Chuck and list... I am also of the opinion that things are getting louder, especially in orchestras...I had a discussion with Harvey Phillips a while back about it, and he feels the same way. Compared to 50 or so years ago, the low brass are gigantic in bore size. What was a bass trombone back in the day is now merely a "medium-large-bore tenor," and the tubas many people use in orchestras are downright frightening in size. Harvey had no trouble BLENDING with an orchestra on a 3/4 size Conn tuba with only 4 valves. Is it just me, or is BLENDING a declining skill? What's it like at your college, Chuck? In the recent past, a couple of well-known orchestral tubists retired, probably due at least in part to chop damage caused by playing so loud for so long. I occasionally visit the "major midwestern conservatory" about an hour from my house and am shocked by the loudness of the brass playing in the ensembles. As I may have mentioned in an earlier post, I was amazed when I played the euphonium that had belonged to the Sousa Band member. It's a real peashooter compared to what I play now, and it was a day or 2 of practice before I quit overblowing it. Even though my history encompasses only 54 years and a day job, I never thought I'd see a day where the brass had to be separated acoustically from the strings and winds in rehearsals and live performance--not a recording session. Jim
________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Chuck Israels Sent: Tue 27-Jun-06 18:24 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Finale] Re:OTmusic getting louder - was Trombones OK, Andrew, I am not nearly as knowledgeable as you about older music, but I am surprised by the 1910 - 1935 comparison. I don't doubt that you have good information about this, and I am curious about it. In my own 70 years (I realize that's the history of me, not the history of music!), I think my statement holds generally true. Maybe that will change as the delivery system changes - from bigger and bigger venues dictated by economic, rather than esthetic, considerations, to personal listening devices and digital downloads, maybe things will change in ways I cannot anticipate. Chuck On Jun 27, 2006, at 2:02 PM, Andrew Stiller wrote: > > On Jun 25, 2006, at 3:24 PM, Chuck Israels wrote: > >> >> The history of music is the history of music getting louder. Good >> or not, depending on the use and circumstance, but that's the fact. > > It's not that simple. I strongly doubt, for instance, that music in > 1650 averaged louder than that of 1590--rather the reverse, I would > think. > > Same for 1720 vs. 1770, 1910 vs. 1935, etc. > > And I don't think the mean volume of European performances varied > so much as a hair between 800 and 1400. > > Andrew Stiller > Kallisti Music Press > http://home.netcom.com/~kallisti/ > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale Chuck Israels 230 North Garden Terrace Bellingham, WA 98225-5836 phone (360) 671-3402 fax (360) 676-6055 www.chuckisraels.com _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Chuck and list... I am also of the opinion that things are getting louder, especially in orchestras...I had a discussion with Harvey Phillips a while back about it, and he feels the same way. Compared to 50 or so years ago, the low brass are gigantic in bore size. What was a bass trombone back in the day is now merely a "medium-large-bore tenor," and the tubas many people use in orchestras are downright frightening in size. Harvey had no trouble BLENDING with an orchestra on a 3/4 size Conn tuba with only 4 valves. Is it just me, or is BLENDING a declining skill? What's it like at your college, Chuck? In the recent past, a couple of well-known orchestral tubists retired, probably due at least in part to chop damage caused by playing so loud for so long. I occasionally visit the "major midwestern conservatory" about an hour from my house and am shocked by the loudness of the brass playing in the ensembles. As I may have mentioned in an earlier post, I was amazed when I played the euphonium that had belonged to the Sousa Band member. It's a real peashooter compared to what I play now, and it was a day or 2 of practice before I quit overblowing it. Even though my history encompasses only 54 years and a day job, I never thought I'd see a day where the brass had to be separated acoustically from the strings and winds in rehearsals and live performance--not a recording session. Jim ________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Chuck Israels Sent: Tue 27-Jun-06 18:24 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Finale] Re:OTmusic getting louder - was Trombones OK, Andrew, I am not nearly as knowledgeable as you about older music, but I am surprised by the 1910 - 1935 comparison. I don't doubt that you have good information about this, and I am curious about it. In my own 70 years (I realize that's the history of me, not the history of music!), I think my statement holds generally true. Maybe that will change as the delivery system changes - from bigger and bigger venues dictated by economic, rather than esthetic, considerations, to personal listening devices and digital downloads, maybe things will change in ways I cannot anticipate. Chuck On Jun 27, 2006, at 2:02 PM, Andrew Stiller wrote: > > On Jun 25, 2006, at 3:24 PM, Chuck Israels wrote: > >> >> The history of music is the history of music getting louder. Good >> or not, depending on the use and circumstance, but that's the fact. > > It's not that simple. I strongly doubt, for instance, that music in > 1650 averaged louder than that of 1590--rather the reverse, I would > think. > > Same for 1720 vs. 1770, 1910 vs. 1935, etc. > > And I don't think the mean volume of European performances varied > so much as a hair between 800 and 1400. > > Andrew Stiller > Kallisti Music Press > http://home.netcom.com/~kallisti/ > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale Chuck Israels 230 North Garden Terrace Bellingham, WA 98225-5836 phone (360) 671-3402 fax (360) 676-6055 www.chuckisraels.com _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
_______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
