Hey! Don't shoot the messenger! I've seen it happen, that's all. I've seen 8va markings for extreme ranges ignored, occasionally, sometimes accidentally, sometimes on purpose. They seem to be taken less seriously, sometimes, by some players, then are leger lines.
A typical example: Tuba part has an isolated low A with an 8ba under it. One player I used to work with, many years ago, would tend to ignore the 8ba in a case like that and just play the low A, not the pedal A. If that note, on the other hand, was written with 6 leger lines and a space, he would have been less likely to take it up an octave. Speaking for myself (and most of the good musicians I work with), I always try very, very hard to play everything the composer writes. (The most common exception for me would be something that is commonly written for bass trombone but makes little effect: a loud, low, pedal note, flutter tongued. Usually this is more successful without the flutter.) Just this morning we got to watch our percussionists running around before dress rehearsal tuning their wine glasses. (We also decided that "He's been tuning his wine glasses again" is a great euphemism for a percussionist falling off the wagon.) And, sure enough, the slow movement of the piece by A. Louie ended with a beautiful, ethereal chord of wine glasses. So I'm not saying that pros don't care. I'm just trying to help others on the list avoid pitfalls. These are in-the-field observations (together with my guesses at the reasoning behind them), folks. Just read them and factor them with all the other things you've learned. Just don't jump on me for what I've heard and seen other musicians do! I've gone through this phenomenon before on this list! (Remember the scordatura argument? A pro violin section WON'T DO IT! They'll tear your piece up first! If that's what you want written in your Groves article, fine, but if you want to hear a pro orchestra play your piece NOW, then put the low F# in the VIOLAS, dammit! And it's NOT MY FAULT! ... There, there, calm down, Ray) RH ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Huggins" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Finale List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, October 03, 2003 3:15 PM Subject: Re: [Finale] TAN: Extension ranges on ... Bass Clarinet > Ray, your statement is curious to me. First I'm not exactly certain what you > mean by "mere alteration of the printed pitch." What's "mere" about it? Are > you suggesting that a ledger-line note is more respected than a note with an > 8va on it? > > Second, are you saying that the performer might arbitrarily decide the > composer "didn't really mean it"? > > Richard > > > From: "Ray Horton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >I am chiming in late on the overworked 8va vs. leger line fight: As a performer, I have sometimes observed other performers, good and bad, amateur and professional, ignore 8va markings when it suited their purpose. (Such as "I don't like this piece, and I don't feel like working that hard by playing that high or that low"). They are _much_ less likely to alter an extreme note that is written with leger lines. An 8va or 8ba marking can make the composer's intended note seem like a mere alteration of the printed pitch. Ray Horton Bass Trombonist, Louisville Orchestra _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
