Klarinet Archive - Posting 000741.txt from 1995/05

From: John Baetens <JSBtens@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: How High The Moon?
Date: Thu, 25 May 1995 21:53:02 -0400

Most of the fingering charts I have seen seem to stop at fourth
ledger line G. I have always felt comfortable up to that point and
have no idea how to finger anything beyond that.

As far as listening, I love Charles Niedich's version of Rossini's
Introduction, Theme and Variations. In the 2nd variation, he plays
mostly in the middle range, but goes into a mode where the first
of every four 16th notes is a staccato altissimo note. Not only is
it technically brilliant, but, IMHO, it sounds really neat!

This thread reminds me of a recent high school band reunion
rehearsal. Some of us (me, included!) were pretty rusty, and
when we played Stars and Stripes Forever, the first clarinet part
had a counter melody that alternated altissimo notes with the
same note an octave lower. Not many of us could really play it
that well, so we split up and half of us played the lower note
on the down beat and the other half played the altissimo on the
up beat. When I listened to a tape of the performance, it sounded
pretty good! See, us amateurs may not be as technically
proficient as you pros, so we have to use our wits to compensate!
But it was after this concert that I decided to start practicing again,
and I can now play the whole part no problem. It's not in a weird
key. ;-)

Now I have a question. Like I have mentioned before, my formal
training ended in high school. When discussing different ranges
on the clarinet, we always referred to the lower register (low B
through throat tone Bb), the upper register (middle B to 2nd
ledger C), and anything above that as high notes. I know there
are more technical terms to describe these ranges. I figured that
above 2nd ledger C is the altissimo range. What are the other
ranges called? Also, what does it mean when you have an
apostrophe after a note? Does that refer to a ledger line? In other
words, is second ledger C denoted by C'' ?