THE IMPORTANCE OF SOUND
24 11, 13 10:28
The importance of sound goes far beyond, well, the importance of sound.
Yes, our sound is critically important; it defines us as players more than any other single factor. But a good sound also brings a host of “side benefits”, because good sound equals good air; the one can’t happen without the other. And good air makes everything better.
Tonguing, single or multiple; flexibility; lip trills (brasses) or fingered trills; wide intervalic leaps, tongued or slurred; woodwind register changes; intricate technical passages; all these and many more require good, consistent air.
WHAT IS A GOOD SOUND?
While each of us has his/her own, unique sound, good sounds share some common characteristics. These include (but, as the lawyers say, are not limited to):
• a good “core” (important, but hard to describe)
• richness and color, with lots of overtones
• note-to-note evenness throughout all ranges
• good carrying power/projection
• a sense of relaxed air (absence of tension), even in high ranges or at high volume.
The concept of a good core is centrally important. For example, the unpleasantness of an “edgy” sound is more often due to the lack of a good core than the presence of edge. Actually, a little edge is often appropriate.
HOW DO WE DEVELOP A GOOD SOUND?
1) LISTENING: It all begins with listening to other players with good sounds; it doesn’t come out of our instruments until it has gone into our ears and been stored in our brain.
2) SLOW PRACTICE: It’s pretty hard to avoid the dreaded topic of long tones when it comes to sound, but building a sound is careful, meticulous work. Actually, any kind of very slow practice (flow studies are great) will work—the key is that it be slow enough to allow our entire focus to be on full, even sound.
3. GROW AND EXPAND THE HABIT: Form the habit of playing single notes, then slow phrases, with a good sound; then carefully expand that habit into every kind of music we play.
4. DON”T RUSH THE PROCESS: Building a good sound isn’t a two-week process; it takes years, if not a lifetime. I once heard a very fine professional player say, “We never stop working on our sound.”
However, we begin to enjoy the side benefits of the work almost immediately—we get both immediate and delayed gratification. So go to it!
Yes, our sound is critically important; it defines us as players more than any other single factor. But a good sound also brings a host of “side benefits”, because good sound equals good air; the one can’t happen without the other. And good air makes everything better.
Tonguing, single or multiple; flexibility; lip trills (brasses) or fingered trills; wide intervalic leaps, tongued or slurred; woodwind register changes; intricate technical passages; all these and many more require good, consistent air.
WHAT IS A GOOD SOUND?
While each of us has his/her own, unique sound, good sounds share some common characteristics. These include (but, as the lawyers say, are not limited to):
• a good “core” (important, but hard to describe)
• richness and color, with lots of overtones
• note-to-note evenness throughout all ranges
• good carrying power/projection
• a sense of relaxed air (absence of tension), even in high ranges or at high volume.
The concept of a good core is centrally important. For example, the unpleasantness of an “edgy” sound is more often due to the lack of a good core than the presence of edge. Actually, a little edge is often appropriate.
HOW DO WE DEVELOP A GOOD SOUND?
1) LISTENING: It all begins with listening to other players with good sounds; it doesn’t come out of our instruments until it has gone into our ears and been stored in our brain.
2) SLOW PRACTICE: It’s pretty hard to avoid the dreaded topic of long tones when it comes to sound, but building a sound is careful, meticulous work. Actually, any kind of very slow practice (flow studies are great) will work—the key is that it be slow enough to allow our entire focus to be on full, even sound.
3. GROW AND EXPAND THE HABIT: Form the habit of playing single notes, then slow phrases, with a good sound; then carefully expand that habit into every kind of music we play.
4. DON”T RUSH THE PROCESS: Building a good sound isn’t a two-week process; it takes years, if not a lifetime. I once heard a very fine professional player say, “We never stop working on our sound.”
However, we begin to enjoy the side benefits of the work almost immediately—we get both immediate and delayed gratification. So go to it!