 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ~ jerry
Date: 2002-01-27 00:36
I just came from dinner at a sports bar and grill (smoke about killed us so we had to leave early) where they have Karaoke (sp) on Sat. eve's.
While sitting there I started thinking (I do occasionally), "I wonder if a person could play the clarinet at something like this, in lieu of singing."
Has anyone ever done this kind of public imprompto performance with the clarinet, or any other instrument for that matter? Just curious -- sounds like it could be fun for amateurs. Of course it would be nice to find a smoke-free invironment ............
~ jerry (a reformed smoker for ten+ years now)
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Author: allencole
Date: 2002-01-27 02:29
Playing what you want at will on a band instrument is much more difficult than singing karaoke. If you feel that you're up to the task, you can buy a karaoke disk at any Sam Goodys and give it a try. Or, you can also try playing along with any other recordings in your collection.
Speaking as a working jazz/pop musician who often determines keys and plays previously unplayed songs on the spot, I would be more comfortable playing with a combo of live musicians than with an inflexible karaoke machine. Even so, the task is doable if you have good ear skills, know the song well enough to sing it, and can play it in a key of someone else's choosing. Consider the following:
1 - You must already be familiar with the song, and able to play it by ear. Karaoke discs cannot be relied on match either the key or the format of orgininal recordings or of published sheet music.
2 - The song must have a clearly discernible melody, and should be fairly sophisticated. Otherwise, there is a tremendous burden on the player to ornament the song enough to keep it pleasing to the listener. Hint: If a song is boring and droll WITH the lyrics, it will be nearly unbearable WITHOUT the lyrics. What you can do to mitigate this depends on your flair for composition or improvisation.
3 - Request the song to be played at another visit before you attempt to sit in. You need to know what key it's in and the placement of the various verses, choruses, interludes, etc. Find out what key it's in, and make sure to find out if it modulates. (Don't ask the DJ--or is it KJ? -- if you can't figure it out on your own, I guarantee that this task is over your head)
4 - Do ask the DJ or KJ if their equipment can raise or lower the pitch of the song a step or half-step from the original. Let them know what you have in mind. I understand that some have this capability and could take a piece that's in 6 sharps/6flats, and reduce it to 1 sharp or 1 flat.
5 - Practice the song at home, including any ornamentations or improvisations that you intend to include and do it in the original karaoke key as well as any other key that you might intend to play in.
All this does not mean that you can't do it. I think it would be a great project. A good starting point, would be to just start playing along with records.
For anyone interested in these sorts of skills, I have help available online at http://www.jamschool.net
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Author: Bob Arney
Date: 2002-01-27 13:23
Allan---What you say sounds very interesting. When I try to play along with records I find that the sound engineers have altered the key to compress a given number of songs on the CD. It's almost impossible to "de-tune" to stay within earshot of it. Noticed some Karoke CD's on e-Bay that can be played through your PC, have "2100 ssongs", use the PC as a Karoke machine and are capable of altering the tone (I assume they mean changing the key).[Who knows what songs?] All this for about $15.00. Seems like a lot of fun for such a smal investment. Anybody dong this??
Bob A
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Author: ~ jerry
Date: 2002-01-27 14:07
Thanks for the info, Allen.
I didn't realize that it could be that complex. But it makes me wonder if something could be developed along these lines that would work for musical instruments........maybe there already has been...........hard for me to believe that something similar has not been tried.
Even so, it's beyond my cabability at this stage in the development of my musical skill.
~ jerry
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-01-27 14:16
To Bob Arney - the sound engineers haven't changed keys when compressing for time for many years now - they don't speed up the tape, they resample the digital recording. That way they can change tempo without changing keys and things sound much more natural.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2002-01-28 00:21
Jerry - I don't think that it would be cost-effective to develop a Karaoke system tailored for instrumentalists. In reality, we already have it available in the numerous CD play-along books coming from Hal Leonard & Warner Bros.
To understand playing pop music on a band instrument, you have to look at how the vocal karaoke participants learned their craft. They TRY it all the time. They sing to the radio in the car, they sing in the shower, etc. But the bottom line is that they practice singing the things that they like to sing--probably unassisted by any handbooks for formal education. To so this with band instruments, we must practice playing the things that we like to play while building up a similar level of self-reliance. This is obviously more difficult, but this is why we have exercise books and theory books. Remember that most of the jazz greats spent much time playing along with recordings of those that they wished to emulate.
On pitch problems - Reliability of pitch is the single most dangerous element in the task of playing along with a recording. Generally, CD technology is a godsend for us, but what if the CD has been made from a sped-up 33 LP or a cassette. I've seen cassette players that play as much as a half-step sharp or flat. What if something were recorded on poorly calibrated home machine and then run through yet another? A nightmare for sure. I am very used to being flexible with pitch AND I own a Clickbarrel, but if the recording is off, I'd say that discretion is the better part of valor here. (I normally check for the key using an A-440 tuning fork in my ear. If I can't make a decision on the key, it's a pretty good warning sign regarding pitch accuracy)
Also, if your DJ/KJ has a disc deck with adjustable pitch, his/her failure to zero out any adjustments could make even a digital recording problematic for you.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-01-28 00:44
If you've got a sound card on your computer there are programs around that will let <b>you</b> resample to change the pitch without changing the tempo (or vice versa).
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Author: Bob Arney
Date: 2002-01-28 23:09
As a test-bed for the "geezer group", and other interested folk, I have ordered a CD from e-Bay that claims to have 2100 songs on it, can be set for tone etc, can display the music as well etc, all good news. It claims to turn your PC into a KAROKE machine using the sound card within the PC. Remains to be seen. We old retired guys with "nothing to do" need something to keep us busy. So, I will try this out--when it gets here- and open this thread again. Stay Tuned!
Bob A
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Author: Betsy
Date: 2002-02-02 15:48
After seeing you the sitting in with the band Allen, Lisa and I have voted you our "improv. guru."
Sincerely, Your fan club
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