Klarinet Archive - Posting 000074.txt from 1994/12

From: Jay Heiser <pp001887@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: C Clarinet (Jay's pet peeve)
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 23:25:37 -0500

>Was the C clarinet ever used widely? How does it sound different from the
> standstandard Bb/A clarinet, and why has it fallen into general disuse?
>
>Andrew LaVallee
>Oberlin Conservatory
>sal5459@-----.edu
>
We went through an interesting discussion on transposing instruments once.
It might be interesting to dig out a few messages from the archives.

My basic pet peeve is "Why should wind instruments be in Bb and Eb instead
of in C and F?" My second pet peeve is "Why aren't the alto flute and
english horn in the same key?"

I know that number two is an accident of history. I've almost been convinced
that number one makes sense, but it still bugs me. ;-)

What about viola players? Don't they play in 'movable C' or something like
that?
Remember Stan Can? The funny little guy that used to be on the Tonight Show
with his gadgets? He once had an organ that had a moveable keyboard. You
pulled up a lever & just moved it to the right or left to change keys.
Whatever the historical reasons, my guess is that most C clarinets (like C
melody sax) were purchased by people for home use so they could play along with
the piano. This could be why lots of them aren't very good quality, since
they weren't really meant for professional use.