Klarinet Archive - Posting 000224.txt from 1997/05

From: Fred Jacobowitz <fredj@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Step 2 of n - Dan Leeson
Date: Thu, 8 May 1997 08:32:58 -0400

Edwin,
One-keyed flute is quite a bit different than early clarinets.
You can't make assumptions that what is easy on one is not on the other.
Early flutes played much better in sharp keys than in flat keys. In fact,
the F-natural on a baroque flute (essentially the same flute that was used
until Boehm worked his magic) is viciously difficult to tune and cannot be
done so in fast passages.

Fred Jacobowitz
Clarinet/Sax Instructor, Peabody Preparatory

On Wed, 7 May 1997, Edwin V. Lacy wrote:

> Dan, even though your research question concerns the early clarinet, I
> think you might benefit from posting your question and your findings on
> the flute list. There are many players of early flutes on that list, and
> such discussions usually generate a lot of well-informed responses.
>
> Certainly, while the method of generating the tone on the Baroque/early
> classical flute is very different from that of the clarinet from the same
> period, the technical aspects of fingerings are quite similar, and the
> process of development, the acceptance of additional keys, etc., followed
> similar lines.
>
> I think I would predict that your central thesis might be challenged on
> the flute list. It seems to me that quite a few players of period
> instruments feel that rather than being more difficult on older
> instruments, the music of those eras is actually more easily managed on
> flutes (or clarinets, I suppose) which were contemporary with the music
> itself. Naturally, this might relate to the fact that composers had taken
> into account the technical limitations and requirements of existing
> instruments.
>
> I have no experience in playing historical instruments, but there are many
> on that list who do, and who might be able to contribute to your research.
>
> Ed Lacy
> *****************************************************************
> Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
> Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
> Evansville, IN 47722
> el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
> *****************************************************************
>
>
>