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Re: Projection

Author: mschmidt
Date: 2007-09-04 22:55

I think part of the confusion comes from the fact that "dark" and "light" are two linguistic poles used to describe something that is multi-dimensional. IF there was just a fundamental and one overtone, we could define "brightness" as the ratio of the overtone to the fundamental. Under those conditions, using Mark's references, we could safely say that the brighter tone has more projection.

Do a spectrum analysis of an oboe and you will find (a) many overtones and (b) a different distribution of overtones for different notes. What is "dark?" It is a subjective judgement! You're never going to get "just the fundamental" on an oboe. The "darkness" of the sound may depend on a rather subtle diminishment or augmentation of different overtones. Maybe a "dark" tone has more even multiples (octaves) and fewer fractional overtones (fifths and thirds and the like). In that case, a strong high-multiple overtone might yield projection without brightness. I don't know. I'm just considering hypotheticals, as my attempts to measure overtones were never accurate enough to establish a difference between dark and light!

Also, as Mark pointed out, "projection" is usually judged in the presence of other instruments, usually in a concert hall. The hall may favor some overtones. The contrast in overtone distribution between the oboe and other instruments may be what consistutes the subjective sense of projection.

Mike

Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore

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