I wholeheartedly agree with Ray and others. Players- especially 'non-pros', tend to treat 8ves (up or down) as optional. And to Richard- Yes, I'm afraid that outside of the "do it or you're fired" world of the pros, leger lines are more respected than 8ve etc. And as for the scordatura- try getting 'stopped horns' in the real world of Community Bands!- or even find a full brass section with mutes- especially anything other than straights! Cheers Keith in OZ
----- Original Message ----- From: Ray Horton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Richard Huggins <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2003 7:37 AM Subject: Re: [Finale] TAN: Extension ranges on ... Bass Clarinet > 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 _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
