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RE: Centered Tone

Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 1999-01-22 14:45

Mdi wrote:
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It appears that after evaluating many of the various components that go together to make the composite sound that is the clarinet (reeds, mouthpiece, barrel, ligature, etc.)the comment that is often made is that the sound is "centered". I'm not quite sure what that comment intends to convey. Is it the actual physical location of the sound in relation to the keys or an intangable reference like that"Dark Sound"?

Mdi -

"Centered tone" and "dark tone" are practically undefinable. Everyone agrees that they are good, but beyond that things get hazy.

CENTERED TONE

To me, a tone that is centered has what some teachers call an "edge of reediness" in it -- that is, a small amount of high-frequency "ping" that is not separately audible but gives the tone more color, energy and carrying power. Pipe organ players do this by adding very soft high frequency pipes at the various overtone pitches, which are not heard separately but blend into the lower basic pitch.

You can practice this with an exercise the great teacher Keith Stein showed me many years ago. Stand in a corner of the room facing the intersection of the walls. Play a low E fff and gradually decrescendo. At about mf, you should start to hear the middle line clarion B. Concentrate on the B, keeping it strong as you fade the E down to ppp. It may take several tries. It helps to use a slightly softer reed than usual.

Do this several times to get comfortable. Work on it so you can begin the E mf with the B already present and audible, without facing into the corner.

Then play the low F, listening for the clarion C, and then F#/C# and G/D. Above that, it's much more difficult.

Some people say you can also hear an altissimo Ab above the low E, A above the F, and so on.

Remember that only you can hear these overtones. Other people will hear them only as increased color or resonance.

Sometimes I think of this as a gleaming gold thread running through the middle of the sound.

When you can reliably create the "center" in your sound, you can use it as a focus, "leaning" against it to make your sound carry at low dynamic levels. It's the "right" sort of resistance -- not physically having to blow hard, but focusing your effort on the high energy part of the tone and keeping it strong regardless of the dynamic level.

DARK TONE

"Dark" has little meaning, except as the opposite of what you don't like.

I think of "dark" not as the opposite of "bright" but as the opposite of "thin" and "pinched." A beginner, on a plastic clarinet, a cheap mouthpiece and a # 2 Rico reed makes the opposite of a "dark" tone.

When I think "dark" I suppose I mean a tone that is compact (without wasted energy), centered and energetic, yet made up mostly of the basic pitch, with only enough "center" to add energy without being separately audible to anyone but the player.

It's very hard to be specific, since "centered" and "dark" are words that have no agreed meaning as applied to clarinet tone. The only thing that's certain is that other people will disagree with me. I don't claim to be correct, but only that these definitions work for me.

Best regards.

Ken Shaw

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