 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: James
Date: 2002-11-13 05:32
I really really wonder how the CSO does it.. Mr. Combs plays on Leblanc, Mr. Yeh uses Yamaha, and Mr. Smith and Mr. Bloom use buffet. (it probably doesn't hurt that they are all clarinet gods)When you listen to them you cannot even tell that they are useing different brand horns.
But when I play in my section I can tell that theres a difference. Like the scales in leblanc and buffet seriously clash. I always though that if one learned how to play intune with him/herself that they would be able to play better intune with other people but for some reason this section seems to clash a bit in tune. A lot in tunning. It isn't as bad on A clarinet, but on Bb its kind of a mess. Tunning in the clarinet section is tunning four piccolo's.
It's not the biggest music crisis in the world but I was just curious what some of the pro's have done to deal with this or if they have never had a clashing problem whatsoever.
Thanks in advance :0)
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Author: Tree
Date: 2002-11-13 06:56
Make everyone switch to Concertos, that'll fix your problem!
:)
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Author: Robert
Date: 2002-11-13 07:21
In my orchestra we have 3 Buffets, and two Wurlitzers. We don't have any tuning problems, and we blend well too. I've played in an all-buffet section and had tuning problems. It depends on the players.
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2002-11-13 08:18
Intonation is in your head, not in the instrument if you're using professional equipment. If you are a pro using pro equipment and you're sure that the intonation problems are caused by the instrument, go and see your maker and fix it or get a new instrument.
Good itonation is never impossible as long as everybody involved knows what they're doing and know their function. It's purely an intellectual problem if your ears are trained well enough.
Alphie
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Author: denner22
Date: 2002-11-13 08:35
Having used BOTH Buffet and Leblanc clarinets for some time in a profesionol situation, I believe that it is the player who makes the biggest difference. Both instruments have tuning problems. In fact I have yet to find a clarinet that doesn't have tuning problems. In the end it is a piece of wood and you have to learn to play it!
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-11-13 10:05
i.e. you make adjustments to the way you play it in order to overcome the tuning idiosyncrasies of any instrument. all players in a group need to do this.
After all, if you are frequently playing with a keyboard, your tuning will have to veer towards accommodating the tempered scale, and if you are playing regularly with a piano, the stretched octaves.
On the other hand if you are regularly playing with instrumentalists capable of humouring the pitch of their instruments, your tuning will veer towards a true scale, for any given key you are playing in.
Tuning is quite a fluid thing, and needs the attention of all players, for every note, rather than blaming instruments.
I have recordings of an extraordinary pan pipe player, "Syrinx", playing difficult flute repertoire, complete with abundant accidentals and trills - Bach, Teleman, you name it! His tuning is impeccable. Amazing when you consider there are no sharps on pan pipe, only flats, and the flats are played not by blowing across special 'flat' pipes, but by blowing into a C-scale pipe just enough to humour it a full semitone flat..
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2002-11-13 12:24
"If every monk sweeps his own doorway, the World will be clean."
(No mention of the trash piled in the middle of the roadways.)
You play YOUR chart, I'll play mine.
We both watch the maniac waving their arms up front, and I'll meet you at the fermata, 'kay?
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2002-11-13 13:23
Buffet and Leblanc in the same section? Heck, I have Buffet and Leblanc in my same case.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2002-11-13 13:32
Congrats, Ralph, I have Selmer and LeBlanc 17/6's in one dbl case and Selmer plus Kohlert A in the other. I find I'm more comfortable playing my Sel CT along-side my friend's Sel 10 S?, particularly when trying for an in-tune 7th!! Fun, aint it?? Don
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-11-13 14:06
It's even more rare for the two violinists in a string quartet to have matching instruments.
Or, to extend the analogy... the 5 saxophonists in most big bands rarely play the same brand. (and let's not even get started on sax mouthpieces)
Get the idea? It's just a matter of listening and blending - all the time.
Much easier said, than done...GBK
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Author: William
Date: 2002-11-13 14:18
Those "guy's" in the CSO would sound just as good plaing on Vito's, Bundys's and Jupitar's--for tonal blend, good intonation and musical phrasing, it isn't so much the instrument as it is the player. For less experianced (and less talented players), it might be more important to play the same brand of instrument so that similar errors in tuning will prevail (most likey match).
BTW--in a previous posting, Greg Smith (CSO Second Clarinetist Extrodianaire) observed that "even in a section with four different tonal concepts, somehow we make it work." And that is the key--the PLAYER makes it work. They play the "piece(s) of wood" in their hands, not the other way around.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2002-11-13 20:47
its the indian-not the arrow
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Author: Jean
Date: 2002-11-13 23:40
I was beginning to think I was the only schizo who owned so many brands of clarinets...let's see....1 LeBlanc, 2 Buffets, 1 Rossi, 1 Marigaux, 1 Noblet (okay, I guess technically that is a LeBlanc), and the metal one which is for display only I can't recall. Each has its own quirks....
Jean
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Author: carmen izzo
Date: 2002-11-14 02:47
Once again James I'm disappapointed in you. Our section's intonation troubles (as pointed out by the maestro last week) isn't due to the brand of instrument we play. It appears you blame every aspect of clarinet playing on the brand of instrument. Is there a reason behind this? Seriously, when it comes down to it, clarinet playing is about what the individual does in his or her spare time to adjust or improve their style of playing. And almost always you try to create some sort of controversy over instrument brands. Save the world oxygen and the internet gigabytes by finding out for yourself how things work, and what you as a clarinet player can do to fix them.
I really apologozie to the rest of the Sneezy board for bringing about these intra-section issues, BUT, I feel that what I have to say is something that every single one of us should know.
Sincerley,
Carmen
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-11-14 03:37
carmen izzo wrote:
> I really apologozie to the rest of the Sneezy board for
> bringing about these intra-section issues, BUT, I feel that
> what I have to say is something that every single one of us
> should know.
Please don't use the BBoard for your intra-sectional issues, OK? We didn't know the context, and really didn't care about which group or who's in it.
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Author: daybreakteacher
Date: 2002-11-16 01:32
As others have stated a lot of intonation is up to the player. Every horn is different. It is up to the player to know their horn and use the ears. Professional equipment helps, but it doesn't do it all.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2002-11-19 17:22
It's true that the different brands tend to clash if not carefully tuned and kept in tune through great skill and practice. Mr. Combs, Smith and Yeh being professional musicians would have learned to conquer this problem. However, most band directors (and orchestra leaders) tend to want their young players to play the same brands and mouthpieces to help fix one of the many problems with intonation that young players have. They work for an overall sound--difficult at best with youngsters who have not yet developed their "ear."
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