Response

What it means

Response describes how promptly and cleanly a tone speaks the moment one tries to produce it. A tone “responds” well when it starts without noticeable delay, without cracking into another pitch, and without disturbing extraneous noise. The concept belongs to classical instrument lore and applies equally to wind instruments, strings, the organ, and the singing voice.

Poor response shows up differently depending on the instrument: on wind instruments as a cracked or delayed attack, on string instruments as scratching or an unclean bow attack, on the organ as humming, hissing, or an audible lag between key and pipe, and in the voice as unwanted extraneous noise at the onset of a tone.

Musical use

An instrument's response depends on its construction, upkeep, and condition: for wind instruments, on the reed, mouthpiece, or mechanism; for strings, on the strings, bridge, and bow hair; for the organ, on the precision of the action, the mechanism between key and pipe valve. Precise response there means that the sound begins immediately after the key is pressed, with no perceptible lag.

Response should be distinguished from touch or embouchure, which describe how a tone is produced; response instead describes how reliably and immediately the instrument reacts to that production. Good embouchure can still fail to speak well because of poor instrument response, for instance a damaged reed or a sluggish organ action.

Performance practice

When practicing, notice whether a tone starts hesitantly, with extraneous noise, or with a lag, and work out whether the cause lies with you (for example your embouchure or bow stroke) or with the instrument (a worn reed, old strings, or an imprecise mechanism). Check your instrument's response regularly, since technique can only compensate so much for poor response, and a genuine fault should be repaired professionally.