> Two different listeners at the rehearsals of my wind ensemble > (octet+flute) have said that the horns are too loud. Of course I > imagine that your advise will be: play softer. The problem is that we > do not feel the exact sound balance. I may be hearing clearly the > flute (say) but the listener says that he can't. How can I get a > feeling of what a listener hears? Can the balance be affected by the > place where we play? (The next concert will be in a church, while we > are rehearsing in a relatively small room).
You can only do the best you can with the small room. The balance may well be significantly different in the church. It is vital to have at least one rehearsal where you are performing, and this should preferably be the final rehearsal before the performance. During the final rehearsal, somebody must go out into the auditorium and listen to the balance from there. In orchestral rehearsals, the conductor normally does this (and if he doesn't he should, unless you have played together there many times before). In a small group without a conductor, this needs to be one or other of the players, or perhaps a friend whose opinion you all respect and trust. Also, it is common to have to tell the horns to shut up in a small woodwind ensemble. Horns players habitually produce a volume sufficient to be heard over the strings of a full orchestra, and this is usually too loud for a woodwind ensemble. Likewise, in a brass ensemble, the horns are often too soft because they are the only instruments whose bells are pointing away from the audience. Regards Jonathan West _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
