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Alternative Sound World Techniques
Introduction to the Clainet sound world
There
many different techniques that you will hear on the different CDs that
Mark has created. Just a few have been discribed on these pages. Mark
will cataloge his work in time and publish the results. What you have
noticed is the standard Bb clarinet is very open to this work as is
the bass clarinet, the alto clarinet is causing many problems. The contra
alto alternative sound world is amazing. This will be made avalible
on Marks CD the 'Improvised Quartets'. Two have been recorded and more
are planned. As you can guess each instrument has it's own particular
fingering requirements as well as lip pressure and air pressure techniques
making it very difficult.
Quartertones
Below is an examble of the fingering Mark uses to generate quartertones.
Quartertones are notes that are found half way between semitones. There
are 4 quartertones in a tone.
Microtonal
Below is an examble of the techniques Mark uses. Microtones are tones
found betweem the semitones of our tempered scale. There are uncountable
possibilities.
Multiphonics
Multiphonics means to generate more than one sound at a time. All instruments
produce a multitude of tones which is why we can tell the difference
between one instrument and another. The area in which Mark is working
is to find these tones and enlarge them so that they can be defined.
Mark has then developed them, for examble, so that he can play a trill
in the low register and have two or three very clear sounds floating
above in the upper register.
Aleatory (latin 'a game of dice')
This is a very interesting area, aleatory means chance. Within musical
realms one has no idea of the resulting sounds that will be generated
from a given set fingering, lip pressures, air pressure, clarinet position
and embrosure position.
Monophonics
The use of artifical harmonics and natural harmonics. The clarinet
is easily able to sound bugle calls, play middle B and with lip pressure
gradually pitch the first harmonic above the B, F# should sound. This
can be used all the way up to produce what is known as the harmonic
series. The F# we have created can be acheived by using different fingering
this is termed as artifical harmonics.
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