 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: JonTheReeds
Date: 2014-07-11 01:04
I'm interested to know what people do when they see espress. on a score
It implies that we normally don't play music with expression - so do we turn it on for this indication? Or do you understand it to mean "play with more expression than normal", in which case how do you achieve this and what are you doing differently?
What are you trying to express, and how do you communicate this? By varying the volume, the intensity, tempo?
What expressive tone do you use and why? Do you understand the instruction to mean that the passage should stand out from the rest of the piece, or is it blended in - in which case what does the instruction mean for you?
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The older I get, the better I was
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Author: as9934
Date: 2014-07-11 01:14
I always try to play expressively and expand the dynamics and tone, some times to much to annoyance of my band director and/or section members. I personally like to use pitch bends and vibrato in certain settings as I feel it brings a new character and life to the music. When I see "espress" or "expressione" I try to do these things to the maximum. I feel that these markings should not even be necessary though as we should always strive to be as expressive as possible in music, something that many clarinet players in my section struggle with.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Wind Ensemble
Buffet E11 clarinet , Vandoren Masters CL6 13 series mouthpiece w/ Pewter M/O Ligature, Vandoren V12 3.5
Yamaha 200ad clarinet, Vandoren B45 mouthpiece, Rovner ligature
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Author: James S
Date: 2014-07-11 01:32
If you need to modify your tone into "expressive tone," there is a problem with your tone. I would treat expressione marks as "exaggeration marks." Add slightly more air, slightly exaggerate the crescendi/decrescendi and pretend that your musical line is the single most important piece of music ever written.
In all technicality expressione marks have no single definition. Those are just my thoughts on the matter.
Good luck!
James Sullivan
Owner, James' Clarinet Shop
www.jamesclarinetshop.com
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-07-11 01:42
Without any specific guidance, I play phrases very simply, playing the higher notes LOUDER and the lower notes SOFTER. When circumstances allow I bring out this difference by "winding up" (speeding up, or shortening the pulse) to the upper note(s) and "unravelling" (slowing down, or lengthening the pulse) to the lower note(s).
Suspensions are the same case as above, you move to them and away from them in this way.
In a passage marked "expressivo," I would try to make these even more clear.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: kdk
Date: 2014-07-11 02:16
I think that, to an extent, this is a little like composers' (especially since the Romantic era) indications ppppp and fffff, etc. To play these literally means to play much softer than possible or louder than possible. This is, in a literal sense, impossible. It's a sign of lack of trust of composers in the performers' ability to understand what the notation says.
The problem is that terms like espressivo, pianissimo and fortissimo (or for that matter mezzo forte or mezzo piano), dolce or energico are always context dependent. If used in a meaningful way, they must mean to do something different from the surrounding music (or why indicate anything?). But what that difference is depends a great deal on what it's meant to contrast with.
DO you have specific examples in mind?
Karl
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2014-07-11 02:45
I was taught that all playing should have character and expression and that every phrase, every note, and every articulation should be considered thoughtfully. Personally, I wouldn't be too keen on hearing a clarinetist using vibrato, portamento, or over-done dynamics, except in the cases they're asked for. I do agree with Mr. Aviles in that espressivo demands clarity and exaggeration. Brahms often used esp. to mark that you have the "solo" line, which would mean that exaggeration would help the ear focus on you in the orchestra/chamber setting. I think this is often a good thing to look for in a score, other composers have used this sort of technique.
Everything should be done within personal taste. Don't fall into the trap of making every note accented, or as many younger clarinetists do, put a quasi exaggerated sfz-diminuendo on all of your notes.
Try this:
-Sing the part to yourself and listen to how you sound. Try and emulate it on the instrument.
-Now try and sing what you think would be more expressive than before, and listen for what you changed. If you liked the way you sang it when trying to be more expressive play it that way on the clarinet.
A vocalization of what your practicing is always a good starting point on hearing what you like without the interference of the clarinet's eccentricities and technical problems.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-07-11 04:26
I do really like the idea of 'vocalizing' what you play. This is a technique that was used quite a bit by Leon Russianoff. Clarinet playing in general adds more 'stuff' (pressurizing your air, finger positions, fingerings, tongue position, tonguing) so that it is usually easier to remove the 'stuff' in consideration of how you want a phrase to SOUND.
I have to also digress a little more if you'll forgive me. Somehow HEARING (actually listening) the sounds of what we are reading is more important. I recall Peggy Noonan once noting how important it was to read ALOUD the the speeches she wrote (for President Reagan) to actually hear how the text sounded. Somehow we NEED the reenforcement of the sound of what we intellectualize to hit our ears and go through our brain again to make it all make sense. Well, at least for the art of things that are "heard" that is.
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: tylerleecutts
Date: 2014-07-11 05:20
One should always vocalize and play as if there is no separation between you and the instrument. An instrument is an extension of yourself, and in essence, the human voice. Let your voice shine through at all times and it will be noted. Good modern examples of this are Andy Miles, Martin Frost, among others.
There is room for the classical style of balance and subtle theatricality- but this style does not apply everywhere.
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2014-07-11 08:23
J. David Harris has legendary eyebrow expression.
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Author: 47tim
Date: 2014-07-11 19:51
When I use expression in music, I tend to adds slight cresendos and decresendos here and there, and often I will alter the rhythm just a hair to make it sound a bit more interesting. I rarely change tempo though.
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2014-07-14 18:55
This question definitely has a long and short answer. The long one has many side issues. The short one will have lots to quibble about. Here is my short answer. Espressivo does not mean expressive. That would be a literal translation. It is rather a style of playing characterized by a wide range of emotions. If it is 'gushy', 'emotive', and not strictly in time, then it is also balanced off with ungushy', non emotive and strictly in time. It is the variance that heightens the qualities.
The term Espressivo is usually found in slow movements. You won't find many marches with this marking. Other markings that are somewhat compatible are cantabile, lyrical, bravura, rubato. The following are somewhat further away; maestoso, dolce, amabile but even these could cross over.
An Espressivo marking in a piece for clarinet and piano involves both participants. The clarinetist must consider what the pianist is doing both in terms of ensemble and consistency of style. Similarly playing second clarinet in an ensemble and interpreting an Espressivo marking involves fitting with the first clarinet. If you are playing an unaccompanied work for clarinet then you are more in charge.
The larger problem here is that it isn't spelled out on the page what to do for Espressivo. We are used to tempo markings of 76 beats per minute but Espressivo is like a moving target; it can't totally be defined on the page. That would destroy the effect. Perhaps it is that Espressivo must be spontaneous. I don't know.
Even my short answer is long. ps. The violin in my mind is better suited to "Espressivo". Listen to Maxim Vengerov.
Freelance woodwind performer
Post Edited (2014-07-14 19:31)
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2014-07-15 01:06
'Espressivo' is something that a composer writes on his score.
Therefore, what you do with it depends very much on the composer. We need to know why they wrote it.
SOME composers may write it and mean: 'This bit may not be very good; please do what you can to make it work.'
Other composers may have other intentions.
I've always been taken with the second movement of Brahms op. 120#2, where the first four bars, each pair of which begin with a rising 6th in the clarinet, are THEN answered by another rising sixth in the fifth bar, which is marked 'espressivo', and with a crescendo.
(Notice that when the piano plays the material alone in bars 9-16, the same markings occur.)
The interaction of clarinet and piano in the FIRST four bars is therefore in question. If it's not espressivo, what sort of interaction is it?
My own answer is that the so-called initial 'upbeat' C is NOT an upbeat, but a contending rhythmic structure CONTRA the piano bar-by-bar accentuation.
So is the so-called 'upbeat' Ab at the end of bar 2 such a contending rhythmic structure.
There is a sort of conflict between clarinet and piano, THIRD beat contra FIRST beat.
The 'espressivo and crescendo' in bar 5 resolves that conflict, and the resolution is marked by the difference between the attack on the Ab in bar 2 and the easing into the Ab in bar 4.
EXPAND YOUR CONTEXT, GUYS!!!
When someone tells you to do something, don't you want to know who's telling you?
And, if you don't know who's telling you, doesn't your making it work depend on what else is going on, as others here have said?
There is no (1-1) mapping between score and performance.
Tony
Post Edited (2014-07-15 01:17)
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2014-07-17 20:53
So I have one more question regarding this topic. What do you do when you see espressivo marked in the score?
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: JonTheReeds
Date: 2014-07-22 22:02
It's interesting to see how different people approach playing music marked 'expressivo'
I like the suggestion to sing the music and replicate it on the clarinet, something I can include in my normal approach to learning a piece, and not a bad technique anyway as it removes one barrier (the instrument) between you and the music
Tony P's bit about widening the context makes sense in a broad brush way, but I don't really have enough musical training to be able to apply it in a practical way, although I try to get a feel for a piece of music in an instinctive way and play appropriately. When he says it all depends on the composer, that makes sense as well, and I will have to try and extend my knowledge of different composers to try and make use of that
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The older I get, the better I was
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2014-07-23 02:30
Jon wrote:
>> Tony P's bit about widening the context makes sense in a broad brush way, but I don't really have enough musical training to be able to apply it in a practical way, although I try to get a feel for a piece of music in an instinctive way and play appropriately. >>
Thanks for reading thoughtfully, Jon. Actually, I don't think you'll go far wrong following the attitude you describe.
Buster said it all, really, in the third post in this thread: "What are you trying to express?"
Answering his question throws you into another world than the world in which you might be asking what to DO.
And being in that world puts you in very congenial – and eminent – company:-)
Tony
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2014-07-23 05:43
Let's put espressivo to the side for a minute. Suppose we are trying to express something more tangible like sadness. If the composer indicates he wants this and we are trying to express this, what now Do we Do?
Freelance woodwind performer
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