Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2017-07-23 07:08
Few of us will disagree that at the higher end of clarinet playing, synthetics [possibly] notwithstanding, the idea of a reed playing perfect right of the box without adjustment, or that the reed might need continued [small] adjustments during its life is simple a fact of clarinet playing life.
Something Karl said in another post about, in so many words, the cost of one's time to work on reeds, versus the choice to be more particularly and demanding of the manufacturer in producing product that can come up to, and stay up to speed faster, with less player work, had me thinking.
I use to consider myself disadvantaged say, to the flute player. [Today, I just accept this as part of the instrument I love, along with intonation issues, etc..]
This is not to say that the flute isn't, at the highest levels of play, an extremely demanding instrument, or that gear doesn't matter, but that they just pick the dang thing up and play, like a pianist or a brass player, etc.
We clarinetists [need to] futz around with reeds, which takes away from practice time, or requires us to allocate more time than maybe the trumpet player to accomplish similar in difficulty goals, part of that time away from the metronome and etude books, being devoted to reeds. The question is, how much of our practice time, percentage wise, do you think we should be spending on it? 8%, 20% more, less?
[0%--just play synthetics?????]
(By no means do I sit in judgment of these non-clarinet instruments or players, or the extremely hard work required to approach virtuosity on any of these instruments.)
While it's not a one size fits all proposition, there are guidelines and extremists at either end.
On one side lies the player, who if they spent just a little [more] time on reeds might find it time well spent, and the other who seeks the reed perfection that doesn't exist, that adversely impacts (reduces) play time. Personal preferences, income, our proclivity to nuture arundo donax, or cut our losses and toss it (either initially or after some/considerable play,) and so much more play into the mix.
I would hope the window for these percentages has gone down in the last 70 years. What do think is a good window today and why?
I actually don't know my own percentage although it's small. I approach reeds like a major league baseball team does its development program. Many new reeds are in constant stages of play and adjustment before I put them with the "playables" or toss them. I tend to work on them in bulk, when too tired to practice for it to be productive, worse, possibly counterproductive, in an effort to be efficient with my practice time.
Thoughts?
Post Edited (2017-07-23 07:10)
|
|
The Clarinet BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
