[Trombone-l] Acoustics of brass instruments

[sabutin]

>---snip---

Tim writes:

>At any rate, we don't have to learn to recognize "pitch."  Given a set of
>frequencies that meet certain parameters, the brain will assemble it into
>one tone with a characteristic the brain calls pitch, and another called
>timbre. .  With practice, at least some of us may learn to hear some of the
>discrete frequencies present, which is what sam was recommending.  It was
>not clear to me if he was recommending we change the discrete frequencies we
>produce.


Yes.

That is indeed what I was recommending.

First...learn to hear what IS happening.

Understand that it changes from day to day, from note to note, from 
range to range, horn to horn, m'pce to m'pce, volume to volume, 
timbral choice to timbral choice, etc.

Then...to some degree, at least...experiment.

When I play long tones I very often approach them this way.

First I play the note and consciously try to isolate different overtones.

Then I play it and completely surrender to what is happening. No 
thought or effort at all. Just play.

Then I play it and try to hear EVERYTHING. Everything ELSE. What is 
happening in the room, on the street outside, etc.

Then and ONLY then do I play it with the intention of making a "good" sound.

This process produces...interesting results.

Short AND long term.

Bet on it.

Try it.

You be bettah off.


>
>Sometimes the timbre gives us a secondary clue to the frequency mix.
>Sinusoidal tones are usually recognizable.  We talked about the hairclipper
>buzz recently.  That timbre indicates the waveform is a square wave.  We
>know intellectually a square wave is made up of a fundamental plus odd
>harmonics, with the 3X frequency at 1/3 amplitude, the 5X at 1/5th, etc.
>Can you hear those upper harmonics?  Can you learn to?  sam says yes and
>that there is an advantage to doing so.  I didn't disagree, just made the
>point that recognizing the pitch and the timbre are not learned, they are
>inborn.


Learned or unlearned...immaterial to me.

I see student after student who CANNOT hear overtones that are quite 
plainly there to me.

And I demonstrate to them that they ARE there.

I sing them first. Once they believe...then I teach them to hear them 
on the horn.

Suddenly essentially two dimensional notes reveal themselves as three 
dimensional entities.

Whether they are "learning" a new skill or unlearning a socially 
imposed construct, they are changing. And it is a good change.

Bet on it. All the rest is theory.

Either you do it or you don't...THAT is fact.

S.

>
>
>
>
>   _____ 
>
>From: jeffalbert.smb at gmail.com [mailto:jeffalbert.smb at gmail.com] On Behalf
>Of Jeff Albert
>Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2006 13:22
>To: Richardson, Timothy Mr. DAC USAG Franconia DPW
>Cc: Chris Tune; TROMBONE-L at server5.samford.edu
>Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Acoustics of brass instruments
>
>
>
>
>On 6/6/06, Richardson, Timothy Mr. DAC USAG Franconia DPW
><timothy.a.richardson at us.army.mil <mailto:timothy.a.richardson at us.army.mil>
>>  wrote:
>
>  There is no learning
>involved, it is hardwired.  Of course musicians become more sophisticated,
>but everybody does these things to some extent.
>
>
>Isn't that contradictory?  One sentence says there is no learning involved,
>then the next sentence says that some people do it differently after they
>work on it.  Isn't that learning?
>
>Jeff
>
>
>
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