Klarinet Archive - Posting 000101.txt from 2008/01

From: Tony Pay <tony.p@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: legato, myths, creeds
Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:41:19 -0500

On 7 Jan, Jonathan Cohler <cohler@-----.org> wrote:

> ...if we restrict our discussion to advanced players with solid
> embouchures and basically good air and fingers, and to the case of playing
> large skips or register breaks (change of harmonic), then there is
> absolutely no question that one MUST change the air pressure (support), the
> voicing and the embouchure position at the moment of the change if one
> wants to obtain an optimtal legato (defined as two notes of the same
> loudness and same tonal color--i.e. harmonic envelope).

It's clear that the air pressure must change at the moment of transition
from one moment to another. But because the change is mediated by the
*resultant* of the two opposing forces on the bottom of the thoracic cavity
-- those forces being the *upward* force of the abdominal/back/pelvic system
and the *downward* force of the diaphragm -- it is possible to achieve that
change whilst maintaining the upward part of the force constant, the only
change being in the action of the diaphragm.

Further, since the upward part (abdominal/back/pelvic system) is the only one
of the two that enters our experience, the change (and, agreed, the
*necessary* change) is *transparent to our awareness*. The legato seems to
happen 'by magic', because the diaphragm learns to change its resistance
appropriately, outside our conscious experience, according to which note on
the instrument we happen to be playing.

The difficulty with the word 'support' is that people use it in different
ways -- which is why I say that considerable explanation is sometimes
required to dispel confusion. The phenomenon that Margaret and I are talking
about when we use the words 'constant support' is perhaps better described as
'constant flexion of the blowing (abdominal/back/pelvic) system'.

This technique makes it possible either to change the dynamic of one note, or
to match the dynamics of two differently responsive notes in order to obtain
legato, in a way that is experientially particularly simple. It also has
other happy consequences for fine control, as I've described here and
elsewhere.

My own experience of explaining all this to highly able players is that after
often *very* lengthy discussion, they finally tell me that they realise that
this is what they have been doing all along. And I was certainly surprised
when I realised for the first time exactly how it had been working in my own
case.

Tony
--

_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE
tel/fax 01865 553339
mobile +44(0)7790 532980 tony.p@-----.org

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