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Concept of sound

Author: Sylvain
Date: 2006-01-04 16:11

After the 2 threads on sound. One on pro player we try to emulate and one on what do we really sound, I was asking myself, what I really meant by sound and what is it that I am trying to achieve when playing the clarinet.
I have to put a big disclaimer here. I am in not a professional player and thus have only an infinitely small experience of what can be achieved with our instrument. I am even less of a musician than a player so take everything here with a grain of salt.

To me, it is not the note itself that is most important but how one connects them. After all music is never stationary and even a single note is rarely played absolutely the same over time. The musicians I admire most are the ones who have perfect control filling in (legato) or creating (staccato) space between notes. When you add to this a deep understanding of where the music goes and the ability to shape the sound to communicate this idea, you have a musician clarinetist. I find there are many very skilled clarinetists but not so many good *musician* clarinetists.

Another interesting aspect of sound is that we are rarely asked to play a clarinet sound even though that is what we produce. My limited experience with conductors and coaches would actually lead me to think that we are always asked to sound like something else: "sing more", "make a reedy sound", "blend with the cello", "try to sound like a bird", "this is where the cat comes in". In fact, the people whom I find have an interesting sound, often try to emulate something else than a clarinet. If i could do anything with my clarinet, I would sound like Ella Fitzgerald: total control of her voice, liquid tone, always in tune and so intelligent in her interpretations. Even as I play Beethoven I think of her.

Then again sometimes I need to sound like what the piano just did or what the trumpet is about to do. The ability to make any sound is probably what matters most to me, even if the tone is displeasing for the clarinet community. If the music calls for a squealing pig sound, then I should do it.

If there is a point to this post it is that clarinet playing does not necessarely have to be about clarinet playing. In fact, it should probably be about communicating ideas through sounds. IMHO, the concept of sound cannot and should not be separated from the music played.

--
Sylvain Bouix <sbouix@gmail.com>

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