(RE)PHRASING—SHAPING MUSIC WITH MODERN INSTRUMENTS

Exploring how affordances influence phrasing

Phrasing is the performer's musical language, strongly linked to how well one masters one's instrument and can communicate musical ideas and interpretations. Instrumentalists have seen technical developments and innovations over hundreds of years, leading to the instruments we use today. Modern orchestral instruments are often very different from their historical predecessors, especially evident with woodwind instruments. The development has generally been toward more evenness through the registers, larger volume, and projection. Modern playing methodology is also highly focused on evening out the instrument's idiosyncrasies, aiming to make all notes through the registers have the same shape. But what happens when everything sounds the same? In this project, I explore how material and methodological properties influence my awareness of the clarinet’s qualities and my musical phrasing.