Re: Levy, overblows & passing notes

[clarkeb@xxxxxxxxx]

>The timbre and harmonic content are obviously different than purely
>blown/drawn notes or the bent notes. I imagine that your valve bent
notes
>are also subtley different sounding than the conventional bent notes
9may
>not be discerable on tape, but only ~live~). 

If you can hear it with your ears live, then I could certainly record
it and you would be able to hear it on tape.  This is similar to
playing the natural French Horn.  It has no valves and the player has a
case of crooks to change the key of the horn.  Some notes must be
achieved by muting the bell with your hand.  You can hear the
difference in the tonal coloration of these notes as the player moves
his hand in the bell.  This is very similar to how I percieve the
different colorations that harp players get when using bent notes and
overblows.  It doesn't necessarily detract from a performance, but it
is a characteristic of the instrument.  Incidentally, I strive to make
the bent notes that I play just as full and fat sounding at the open
tones.  I consider it a mark of a poor player who's tone gets thin when
he plays bent notes.  On the other hand, tonal variation achieved by
changing the hand position, tounge, or ombechure is a different matter.
Good players may do all of these things and more.


Bernie Clarke
"Don't start me to talkin'.  I'll tell everything I know." - SBWII