Author: huboboe
Date: 2010-09-20 00:29
Hello, all -
This is a very interesting thread. dabbling about in search of precision where there is no standard vocabulary has some enlightening moments.
I just thought I would add a couple of additional thoughts to my last post...
No matter what your preference in sound, it is achieved by 'balancing' the dark/light variables.
In the American (or 'long scrape?) reed, the short, thin tip provides the reedy, bright component to the sound, while the back, the longer, thicker part of the scrape provides the lower, darker components. These two areas are coupled by a 1 - 2 mm structure called the 'ramp', a tapering section (which varies from straight across the reed to a more usual half-moon shape) which passes the energy from the easily played tip to the thicker back, which is too thick to vibrate on its own.
The more abrupt the blend is, the more the tip is detached from the rest of the reed it becomes and the more reedy or bright the reed is.
The longer the blend is, and how far it extends onto the tip, the more the massive back 'steps on' the tip's freedom to vibrate, and the darker or thicker qualities prevail.
We can also change the balance by lengthening or thinning the tip for a brighter sound or by thinning or lengthening the back to increase the 'darkness' of the sound.
Usually it's all of these things in combination, which takes a while to learn :-)
I like to describe the quality of the oboe's sound in terms of complexity. Without being judgmental, I liken Hollinger's or Pierlot's sound as being fairly one-dimensional, something like hot cocoa made with water, while my favorite players (of the American, dark school) have a more complex quality, like hot cocoa made with cream.
I imagine the short scrape behaves in a similar manner, even though it has a different architecture.
That's my 2 cent's worth for the night.
Regards,
Robert Hubbard
WestwindDoubleReed.com
1-888-579-6020
bob@westwinddoublereed.com
|
|
The Oboe BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
