Klarinet Archive - Posting 000365.txt from 1997/01

From: Jacqueline Eastwood <eastwooj@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: How much opinion vs. how much fact
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 10:33:13 -0500

On Tue, 21 Jan 1997, Ian M. Dilley wrote:

> I think I suggested playing C parts on an A clarinet some months ago
> when this subject last came up. I'd just read Benade's book and seen
> the same charts as you.
>
> On further reflection though, this is not a satisfactory solution for
> a couple of reasons.
>
> First the break will be in a different place. No matter how much we
> strive to hide it the frequency specrums of the different registers
> are completely different so the tone quality of the notes that end up
> in a different register will be different.
>
> Secondly the "bad" notes will be in different places. For example the
> throat Bb which is a notoriously poor note would occur on Bbs on the
> original C clarinet and on Gs on an A clarinet.
>
> Ian Dilley
>
I agree with this in a slightly different fashion. Oftentimes, I find I
can identify which notes are being fingered on the instrument,
particularly open G and top space E (3 + 2). So the sound character of
the notes being fingered when one transposes will not be the sound
character of the notes the composer had indicated. Depending on the
fingerings involved, this could vastly change the overall sound character
of the passage. Surely this relates to Jonathan Cohler's post re: cutoff
frequencies? (Maybe that's what leads me to identify specific fingerings
with my ear?)

Jacqueline