Klarinet Archive - Posting 000139.txt from 1995/09

From: Donald Oehler <dloehler@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: 'A's & 'B flats'
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 1995 10:56:03 -0400

On five and six keyed clarinets of the late 18th cent. and the beginning
of the 19th cent. the lowest section of the instrument held the low E,
F#, Ab keys and a tone hole for playing the F. This joint was fitted
with a bell, of course. It was the middle two joints, that were changed
from Bb to A. The low E and F# keys were built so the tips of the keys
extended slightly for the reach when playing the A clarinet. As one who
plays such instruments I can say that the intonation is not as big a
problem as one might think. The process works quite well, actually.

Yours,
Don Oehler

On Fri, 8 Sep 1995, R. J. Shilcock wrote:

> Dan L. - you probably know all about this - but:
> In the late 18th century players could fit extra bits onto their B flat
> clarinets to turn them into 'A's ("pieces de rechange"). One presumes that the
> players had sufficient control by means of their embouchures to get over the
> obvious intonation difficulties. This idea (I think) was borrowed from the use
> of such bits with flutes to accommodate varying pitch standards. It seems
> reasonable to guess that this practice died out when A clarinets started to be
> used as virtuoso solo instruments - is this so?
> Roger Shilcock
>