Klarinet Archive - Posting 000275.txt from 1997/06

From: "Lisa K. Clayton" <clayton@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: question for 'sax doublers'
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 03:03:14 -0400

>On Tue, Jun 17, 1997 at 02:24:45PM -0400, netwitt@-----.net wrote:
>> A question for you 'saxophone doublers' out there:
>>
>> Do any of you know how the 'bis' (?) key got it's name ?
>
>I would guess it is just a designation for an alternate fingering.
>I have seen clarinet fingering charts with keys labeled 7bis (or 7b)
>for example. In chemistry, a bis form of a molecule has a different
>arrangement of atoms from another form of the molecule. The dictionary
>mentions bis means "twice or doubled".

'bis' also means next to, or besides, and is derived from French.

------ Lisa K. Canjura-Clayton * clayton@-----.edu
/ http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~clayton * http://www.jonsimsctr.org
/ Hank: "Cooties are what we used to call the germs girls had."
/ Bobby: "You mean like chlamydia?" -- KING OF THE HILL