First Encounters with Design

Long, smooth, black, cold.

This object that creates sounds by blowing air through it, allowing sound to resonate through the body and through holes. The man-made clarinet.

image source: http://www.fredmooremusic.net/yamaha.html

The elements and design of this instrument has its impact in my memories; although I do not actually use this instrument anymore, memories of it may be triggered through various senses.

Sound can be created in  various ways, one can simply create sound just by vibrating sound waves in or on objects. This video below is an excellent example of how simple a clarinet can be made and how sound or music can be created with simple objects.

Even so, the design of a typical clarinet has purpose. The cold metal rings that lay on top of the cut holes in a clarinet allow different sounds to be made. The reason why the metal keys lay so close to the body of the instruments is to allow ease of movement. Fingers move rapidly when different sounds need to be heard. The wide horn end allows sound to exit into a wider range.

When a squeak is present, people commonly are quick to think that it is annoying. My ears quickly take me back to my memories of squeaking when a note is not played right in the instrument. The smell of old rags take me back to how the mouthpiece of the clarinet smells when I was too lazy to clean out the spit created after blowing air through a practice session.

And last but not least, like muscle memory, when Classical music is played and the clarinet is present within the musical piece; my fingers cannot help but tap up and down the air as if I was once again sitting in my chair on the stage playing.