Third try. (I'm getting senile far, far too young.0 Below I actually corrected the paragraph that starts "The Saint-Saens and Mahler..."
----- Original Message ----- From: "Ray Horton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Taris L Flashpaw" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "finale list" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, June 02, 2003 7:05 PM Subject: Re: [Finale] Scordatura notation and playback > Taris said (complete message below): > > > Doesn't strike me as a very professional attitude. > > Very professional, in fact. A professional will strive to play in tune at > all times, and will strive to take care of his or her instrument so that it > plays well at all times. For these reasons, the professional will usually > seek other ways within the section to play the scordatura passages, if > possible, or will use a cheaper instrument, already mis-tuned, for necessary > scordatura passages. > > Bass is an exception - they do sometimes mistune for certain passages. > It'sd easier with machine tuning than with pegs, and the instrument can take > it better. > > My son played Koussevitsky Concerto with his youth orchestra a couple of > weeks ago. He had restrung his bass with solo strings (a step higher than > orchestra strings, as per Koussevitsky's invention) and played the rest of > the concert on a school bass tuned normally. On the work before his solo, > his G string snapped, so after his solo he went off and tuned his solo > strings down to play the last piece on the program. Not the best sound, but > better than not playing. > > The Saint-Saens and Mahler parts you mentioned are for a solo instrument. > Certainly in the Mahler, (where the effect desired is 'to sound like a cheap violin') > the solo player will, I'm sure, pick up a > second instrument. The soloist in the Saint-Saens will either pick up a > second instrument or walk off stage to retune (or, most likely, walk > off-stage to get a second instrument and to come back for a solo bow!) In > neither case will they have to tune/retune onstage while the music is going > on. I haven't seen my Rite of Spring score for months, and am too cheap to > buy another, but I seem to recall that the cello passage mentioned (last > bar) is a multiple stop, and I would be fairly certain that the passage will > generally be played divisi in such a way to avoid the scordatura. Don't > shoot the messenger - I'm telling you what I have observed. And, I am > talking strictly about a string section in a professional symphony > orchestra. > > I still do not understand the nature of the passage that Taris wants to > write - how can you tune the seconds down to an F# and have the violas play > another octave lower? > > Ray Horton > Bass Trombonist, > Louisville Orchestra > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Taris L Flashpaw" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Ray Horton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Monday, June 02, 2003 4:50 PM > Subject: Re: [Finale] Scordatura notation and playback > > > > Doesn't strike me as a very professional attitude. I mean, looking my > > orchestration book, they list three famous passages (one of which, I > > confess, isn't for violin, but 'cello, but still, the mistuned string's > > pitch can be played by violas). The first is the Saint-Saens "Danse > > Macabre" solo violin part. The top string is tuned down to E-flat. > > The second is in the Mahler Symphony #4, Second mvmt. Every > string > > is tuned up a full tone. > > The one for 'cello is the final measure of Stravinsky's "Rite of > > Spring". The A-string is down a half-tone. And this is used for a whole > > section, not just a soloist. > > > > And it's rather hard to have the violas do it when they're > playing > > an octave below what the seconds are playing (and that's an octave below > > the firsts). And it'd be hard to balance two half-sections of violas with > > first violins. > > > > Taris > > > > At 02:53 PM 6/2/2003 -0400, you wrote: > > > > >Notation is the least of the problem. It's been my experience that > string > > >players, especially violinists, detest this and will try to avoid messing > up > > >the tuning of their instruments just to play something the violas can do > > >better. It's nearly impossible to get the off-tuned string in tune, and > > >difficult to retune it back to the correct pitch. I'm not sure what you > are > > >describing, but perhaps just the firsts and violas could handle it? > > > > > >When I mentioned a low F-sharp to my daughter, the violinist, she said > > >"That's why God made violas." > > > > > >Ray Horton > > >Bass Trombonist, > > >Louisville Orchestra > > > > > >----- Original Message ----- > > > > > > > >I have this niggling feeling that this has already been discussed on > > > > >this list, but I'm curious about how to notate violin scordatura. In > > > > >a work that I'm working on at the moment, I'd like the second > > > > >violins to tune the G string down to F-sharp so that firsts, seconds > > > > >and violas can play in a two-octave spread. I just want to know how > > > > >I should notate this and get it to playback properly. > > > > > > > > > >Taris > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
