Klarinet Archive - Posting 000002.txt from 2008/01

From: "Karl Krelove" <karlkrelove@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Re: Legato Finger Motion
Date: Tue, 01 Jan 2008 11:15:57 -0500

The part of this thread that really sits uncomfortably for me is the idea
that there is anything really "gradual" about the hole closure in good
legato. I don't think anyone who has posted on this thread really wants to
equate "legato" to vocal glissando or portamento, in which the pitch of one
note actually slides into the next. I question from my own experience
whether or not a really slow, gradual closing or opening of a clarinet tone
hole **by itself** will even result in a smooth gliss - there are other
parts to a jazz or Rhapsody In Blue style glissando without which the notes
at some point in the process lose focus and control. But that's not what
we're after when we want to play "legato." It's the connection of two
distinct, discreet pitches with no aurally apparent interruption or
disruption. It seems to me more or less intuitive that when a hole is
partially closed you get fuzzy, out of tune notes that are difficult to
control - try putting your finger almost all the way down but with a little
crack around your finger to allow air still to get by. I don't think anyone
would consider that to be a good step in getting from one note to another
smoothly. I think it *is* the very sudden and complete closure of the hole -
all at once and *not* bit by bit - along with supporting technique in
blowing and embouchure, that results in smooth aural connection from one
note to the next. The issue isn't gradual-ness, but control that makes
possible (along with breath and embouchure control) a connection seamless or
percussive or just plain rough or any of an infinity of gradations in
between. For players like Bonade and, I take it McLane and Marcellus,
perhaps that slow-motion approach of the finger to the hole provided the
control they needed - but I don't believe for a second that they covered the
holes in a slow, gradual way or meant for their students to do that. If you
don't close the hole all at once, you create physical resistance and
instability that would seem to be in direct opposition to smoothness (again,
these are discreet pitches, *not* glissandi that I think we're all talking
about). If you close the hole in a careless, sloppy, rough way, you no doubt
create disruptions to the air stream that can certainly cause the noises,
pops and other interruptions that various posters have complained about.

I also am uncomfortable, though some of the more established players who
have posted may be able to convince me to be more accepting, with trying to
make a literal comparison between woodwind legato and vocal techniques by
which notes change pitch. The mechanisms are completely different. Vocal
pitch is to some extent all (very quick) portamento and is accomplished, as
I understand it, by tightening and loosening the vocal folds - a process
that is truly continuous - and not by changing the actual length of
anything, which unless you're playing a string instrument or a trombone is
not at all continuous. String players get to choose between this type of
(vocal-like) note change and the mechanically discreet pitches that
woodwinds and brass make (listen to any recording of a Tchaikovsky
symphony). It's a little more complicated on a trombone, but the choice is
there, too.

I was also a little puzzled by the issue raised at the beginning of the
thread about the effect of open vs. plateau-covered holes on legato. It may
be that the difference, to the extent that it exists, is caused by the fact
that a plateau key necessarily closes at a slight angle to the hole (it's
pivoting from a point to the side of the hole, not directly above it) and
that the angle of rotation creates the kind of partial closure during the
key's travel that makes a different kind of finger stroke necessary. Again,
it would be necessary (as it is with clarinet keys that pivot closed) for
the player to do his/her best to minimize the time during which the back of
the hole is closed but the front is still open - also a major point of key
design for instrument makers. I don't play anything with plateau keys well
enough to know how it's different, but I hear some oboe players who play
with very smooth-sounding legato when it's called for, so the problem can't
be insurmountable.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year to all!

Karl

-----Original Message-----
From: Jay Shenk [mailto:jay.shenk@-----.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 5:42 AM

While I think finger motion is just one factor in legato playing, I do
think it is an important one. If a hole or key is pressed or closed in
an abrupt, mechanical manner the change in notes will sound
correspondingly abrupt. However when the hole or key is closed or
pressed with a relaxed, more gradual motion the change in notes will be
heard as correspondingly more gradual--more like the way a singer would
change notes. You can experiment with this on your own by exaggerating
this point--if you close or open a hole extremely slowly you'll get a
glissando effect--just as a singer or string player would when they
slide between notes. A slightly faster motion will remove the glissando
but retain the legato feel. Try it! In contrast, you can try closing
and opening holes with a stiff, mechanical, fast motion. Notice the
difference in sound.

Happy New Year,
Jay Shenk

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