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| des... |
 Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 6:11 pm |
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Guest
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I'm looking for suggestions in how to become a more acute listener to
recorded music, in particular piano solo.
I first became aware of the problem when I began to wonder about a certain
blurriness in some performances. I couldn't always make out whether it
seemed to be the performer using too much pedal (their fault) or a hall
with a lot of reverberation (not their fault). How could I begin to figure
out what to think? Is it possible to hear much about how a performer is
pedalling? At other times it seemed that maybe the microphone was too close
to the strings, and somehow this was mixing too many tones and overtones
together.
In the magical, soft passage near the end of Beethoven's Diabelli
Variations (i.e. the concluding minuet), one performance managed to get the
top notes ringing like bells - a truly thrilling effect. I couldn't get my
performance to sound anyhting like it, not even for an instant, no matter
how hard I tried. And of the ten or so performances of the Diabelli
Variations in my collection, only one had this marvellous effect. I began
to wonder whether this could be created with only a particular manufacturer
of the piano, only on a Steinway, perhaps, or Bosendorfer or Fazioli.
So I'm wondering how I can sharpen my ear about pedaling, reverberations,
miking, piano types, and so on. |
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| Peter T. Daniels... |
| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 6:11 pm |
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On Sep 22, 8:11 pm, des <livecamq.8.spamgourmet.com> wrote:
Quote: I'm looking for suggestions in how to become a more acute listener to
recorded music, in particular piano solo.
I first became aware of the problem when I began to wonder about a certain
blurriness in some performances. I couldn't always make out whether it
seemed to be the performer using too much pedal (their fault) or a hall
with a lot of reverberation (not their fault). How could I begin to figure
out what to think? Is it possible to hear much about how a performer is
pedalling? At other times it seemed that maybe the microphone was too close
to the strings, and somehow this was mixing too many tones and overtones
together.
In the magical, soft passage near the end of Beethoven's Diabelli
Variations (i.e. the concluding minuet), one performance managed to get the
top notes ringing like bells - a truly thrilling effect. I couldn't get my
performance to sound anyhting like it, not even for an instant, no matter
how hard I tried. And of the ten or so performances of the Diabelli
Variations in my collection, only one had this marvellous effect. I began
to wonder whether this could be created with only a particular manufacturer
of the piano, only on a Steinway, perhaps, or Bosendorfer or Fazioli.
Great pianists have something called their "touch." A great pianist
can get a pretty darn good performance even from a substandard
instrument.
Is it really possible that you don't know _who_ the performer is in
the one you love?
Quote: So I'm wondering how I can sharpen my ear about pedaling, reverberations,
miking, piano types, and so on. |
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| Peter T. Daniels... |
| Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:30 pm |
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Guest
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On Sep 23, 9:18 pm, des <livecamq.8.spamgourmet.com> wrote:
Quote: "Peter T. Daniels" <gramma... at (no spam) verizon.net> wrote innews:e6c8a266-82de-4b1f-9193-8295af9baf07 at (no spam) g23g2000vbr.googlegroups.com:
Is it really possible that you don't know _who_ the performer is in
the one you love?
Yes, I know the performers, but what I'm asking about is something
different - ear training to become more aware of the factors that
distinguish one recording from another. I tried to explain my issue fairly
clearly.
Wouldn't the first step be to try to determine whether the special
quality of the one recording you like is characteristic of most or all
of the performances by that artist? |
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| des... |
| Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:18 pm |
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Guest
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"Peter T. Daniels" <grammatim at (no spam) verizon.net> wrote in
news:e6c8a266-82de-4b1f-9193-8295af9baf07 at (no spam) g23g2000vbr.googlegroups.com:
Quote:
Is it really possible that you don't know _who_ the performer is in
the one you love?
Yes, I know the performers, but what I'm asking about is something
different - ear training to become more aware of the factors that
distinguish one recording from another. I tried to explain my issue fairly
clearly. |
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| laraine... |
| Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:09 am |
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Guest
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On Sep 22, 7:11 pm, des <livecamq.8.spamgourmet.com> wrote:
Quote: I'm looking for suggestions in how to become a more acute listener to
recorded music, in particular piano solo.
I first became aware of the problem when I began to wonder about a certain
blurriness in some performances. I couldn't always make out whether it
seemed to be the performer using too much pedal (their fault) or a hall
with a lot of reverberation (not their fault). How could I begin to figure
out what to think? Is it possible to hear much about how a performer is
pedalling?
The best professional pianists don't seem to have much
problem with pedaling, but most everyone else does, though....
If something sounds blurred, there's probably too much
pedal, and if inappropiately disconnected, possibly not
enough.
Now, too much echo or swirl or flat sound or something like that
would be more because of the hall, I imagine, or placement
of things. Physics? Surely someone has written about it.
Quote: At other times it seemed that maybe the microphone was too close
to the strings, and somehow this was mixing too many tones and overtones
together.
Sound or audio engineering, or conducting and orchestration knowledge?
And shouldn't one avoid using microphones in such a situation....
Quote:
In the magical, soft passage near the end of Beethoven's Diabelli
Variations (i.e. the concluding minuet), one performance managed to get the
top notes ringing like bells - a truly thrilling effect. I couldn't get my
performance to sound anyhting like it, not even for an instant, no matter
how hard I tried. And of the ten or so performances of the Diabelli
Variations in my collection, only one had this marvellous effect. I began
to wonder whether this could be created with only a particular manufacturer
of the piano, only on a Steinway, perhaps, or Bosendorfer or Fazioli.
Some good pianos seem to have a crystalline sound in the high
range, and a strong bass sound in the low range, but a lot of that can
be
found on good uprights too. (Don't know about the electric ones.)
Try them out at the piano store or wherever, if you have the
opportunity.
C.
Quote:
So I'm wondering how I can sharpen my ear about pedaling, reverberations,
miking, piano types, and so on. |
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