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 Re: adding brilliance to sound
Author: RobinDesHautbois 
Date:   2011-05-13 13:17

This question only comes up once in a while... usually people ask for the contrary.

IN GENERAL: more distinct step between the heart and the tip and proportionally thicker sides versus a thinner centre-line will do the trick.

But you play a Buffet, right? Every Buffet I have heard on You-Tube possesses this dark quality whereas Lorees and Yamahas possess a more crystalline sound.

The word "Brilliance" can also mean many things. When I hear it, I think of a more Heinz-Holliger-esque sound (clear and tending towards the shrill). This is is the result of what I wrote above. HOWEVER, one can also mean responsiveness and dynamic fluidity. Thicker sides and "cleaner" step from heart to tip will also promote these as long as your heart does not get thin overall in a way that messes-up the stability.

=> to get this step, when the reed is playing well but still a little hard, I re-scrape the transition from heart to tip but position my blade rather than swirl the wrist... thus I get a kind of "dig" motion.

Of course, using a narrower shape makes a huge difference: don't just try a shape once, it's over 5-10 reeds that you'll notice the difference. RDG shapers (all sizes) have this quality on my Loree (can't speak for other instruments) where the long notes (more holes closed) can sound warmer/darker (need to scrape the reed right for this) but the short notes (more holes open) always sound proportionally more bright and clear. This is less the case with my Kunibert Michel shapers which keep the quality more even throughout the scale. With KM (on my Loree), a reed can sound bright or dark, but it will remain more consistent throughout. I have tied some Weber wide shapes.... anxious to see how they play.

I actually like both shaper families, each for its own merits. My goal --- if I can ever find a way to play enough hours a week --- is to have different reeds for different repertoire. I already know how to do this, what's missing is time to use them and make more before they die on me!

Robin Tropper
M.A.Sc., B.Mus., B.Ed.
http://RobinDesHautbois.blogspot.ca/music

Post Edited (2011-05-13 13:27)

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 Topics Author  Date
 adding brilliance to sound  new
HautboisJJ 2011-05-12 12:13 
 Re: adding brilliance to sound  new
mjfoboe 2011-05-12 13:27 
 Re: adding brilliance to sound  new
ohsuzan 2011-05-12 14:01 
 Re: adding brilliance to sound  new
JRC 2011-05-12 15:46 
 Re: adding brilliance to sound  new
GoodWinds 2011-05-12 15:54 
 Re: adding brilliance to sound  new
RobinDesHautbois 2011-05-13 13:17 


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