Tone? [I think]

[Robb Bingham <robbingham@xxxxxxxxx>]

Mr Ross said,

<you say there is one objective standard 
<of "tone" for violin, and that a student 
<can only bow properly in one way to achieve 
<this.

I, of course, didn't say this at all. I said that if
my violin student [fictitious] tells me that, when it
comes to ~bow placement for tone~ he doesn't feel
there is any standard that he could accept, that I
couldn't keep him as a student.

<Sound and tone are not
<mutually exclusive terms

No one said they were. You're stretching. We've pretty
much exhausted this, no? Anything you want 
me to address?

<"good tone" is subjective, as it is a value 
judgment-<-and value judgments are inherently
subjective.

Uh. Agreed. ~Good ANYTHING is necessarily subjective~.
And?

<Only by understanding the difference between
<what can be quantified and what cannot be 
<quantified can actual
<understanding occur.

Hmmm. I think understanding IS starting to dawn. 

Now; what are some more items we can put on our list
of criteria for big fat tone?

Your servant,
Robb
http://mp3.com/robbingham

- -------------------
Here are some suggestions [as per requests]:

- -If you play stiffly, from note to note, 
concentrating on the area between your molars 
and the harps edge; you'll probably have 
worse tone. If you have enough skill and 
knowledge to play smoothly, and concentrate 
on the areas between your diaphragm and the back of
your knuckles you'll probably
have better tone.

- -If you cover only enough of the harp with 
your lips to isolate your hole; you'll probably 
have worse tone. If you place the harp as 
deeply in your mouth as
possible and open as widely as 
possible- while still being able to 
isolate the desired hole; you'll
definitely have better tone.

- -If you have thin, small, stiff dry lips; 
you'll probably have worse tone. If you 
have large soft, pliant lips that make a 
good seal on the harp [and not
dry-mouthed]- you'll probably have better 
tone.

- - If you hold your harp with two fingers on 
each side of the harp; you'll probably have 
lousy tone. If you form a cup around the 
harp that allows you to totally control where 
ANY air goes/escape; you'll probably have 
better tone.

- -If you understand the music that you are playing 
on many different levels [and therefore know 
what you want to play-down or emphasize] you'll
probably have better tone. If you are playing
~by-the-numbers~ and sustain or mute only 
according to what you read or hear; you'll
probably have worse tone.

- - If you have shallow breathing you'll probably
have lousy tone. If you breathe from deep in
your lungs youíll be at an advantage for 
producing better tone.

- - If you imagine a big, wide, full ~sound~ that you
want to emulate [LW had the saxophone. I have LW] 
then you'll probably have better tone.

The better you can make an airtight cup around the
harp -and produce the ~wa-wa~ sound, the better your
tone will be. Your cup should be so controlled that,
even amp-less, when you take your hand away it should
make a major difference.

***********
- -For definition: If your ~sound~ sounds big, round,
smooth and full [bass saxophone-like]; you probably
have better tone. If your sound sounds small, thin,
rocky and weak [clarinet-like]; you 
have worse tone [There are factors that effect 
the above mentioned qualities].



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