Description
Unless otherwise stated in the composition, glissando refers to finger glissando. When using finger glissando the finger holes are gradually opened or closed, whereby the range of the interval is bridged continuously. Either one or more fingers can be involved. There are several techniques concerning the modality of the finger movements, as van Hauwe explains in detail. Microtonal glissandi are possible as well. The glissando at the lower opening of the head joint is closely related to the finger glissando (see ……).
Compositions
Luciano Berio:
Gesti (1966, for alto- or tenor recorder solo)
– part 2 (starting on p5, end of the 2nd system): regardless of the actions of the tong the fingers play glissando throughout the whole part
Rolf Riehm:
Weeds in Ophelia’s Hair (1991, for [amplified] alto recorder solo)
– p.8, line 33-34: ‘sticky’ lifting / touching fingers, so that a quasi glissando line with fixed points is created (original ‘klebrig’ abhebende/ aufsetzende Finger, so dass eine quasi gliss-Linie mit Fixpunkten entsteht)
Makoto Shinohara:
Fragmente (1968, for tenor recorder solo)
– e.g. no.13: this part is a wavelike laid out glissando, to which the respective tone limits are given
Matthew Shlomowitz:
Free Square Jazz (2005, for amplified recorder with foot pedal, electric guitar, double bass and drum kit)
– e.g. p.14, bar 4 and 5: glissandi combined with flutter tongue
Walter Zimmermann
very fast glissandi
Erased – Retraced, Shadows of Cold Mountain (1993, for recorder trio)
This piece consists of glissandi of all kinds with different tempi and ranges, being played in unison by three tenor recorders. The tempo of the glissandi is sometimes very fast.
– e.g. bar 2
Georg Nussbaumer:
very slow glissandi
Weiße Flugversuche #2 (da vinci) (1996, for tenor recorder solo)
– e.g. line 1: The glissando, having the range of a major third, should be divided between 14 exhalations.
Factors influencing the Technique
The following factors, which may hinder or delay finger glissando, are discussed in more detail below:
– Register and register change
– Dynamics
– Keys
Registers and changes between registers
The transition from one register to the next means the change from one oscillation state into another. If the register transition is played legato, a clearly audible ‘crackling’ occurs (compare also the explanations on the scale and register behaviour in Sound, Design and Accoustics: ……. Registers).
The standard limits of the registers can, however, be somewhat extended, if this facilitates the practical execution of the glissando. This might be done with alternative fingerings and, if necessary, purposefully applied dynamics. This is illustrated in the overview inserted under ……. by examples for baroque alto, Ganassi, tenor, Helder tenor and Paetold basset recorders.
If however register changes and the associated ‘crackling’ have to be bypassed, seamless transitions between the 1st to 3rd registers are possible with the help of a relatively complex technique. Players use the hole no.8, which is usually covered on the leg. For example, the transition from an open fingering in the upper part of the 1st register (e.g. fingering 2) to a closed one in the lower part of the 2nd register (e.g. fingering 2345) is made possible without any break by means of sliding intermediate steps (e.g. fingering 5678 = covered on the leg). This technique requires a gliding sequence of fingerings, finely coordinated, which can restrict the tempo. This is why, with the current state of playing and instrument making techniques, unbroken glissandi within a register can be performed more easily and thus more quickly than across register boundaries. With the baroque great bass in c and even larger instruments, I am not yet familiar with register transitions, since the opening(s) at hole no.8 cannot be covered (on the leg or otherwise).
In combination with the flutter tongue, register changes are possible more easily because the ‘crackling’ is drowned out by the sound of the flutter tongue. They can then be executed just as quickly as glissandi within a register (see also compositions: Luciano Berio: Glissando and Flutter-tonguing across registers).
Keys
Keys can hinder the execution of a glissando. A glissando in the half or whole tone range, in which only one key is involved, is easier to perform than a glissando over a longer interval, in which different keys must be opened or closed evenly (see also compositions: glissando and keys).
Dynamics
The dynamic possibilities of a glissando depend on the fingering (i.e. the register), the recorder type (i.e. the bore) and the size of the instrument. If you want to achieve a balanced dynamic range in a glissando, you have to adapt it to the range of the glissando that is subject to the greatest dynamic limitations. This can be the case, for example, in the particularly low (piano) or high register (forte).
In addition, glissando requires the bridging of unstable intermediate stages due to partially covered finger holes. In the low register of the first register, when breathing pressure is too high, they jump unintentionally to a higher register, which is especially the case with short bore instruments.
glissando in low register: scale degree I – III
baroque alto recorders, short bore
♪ played too loudly (= overblows immediately)
♪ adapted to the dynamic possibilities
Ganassi recorder in g’
♪ played too loudly (= overblows immediately)
♪ adapted to the dynamic possibilities
So if you want a dynamically uniform glissando for example between I and V on a baroque recorder of short scale, the whole glissando will have to be played rather quietly. On Ganassi recorders, however, glissandi above critical scale degree III can also be played very loudly in the 1st register.
A glissando in the 5th register between scale degree III” and V” will have to be played more loudly than the output note III” itself would require, otherwise it would quickly ‘collapse’.
But some composers are particularly interested in the unstable intermediate stages that occur during finger glissando (see also Compositions: Unstable intermediate stages during glissando).
glissando in high register: scale degree III” – V”
baroque alto recorders short bore
♪ played too quietly: breaks away
♪ adapted to the dynamic requirements (approx. ff)
Combination with crescendo / decrescendo
The range of a finger glissando can be extended downwards by means of decrescendo (see also ….), since the tone then continues to fall, while conversely, in the case of a rising glissando, the tone can be ‘bent’ further upwards with the aid of a crescendo (see also compositions: glissando in combination with crescendo and decrescendo).
Special features
Sometimes different types of recorders with different bores can require different solutions: Isang Yun demands in The Visitor of the Idyll (from Chinese Pictures, 1993) a micro glissando in the area of scale degree #I with …… From a finger technical point of view this is easier to control on a voice flute or a short bore tenor recorder without keys for 7 and …… On the other hand, a long bore tenor recorder makes it possible to play louder in the low register and to take better account of the required dynamics. Therefore, a long bore instrument is preferable in terms of sound, and a short bore one in terms of glissando.