 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Torus Tubarius
Date: 2002-11-06 23:09
There's something I have been thinking about for a while. With the oboe, there are <i>very</i> distinct differences between the way a player from one country plays the oboe compared to a player from another country. A German oboist for example, typically has a much brighter and nasal tone, and a very wide vibrato compared to an American oboist. An English oboist has yet another kind of tone--the best word I can think of to describe it is <i>dry</i>--and uses his vibrato differently.
So I have several questions about this, and I'm going to use the WFG to try and get an idea of how other people perceive cross-cultural instrument concepts. (Cleverly named by yours truly)
1) Does anyone else hear this with the oboe? Do you have to be an oboist to hear the differences? See I can remember a time, I think, when I couldn't, but that's been so long ago I can't remember whether it was that I couldn't tell at all, or if I hadn't learned to connect a particular style of playing with a given country.
2) Do any of you who play other instruments hear a marked difference in the way your instrument is played from country to country? I wonder about this because it seems like the double reed family would be the most susceptible to this phenomenon since the reed is the sole sound producing apparatus. I personally can't tell much difference between a German flutist and an American flutist, but perhaps that's because I haven't analyzed flute playing like I have oboe playing. I can hear a difference in bassoons however, it's just not as pronounced to me as on the oboe.
Anyway, over and out.
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Author: joe
Date: 2002-11-07 03:59
i play the saxophone. my prof. in college uses a French-style embouchure and vibrato. This is distinctly differnt then the standard American embouchure for sax. The French-style is a much darker and muffled sound to my ears. The vibrato i am being taught only undulates under the pitch. The american style is typically above and below the pitch.
Another way of playin the sax is by using the German-style embouchure. It is very similar to the French style but uses a more American aproach to the vibrato.
so i guess what i'm saying is that there is a notable difference in saxophone concepts too.
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Author: Gnomon
Date: 2002-11-07 07:42
It is well known in clarinet-playing circles that there is an English tone, a French tone, a German tone and an American tone, among others. There are slightly different instruments used to achieve these tones, but a lot of it is done by the player rather than the instrument. The Czech clarinet tone has to be heard to be believed, sounding more like a cross between an oboe and a trumpet!
Saxophone tones seem to be divided between Classical Tone and Jazz tone. Classical tone tries to get the sax to sound as smooth as possible, while jazz emphasises the roughness.
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Author: Oboe Guy
Date: 2002-11-07 15:35
To me, everybody has a different sound. It is true that different regions tend to have different styles, but that's only reasonable. It also depends on the oboe they use. A lot of german model oboes do tend to have that nasalish pastoral,churchy tone, regardless of who plays them. The french models like Buffet and Loree and Gordet,have a more rounded enveloping sound, more suited to orchestral music. And the brits, famous for their marches,(can anyone say Gustav Holst?)need a nice crisp sharp tone. So, they make their oboes to suit that. This is just a generalization. Not EVERY person from france, germany, or britain will have the sound qualities listed above, but it just so happens that the cheapest and most easy to access oboes(professional) of those regions, tend to have those sound qualities.
Oboe Guy
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Author: TigerTenor
Date: 2002-11-07 15:38
In Asia(where I used to live) Western band/orchestra instruments have only recently entered their musical stage. Classical tone is almost never found being used with the single reed instruments. The Saxophone in Asia is always played with a jazz tone, but has less depth of timbre in it than it does in America. The same is true for Clarinet. The flute, however, is played in very much the same way as it is here in the States.
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Author: Me
Date: 2002-11-24 03:37
I think that one of the most easily reconizable region diferences is Brazil. Flute playing there accentuates the lower notes, it is very soft and mellow. Saxophone playing is also very soft and mellow, sort of a Stan Getz sound. Well that's my opinion.
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