Author: d-oboe
Date: 2007-12-02 03:49
Why is that appalling?
I'm not saying that tone should be disregarded - I'm saying it should not be the focus when practicing/performing music. My point (as is stated/agreed with, later in this post) is that the reed must allow a musician to perform the necessary nuances and phrasing that they want to perform. A good tone will naturally come from that because a really good musical line can onlyexist once all the basics of performing are satisfied: rhythm, intonation, pitch.
If the intonation of a note is perfect, chances are it will sound pretty good. BUT it will most likely happen only if
a) the musician is physically capable of playing a note in tune
b) the reed is built to play in tune.
Unfortunately - and I know some people disagree - a nice warm sound by itself IS NOT MUSIC. I'm sorry - it's just a nice warm sound. Nothing musical has been accomplished, no "story", if you will, has been told. If perhaps a nice fuzzy sound would work well in a particular piece, then by all means. Sometimes, however, a nice warm sound might not convey the right character...and if one doesn't spend the time figuring out "ok, what EXACTLY is needed here to make this CLEAR to the audience what is going on...etc" then spending time fussing over getting a dark fuzzy reed is such a waste of time!
"You can play all the nuance you want and do all the dynamic-contrast that everyone is so interested in and no one will care if you have a tone that sounds like crap!"
Really? Could you name me ONE musician who has impeccable phrasing but a bad tone? Perhaps the problem is the listener - if all people ever listen for is how fuzzy and warm someone's tone is, and never listen for the integrity of the music...then really..why perform for them?
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