand that she won't like the tone. She'll say it's easy
to
> play but
> it's too bright. I can take that same clarinet to her after
> changing the
> tone by trying a few different mouthpieces and she'll love it.
I
> conclude
> from those experiences that the tone differences are largely
> dependent on
> mouthpiece and reeds.
> When I think of a darker sound, it's a mellow and sweet tone,
> regardless of
> volume. I can pick out the sound from my daughter from a very
> full clarinet
> section...it projects well, but is without the edge of the
other
> players.
> She played recently in a 20 clarinet section in the all
district
> band, and I
> was able to tell her, and she said later she knew I'd be able
to,
> where she
> got lost in a couple of fast runs and faked it. The brighter
tone
> many of my
> jazz customers want has the sharp, cutting edge that competes
> with the brass
> and can with effort demand attention. I have a customer now
> looking for a
> clarinet with a "dark" tone...I told her to come try a few
> different
> mouthpieces first and we'll take it from there...I can't agree
> that "dark"
> and "bright" sound are meaningless, since I have to deal with
> tone issues
> constantly...but there should be some better way to describe
the
> variety of
> different tones....soft,sweet,fluid,harsh,brash,...maybe my
> daughter sounds
> mildly sweet with pleasing harmonious projection ?
>
>
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