The C, the XL, and Brahms.

Wednesday October 08 2008

Well, I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Hiniker, but I’m ready to hang up the XL. After working with it for over a month now, I’m convinced of the following effects:

• The bore is built for a darker, more covered sound. It has less focus or “edge” in the sound.
• The staple that works best with the XL for me seems to be the Sierra Chudnow. I tried EVERYTHING…. Pisoni, Rigotti, Loree, Weber, Chudnow, Stevens Pro #2, etc, and the Chudnow seemed to be the best fit.
• The reeds seem best with a wider shape, and consequentially thicker sides from the gouge. Woodhams said he uses a Pfeiffer-Mack tip, and on Schuring’s website he also suggests a Pfeiffer-Mack tip, which leads me to believe this is what he uses as well. I tried a Pfeiffer-Mack tip and it didn’t work very well for me, but a Brannen XN tip seemed just right.
• It’s easier to blend in an orchestra since it has a less “piercing” quality to it.

Trying to make reeds for the XL and my CI has been difficult, as the CI just needs smaller openings, thinner shapes, and thinner sides. I’ll be glad to get the Hiniker, which I know plays closer to a Loree, and therefore I’ll be able to adjust my gouge closer to the CI/Hiniker needs rather than the XL. It’s a beautiful horn, and if I had more than one gouging machine right now, it’d be easier to maintain the use of both. But being as it is, it’s taken too much for me to maintain both.

WARNING…: RANT…!!!

Meanwhile, in orchestra we’re playing Brahms 2. It’s a great part, with lots of oboe stuff, but I’m really getting tired of playing. Now, I consider myself to be a very flexible playing. I can play very VERY… quietly and covered. It’s been stressed in my musical training with Mr. Weber. (He used to always say that I hurt his ears, and that I should learn to play at a whisper.) That said, I got called out in orchestra 5 times today for playing too loud. Finally, I said “I’m sorry but I simply can’t play any quietly.”, to which the conductor replied, “Well, then the 1st flute needs to play up!”

I know I play quietly most of the time. I’m very conscious and very aware of it, but I’m getting really frustrated. There’s 22 violins, 8 violas, 10 or 12 cellos, and 4 basses, and full winds, and I simply can not believe that I’M overblowing everyone. At this point, I question why everyone else can’t play louder in the forte spots. Do they have less quality instruments which don’t resonate as much? Are the string players not as strong in their bowing arm? Why aren’t other wind players capable of playing louder?

I know I use a very fast airstream, which is very focused and helps me to produce a more focused tone, but really. This is just too hard for me to believe. I mean— come on! It’s BRAHMS…!!!