Klarinet Archive - Posting 000142.txt from 2007/03

From: "Doug Potter" <doug@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Bright and dark sounds
Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2007 19:58:02 -0500

Dan, you are being unnecessarily harsh. By this argument, we learn
everything by anecdote - and in fact, we do. However some terms are easier
to agree on (red, head, rain) than others (good, bad, sleazy, ...).

Doug
http://ConicWave.net

-----Original Message-----
From: dnleeson [mailto:dnleeson@-----.net]
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 12:49 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: RE: [kl] Bright and dark sounds

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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