At 2:41 PM -0400 7/2/07, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz wrote:
At 02:24 PM 7/2/2007 -0400, John Howell wrote:
The problem with that method
is that it leaves it entirely up to the player to figure out how and
where to finger the harmonic.
Exactly. That's what I do.
You put in bowings, they change them.
Touchy, touchy!!! ;-) I've commented before (on
this list, I think), so I'll simply repeat what
I've said. You put in bowings THAT WORK and they
will not change them. It takes an experienced
player about 30 seconds, tops, to make that
decision. (And I repeat that "bowings" includes
not only up- and downbow marks but all slurs as
well.)
You put in phrasings, they change them.
I won't change anyone's mind, I know, but
"phrasings" do not belong in string music.
Keyboardists can't seem to understand this. Any
and every slur in string music is a bowing
instruction. Maybe "they" change your bowings
because you think they're phrasings and they
think they're bowins and don't work as bowings.
The ONLY score I've ever played that successfully
mixed bowing marks (slurs) and phrase marks (big
slurs) is the Barber Adagio.
You put in dynamics, they change them.
I find that hard to believe. Of course dynamics
are tied heart and soul to bowings, and sometimes
bad bowings (or phrasings masquerading as
bowings) make specific dynamics impossible, so
the player has to choose to observe one or the
other. A savvy composer (who is most often a
string player) USES bowings to help produce the
required dynamics. Some of Dvorák's are
difficult to play in one bow, but we know that he
knew what he was doing.
You put in tempi, they change them.
That's a matter to discuss with conductors, not players.
Harmonics? Hah! Unless I absolutely want it
done on a certain string in a certain way, players get the sounding-note
version from me.
Some harmonics can ONLY be produced on a certain
string in a certain way, while others can be
produced in more than one way, and since the tone
quality changes it's really up to you to specify
what you want (or think you want), just as it's
up to you to KNOW that what you write is playable.
If it's good enough for Stravinsky's "Rite", it's way good
enough for me!
Ah, an appeal to authority. I feel so much better now!! :-D
john
--
John R. Howell
Virginia Tech Department of Music
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
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