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Re: Getting a richer, more colorful sound

Author: Bob Barnhart ★2017
Date: 2021-05-06 23:59

My first thought on reading your post is that "color and richness" is a bit vague for me. I would ask, do you want more resonance, weight, depth, warmth/brilliance, roundness, projection, etc. However, even these terms have a spectrum of meaning for many people.

First, I would say that it is important to have a clear concept in mind of what you want to sound like. Growing up, I listened carefully to Karl Leister, Robert Marcellus, Harold Wright and Pete Fountain, noting the qualities in THEIR sounds (and playing) that I would like to have. Today, I still have a number of players whose sounds I admire and attempt to incorporate into my sound.

As others have mentioned, the strength and voicing of your airstream, and your ability to vary them is the heart of any tone production. There are many posts about aspects of this, but I find thinking in terms of voicing "Eeee", "Ahhh" or "Ohhh" are helpful in producing different colors. Long tones over the range of the instrument at all dynamics help to develop clarity and intensity that are needed for depth, resonance, projection, etc.

Certainly the mouthpiece and reed have a huge influence on tone production. However, I will say that I ascribe to the belief that you will (more or less) sound like yourself regardless of what equipment you play. However, it important to select a mouthpiece/reed combination that feels like it naturally encourages the sound you want to produce so that it doesn't distract you from focusing on the music at hand. I feel that reed strength is an important part of achieving this. I think many players select reeds that are too hard in an attempt to achieve a bigger/darker sound. However, this can be counterproductive. I recall conversations with Greg Smith concerning this and (I believe) his opinion was that the reed should be soft enough to "allow the mouthpiece to work as it was designed to". Over the years I've become to believe that he is right: one should play a reed that is just hard enough to obtain the responsiveness and performance you require. Rely on your airstream/voicing and mouthpiece to produce the tone quality.

Finally, I would recommend recording yourself to evaluate any changes you make and the associated progress you make. While we have some idea of how we sound to our ears, how we sound up close may not be how we sound at a distance. Therefore, if you can record yourself in a large room or concert hall you will have a better idea of how your sound is perceived by others and whether it is the sound you are trying to achieve.

Good luck!
Bob Barnhart

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