At long last, a book has been written which begins to strip the 'mystical aura' from wind instrument playing. Arthur Weisberg's The Art of Wind Playing is written with an analytical approach to wind technique. It is an attempt to narrow the gap between the inherent and the acquired aspects of wind and string playing.
'A consistent pedagogy does not exist for winds as it does for the strings and the piano. One reason is that the most important and basic aspects of wind playing take place completely hidden from view, inside the lungs and closed mouth of the player. This is in marked contrast to the situation of the strings and the piano . . . Furthermore, wind players do not go very deeply into certain of the techniques that are considered essential on the strings, string players must master many different kinds of bowing, but the wind player is content with two or three different kinds of tonguing, the use of the tongue and air being the equivalent of the bow . . . The great wind players are the ones who have, consciously or unconsciously, learned to imitate the sounds of the strings' (page x)
The book is divided into two sections: Techniques and Musicianship. Technique is seen as a function of 1) the use of fingers, 2) the use of the tongue, 3) the use of air and 4) the use of embouchure.
The first chapter deals with that pedagogical wonder, the long tone. The relation between embouchure/air and intonation/dynamics is discussed. The value of Mr. Weisberg's approach is immediately evident in his simple but valuable graphs and analogies. Other chapters deal with vibrato, finger technique, concentration, practicing and breathing. At the end of each chapter are several exercises geared to help one master the concepts presented. The section on tonguing (single and double) is by far the longest and the most valuable. Here Weisberg presents and explains his conception of resonance: 'the prolongation of a sound by reflection or vibration of other bodies. . . that is, the way notes are ended.' (page 33)
This is a concrete definition of resonance. Wind players have to artificially produce those vibrations which the strings naturally produce because of their acoustic design. Many teachers, while themselves good players and musicians, do not understand the mechanics of this technique and have trouble passing it on to their students.
Nothing is mentioned about voicing or tone color. The section on breathing avoids the problems of the beginner and deals with more advanced techniques.
The chapter on musicianship deals with style and interpretation. When discussing interpretation Mr. Weisberg remains lucid and interesting, but when he discusses the 'evolution of style,' he oversimplifies and moves onto shaky ground. There is some confusion as to the difference between a musical style and a musical period. His comments on ornamentation do not even hint at the improvisatory technique of the baroque and early classical periods. Many of the generalizations made are unwarranted. Contrary to what Mr. Weisberg claims, certain styles of the Classical Period do call for violent contrasts. Counterpoint does not prohibit individual expression 'as we know it.' And, while it is true that early music lacks specific dynamics, it is not for the reason he provides.
There is an interesting discussion of the time signature as an architectural conception, as well as an analysis of the bassoon solo from the slow movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 - from the point of view of performance parameters.
The 137 - page book is published by Schirmer and is easily read (but by no means mastered) in an evening. It is written by a bassoonist. Other instrumentalists will read it and find much that is not applicable. But just as Kincaid's Notes on Flute Performance and Hewitt's Oboe Method are valuable reading for any serious music student, so The Art of Wind Playing is of great value as long as its particular bias is kept in mind.