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Topic: Characteristics of Tone and Registers of Sound  (Read 10020 times)

Offline m19834

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Characteristics of Tone and Registers of Sound
on: April 03, 2009, 04:57:27 PM
I am just kind of glimpsing some things that I know are truly just glimpses, as they are glimpses into a whole world where I feel like I am just kind of standing at the door of.  But, even as I was practicing some particular exercises, aiming for some particular things, I became more aware of the sound I was producing in general.  Sometimes the characteristics of the sound would kind of "pop" out at me, and it got me thinking about all of it in general.

I know that particular registers MUST have a kind of particular characteristic in sound that is somehow related just to those registers regardless of instrumentation.  If that were not true, what would make them exist in the registers that they do ?  But, I guess I am wondering how rich each register actually is ?  What are the extent of the characteristics, and what characteristics are they exactly that give the registers their particular place in the bigger scheme of things ?

I know I will need to just keep experimenting.  But, I guess I started wondering if something like a Tuba can sound like a human voice, too ?  Does it have the same kind of depth and variations in character that one might find in the same register of a piano ?  And, all of that as it relates ALSO to the human voice ?

I know, long post and lots of questions.  Sorry !

Offline jgallag

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Re: Characteristics of Tone and Registers of Sound
Reply #1 on: May 28, 2009, 04:13:01 AM
The main difference between different instruments is what we call timbre, which is a musical term that describes something much more complex than it seems. Each instrument has its own harmonic spectrum (I believe that's the term), meaning when we hear one pitch, we also hear many other pitches at the same time, but we don't recognize them because their amplitudes aren't quite significant. The easiest way to demonstrate is at the piano. Press down the C below middle C without actually generating sound, you just want to lift the damper. Then, play randomly other notes. For some of them, you'll hear the C sound, even though you didn't play it, and for others, it won't. Each instrument has a different pattern of these "sympathetic vibrations" that gives it its unique timbre. Midi generators use frequency filters to mimic these patterns and come up with the instrument timbres on your computer.

Sorry to not be quite sure, but I'm assuming your using registers in the sense of a range appropriate to a part. The bass register exists because a good portion of men have voices that are comfortable within that range, the same reason why tenor and alto and soprano exist. If all women had higher voices than they do, the alto and soprano "registers" would be different. So they are not arisen out of special characteristics or certain sounds, they come from what people can do. Women generally are mezzo-sopranos, but we like to split them into the categories of sopranos and altos, with the occasional tenor. Men we like to split into basses and tenors, depending on what's comfortable. Same with instruments. They have their comfortable ranges, some very wide and some not wide at all, and that determines their register.

Also, please bear in mind that when Bach wrote his Preludes and Fugues, there was no such thing as a piano (well, there was, but Bach wasn't happy with it yet). We had the Harpsichord and Clavichord. The harpsichord allows for gradation in volume only by switching keyboard, for volume depended on the instruments construction rather than the player's "touch". The Clavichord did have gradations in volume, but it was far too weak to be anything more than a salon instrument. This is not to say that we should not fully exploit the piano's capabilities when playing Bach, but it is something to bear in mind.

Another point: it seems that, for some reason, it is not acceptable to play the piano as if it is a piano. The piano must mimic something else, whether it be a chorus, or an orchestra, or a brass quintet. I am of the opinion that, by trying to mimic something else, we fail to fully exploit the capabilities of the piano. I'm a firm believer (because physics and looking at the construction of a piano) that we are in control of two things as pianists: how quickly the key is depressed, and how long the key is held. The first of these corresponds to dynamics, and the second to articulation. Other than that, we've only got the pedals to add to our palette. You can argue with me all you like, but science says that's all we can do. Touch, to me, is an imagery we use as a shortcut to correct articulation and dynamics. You can tell a student to play light, like a feather, or you can tell them to play very crisp attacks with a pianissimo dynamic. Same thing, but I'd bet the first will get a better response. However, it is lucky that articulation and dynamics are infinite in gradation, and so no two tenutos really sound the same length, as two fortes are rarely at the same decibel.

So, as to what to do with your fugue: If you must mimic a Bass voice, here's my advice (which I would say is general advice for a fugue anyway, at least, it's what I got from my professor): Use finger legato to hold the notes as long as is desired, and use "glue" pedal to bring together gaps where you must shift your hand. Also, decide where your Bass must breathe, because there the bass voice must stop. Unlike the piano, the human voice can achieve a perfect legato, and it must also breathe (sure, there's staggered breathing too). We do our best to mimic them by very slightly overlapping durations of notes and manipulating dynamics to give the impression of a legato. How can you do this? Take your fugue apart, maintaining all of the fingerings, and learn each voice separately. Then you'll be able to hear each one and know it intimately, and your ear will be able to guide you as to which to feature when you put them all together.

If you want to mimic an instrument (very good skill for accompanying, I'm not so convinced on solo playing), then you must understand how that instrument manipulates articulation and dynamics. For example, flutes sound light and airy, with generally slow attacks and soft dynamics, so it is not a good time for you to play your full Brahms fortes. Oboes have terrible legato, so you have more leeway with articulation, but you must be able to support its very piercing tone. Clarinets have a full tone and a perfect legato that you can only hope to mimic, but mimic you must. Voices vary, but a good singer you can generally treat like a clarinet (for this mimicking idea, certainly NOT for accompanying). Listen to what you want, and realize what you can transfer to the piano, and what you can't.

Offline timothy42b

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Re: Characteristics of Tone and Registers of Sound
Reply #2 on: May 28, 2009, 05:45:51 PM
Every different note on the piano has a slightly different timbre.  The difference is too subtle for most of us to hear, until we get down around the growly bass or tinkly treble.  If it weren't we'd all have perfect pitch. 

But given that you're playing somebody else's composition, and you're restricted to the key signature and therefore tessitura he chose, I'm not sure what you can do about it.  You're playing an instrument like an Crayola 8 pack.  You have some variation in color from top to bottom, but the variations are limited and part of the hard machine.  Probably the piano could be made more even in tone, but there abrupt changes between notes that have 1 string or 3, strings that have the same diameter but different tension, etc.

You can choose the Crayola 64 or 128 pack if you want, and have a great deal of freedom to select timbre.  On any given note you can color the tone in hundreds of different ways, some dramatic and some subtle. 

But ..........then you're no longer a pianist.  You now play organ. 
Tim

Offline go12_3

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Re: Characteristics of Tone and Registers of Sound
Reply #3 on: May 28, 2009, 06:04:13 PM
Out of all the instruments I know, the violin *relates* to the human voice.  The resonance sings.

I have no idea what this thread is inferring to as I read the posts here.  I mean, sound is sound.  When you strike a key , a sound is being produced, whether it is loud or soft.  The piano has the low bass and then to the highest treble sounds.  But, with a violin, the sound carries as long and the bow is moving.  Whereas the piano key actions has to be striking to produce that sound and releasing it, the sound stops; but then in a piece, many notes are being played together at once or one after another which makes a continuous sound to the listener.  The sounds that are being produced in any instrument always changes, always has the movements going on and on, and some may be pleasant to listen.

So in a piece, some of the notes may be more prominent than others, like in Bach's Prelude and Fugues.  It's a matter of finding that voice, that interchanges with the right and left hand, and we all know about that part of Bach.  Some notes has to be more dominant than others in order to keep the main melody a focal point of the piece. 

best wishes,

go12_3
Yesterday was the day that passed,
Today is the day I live and love,Tomorrow is day of hope and promises...

Offline jgallag

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Re: Characteristics of Tone and Registers of Sound
Reply #4 on: May 28, 2009, 06:43:19 PM
Apologies, go12_3, but the violin does not sound continuously as long as the bow is moving. Each time the bow changes direction, the sound stops and starts again. Also, saying sound is sound is quite a broad, overreaching statement. All of our music is sound, yes, but so is the falling of a tree in the forest, or the honk of a car horn. And a trumpet does not sound the same as a flute, nor a clarinet, nor bassoon, nor piano, nor timpani. What we're talking about is timbre, also known as tone color. Without it, there'd be little point to the orchestra.

None of the instruments truly relate to the human voice. It is unique, not just as an instrument itself, but also to each and every person. The relation I was pointing out was that a voice is capable of perfect legato, as long as the singer has breath left, and so is the clarinet. The violin can only maintain perfect legato as long as the bow moves in one direction. I promise this stuff has background. There's a reason they teach it in a collaboration course for a full year.

Timothy makes a great point in that the bulk of the musicality of a piece is decided when the composer writes it. Doesn't mean a person can't butcher it, but the primary things we recognize are melody and harmony, and they're decided by the composer. You cannot (well, you can, but not in concert) transpose the piece to a different key to hear the different "registers" on the piano. We do the best we can deciding how long each note should be held and how loud each note should be played, but you cannot "rewrite" your P&F. My only point is, manipulate what you can, and don't chase after lofty ideas that the piano simply cannot produce. A piano is a piano, and that is a very good thing. Take advantage of it.
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