 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2012-01-23 20:05
The other night at rehearsal the band director told the clarinets (there are 7 of us, we were playing mz forte) to keep it down so that the brass melody could be heard. Ha! how often do you hear that?, especially when the brass out number us 3 to 1, and are usually drowning out everyone else. It was all I could do to keep from saying "poor babies!"
Laurie
(Mr. Laurie J. Braaten)
Laurie (he/him)
Post Edited (2012-01-23 20:36)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2012-01-23 20:52
Seven clarinet players, three times as many brass--yes, those poor babies! No, I'm not sure I've ever heard that one.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: William
Date: 2012-01-23 21:51
LOL--I've heard that about as many times as, "the percussion need to play louder".
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: trish24
Date: 2012-01-24 03:53
I can relate to that.
Our band director picks on the clarinets relentlessly...too loud, too soft, too whatever.
I now wear a T shirt to rehearsal with the logo "Fear the Clarinets". Makes me feel good, at least.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Wes
Date: 2012-01-24 05:08
Yes, I can also relate to that. Many band directors are trumpet or trombone players, and they relate to the brass players. The woodwinds are a necessary but not as important group.
A very important issue in concert bands is the ringing in the ears that those great brass players can produce. I played several park concerts with a great band this summer which left my ears ringing after rehearsals in a bright rehearsal hall. They even had a piccolo trumpet. The outdoor concerts were fine because the brass sound is not reflected, but the rehearsals made ears ring for a couple of days, which is not really acceptable, as it could become permanent.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2012-01-24 05:12
Ever notice how in most adapted for band musical arrangements the brass usually get most of the good parts? I've long had a theory about that. Most (male) band directors and music arrangers play brass instruments. So is it any wonder that woodwinds usually get slighted? Yet it's all the more amazing since the clarinet is the best sounding instrument in the band! ;^)
Edit: Wes, unfortunately not "could", but most certainly will cause peranent hearing damage. One of the players in the NYPhil wears earplugs, not a bad idea. Reminds me, I need to remove my hearing aids during rehearsals
Laurie (he/him)
Post Edited (2012-01-24 14:55)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: BobD
Date: 2012-01-24 15:19
I agree LJB. One band I participated in had the Brass behind the clarinets. I complained and the Director changed the arrangement which made a big improvement. "Bands" perse have always been military and marching oriented and for those situations you need volume......that's why
Bob Draznik
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2012-01-24 15:46
What exactly is the role of the clarinet in the concert band? I think there are two conflicting schools of thought.
A famous band director (unfortunately, I don't recall his name) once said the concert band is basically a brass and percussion group. The woodwind instruments are added to provide a bit of enhancement or color contrast. On the other hand, many of the great concert bands of the past had enormous clarinet sections, and the idea was for the clarinets to recreate the violin section in a concert band setting.
I came across an excellent link, "A History of the Wind Band" by Dr. Stephen L. Rhodes: http://www.lipscomb.edu/windbandhistory/index.htm
It's fairly long, but for those who want to get right to the subject of band instrumentation, here it is: http://www.lipscomb.edu/windbandhistory/RhodesWindBand_11_Instrumentation.htm
At the beginning of this section, Rhodes sums up the problem in a quotation from Robert Milano:
The symphonic band, as it exists today, is a monolithic monster, the unfortunate result of the attempt to equate the symphonic band with the symphony orchestra.
Robert Milano (1963)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lee
Date: 2012-01-24 17:52
I was told once that a band needed three clarinets for each trumpet - I've yet to see a band that meets that criteria.
BTW for ear protection I use ear plugs by Etymotic as described at:
http://www.etymotic.com/hp/er20.html
Lee
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: davyd
Date: 2012-01-24 19:41
I could understand the clarinets being asked to cut back if a brass solo wasn't projecting enough. In a jazz band I used to play in, the saxes might well cover up a seated trumpet player, but out on a gig, the trumpet player is standing, and projects perfectly well. But I cannot understand a clarinet section covering up a larger trumpet section.
Maybe the room has strange acoustics? In one local theatre, the acoustics are such that timpani in particular don't project as well as you would think they would.
One reason conductors might pick on winds more often than brass, and I say this having done some band conducting: the winds are closer, and minor errors are more detectable. If one of 5 flutes sitting right in front of me missed an accidental, it was more obvious than if one of 5 trombones seated 20 feet away had done so.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: marcia
Date: 2012-01-24 23:55
>A very important issue in concert bands is the ringing in the ears that >those great brass players can produce.
>but the rehearsals made ears ring for a couple of days, which is not really >acceptable, as it could become permanent.
Two words---EAR PLUGS!! By the time you notice hearing loss it is way too late as the damage has been done. We only get one set of ears so we need to take care of them. A bassoonist from the VSO was telling me once that when the orchestra members had hearing tests, the piccolo player had the best hearing. The reason--she always wore ear plugs.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2012-01-25 16:08
Yea, in my orchestra the conductors are always asking us woodwinds to keep it down because we're drowning out the brass section in the forte sections. Yea right!
You either have a very strong clarinet section or a very weak brass section. ESP
eddiesclarinet.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2012-01-25 17:15
On further thought, I think it was the conductor's oblique way of asking one player to tone it down. She just started playing again after a long break, and was playing everything very loudly for the first two weeks. She recognized that she was too loud and on the third week did a much better job of paying attention to the dynamics.
But it was still rather amusing to hear that we were drowning out the brass, especially since they are always so loud!
********
A board member emailed me and mentioned that in his band the director didn't want to have any more than 3 first clarinets, because he didn't want the clarinets to overpower the 7 trumpets.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
