I really wanted to read all of your post, Scott, but since I'm American it was too long for me...
Actually I did read it all...not to apologize for junior high and high school band directors, but they are by necessity "generalists". Unlike a private instructor, they cannot spend alot of time with any one individual or group of instruments, so it seems to me they do what they can. Not that this in any way weakens your argument regarding the genesis of poor tonal concept; I did not begin thinking about the sound I was producing until college. It seems that things will get worse, at least here in California, before they get better...several school instrumental teachers I know are in the process of being laid off due to slashed school budgets. And of course no matter what one thinks about how they teach, grades 6-12 is an important time and opportunity for inclined students to begin playing an instrument. Seems to me that the best thing a band teacher could do for a promising student is to hook her/him up with a good private instructor, perhaps from the local college or university. Fred -----Original Message----- From: Scott Pappal [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2003 6:06 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Hornlist] tone color/color instrument Dear listers: There has been some discussion on the list lately concerning "cutting through," "projection," and "tone color." While it is interesting to note how conception of tone quality varies from player to player and school to school, the following is always true: It is exciting to listen to the sound quality of the best players. A dull, colorless, lifeless sound serves no purpose and contributes nothing to any ensemble or any listener. Due to the wonderful weather here, my wife and I did some traveling yesterday, enjoying the drive, the sun, the new "green" smell in the air, and the 70 degree (F) temperatures. While driving, I had some different horn soloists playing - Phil Myers recital disk, Hans Pizka's "Dream Music," Greg Hustis' recital disk, and Lowell Greer's Mozarts on natural horn. All four hornists produced very different sounds, but all four were full of color and variety. The sounds of these players had individuality and personallity. The problem with many band directors is that they view horn as a "background brass" or "color instrument" and then interpret this as meaning: devoid of any interesting tone quality and focus. A large amount of my time and energy is devoted to horn studio teaching, a job I love to do and am proud to do. (In fact, if a few more of us taught horn instead of how to shoot a tank, we'd be in much better shape, but that's another matter...) Without exception, all the players who've come to me from public school band music programs have had a sound which is too dark, dull, unfocused, and blends too well. In short, their sound has no quality of its own because all they do is provide harmonic support and background for others! IMHO, this is one of the large drawbacks of (uhh) band playing: horns are used merely as "range fillers" to round out the alto/tenor voices. Orchestral playing is much more challenging, and encourages growth of musicianship. For instance: 1.) Most band pieces are only several minutes long. A 30 minute piece for band is considered a massive work. A piece of the same length for orchestra is certainly one of the shorter works in the genre. Why? Because audiences (especially American audiences) can't pay attention for more than five minutes, and can't appreciate large sonata forms. Also, because many band composers are sadly inferior to orchestral composers. Name the top five band composers - now name the top five orchestra composers. Compare the two lists - I rest my case. 2.) Most public school band directors know nothing about horn. They characterize horn sound as "dark," "blending," or "smooth." If they want dark and non-focused, why don't they do get more euphonium players? Newsflash: Interesting horn sound is not dark and rich!! It has sparkle, is shiny, and has a velvet "zzch" to it, even in ppp it is interesting and distinct. Want proof? Listen to some of the principal horns on this list, such as Bob Ward, Kendall Betts, or Professor Pizka. 3.) Players playing too loud and with a pinched sound? Duh: Marching Band, marching band, marching band!!! When are Americans going to realize that Marching Band is not a musical activity? Listening to a Beethoven symphony with the score open in one's lap, this is a musical activity. Rehearsing the Mozart Horn Quintet for the first time with the strings, this is a musical activity. As a young teenager, I remember writing out the string parts to the quintet by hand from the score, because I lived in a remote area and couldn't get parts! This is musical learning, not playing in a marching band, blasting away at ffff at a football game halftime show. As Americans, we play too loud because we were brought up on band instead of orchestra. Look at the average number of winds in a large orchestral piece: perhaps 12 woodwinds and 12 brass for a total of 24 players; the rest are strings. Too many young people are brought up trying to blast over a 75 - 100 piece (yuk) band, instead of blending and contributing thier special, complex sound with the orchestra. Off Soapbox, Scott __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - establish your business online http://webhosting.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/fred_baucom%40calpers.ca.gov _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
