[Dixielandjazz] What's missing?

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

Some people and I'm not one of them hear tones as colors and just as I can 
discern shades of red for example they can visualize as well as hear sounds.

There are differences in keys.  If a tune is in one key and for whatever 
reason it changes so does all my improv.  While improv is always changing 
the changing of keys opens up new thoughts and the improv changes because of 
it.

Instruments have a lot of tonal difference within themselves as someone 
pointed out about trombone.  A great example is the Soprano Sax.  Most 
players sound like a duck in the low register and a strangled chicken in the 
upper.  There is a definite tonal color break between the two registers. 
Only very good players can smooth out the registers so that it doesn't sound 
like two different people are playing two entirely different instruments. 
That's why (intonation too) only people who have a very solid foundation 
should play the instrument.  Other instruments have those tonal breaks too. 
An example is the guitar or any other string instrument.  The color changes 
as you go up the neck and is vastly different from open strings.

The sax has a color break between C, C# and D.  The closed instrument 
produces a different sound than an open instrument.  That's why some players 
vent the D with the left hand palm D key.   My first teacher made me aware 
of that and had me work on sounding the same.  There is little difference 
from one note to another by good players who have addressed the problem and 
hear it.

Next time you hear a Soprano sax player listen for the two different sounds 
in the registers.  As I said before sometimes it's really terrible.

You have to be able to hear those things before you can make the most out of 
some instruments.
Larry
St. Louis
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "billsharp" <sharp-b at clearwire.net>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 8:02 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] What's missing?


> Bill Gunter wrote:
>
> "Oh sure . . . I can tell the F scale is a half step HIGHER (not LOWER)
> than
>> the E scale when rendered on an oboe - but that's a difference in
>> pitch.  To
>> me, the tone color is the same.
>>
>> Please tell me what I'm missing here.
>>
>> Respectfully requested,
>>
>> Bill "tin ear" Gunter
>> jazzboard at hotmail.com
>
>
>
> Dear Bill,  you really shouldn't open open up yourself by publicly
> asking a question like that (..What's missing?), because we may just
> decide to actually tell you what's missing in your musical ability to
> discern tone colors, especially since you are primarily a washboard
> player.  I am constantly amazed that over all the many, many, many
> many, many, years that you continue to admit it, making you, like
> Emperor Norton, quite a historical figure.  "What's missing?" you ask
> - - -next time we meet, I promise to buy you a drink and tell you, but
> will not allow you to reciprocate in my being told what's missing , as
> my psyche is far too fragile. :) :)
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