Klarinet Archive - Posting 000952.txt from 1997/09

From: reedman@-----.com
Subj: Transposing
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 1997 23:59:43 -0400

I have been too busy to register in on any of the threads,
but this is one that I find very interesting. While I understand
Dan's emphatic stance on playing the instrument that the composer
intended, that position with all of it's implications becomes
completely untenable. Here is a very thoughtful response from
Steve Prescott:

I'm riding the fence on this one. Where as I believe we should try in every
> > > instance to play the instrument intended by the composer, I also know that
> > > most of us cannot afford to purchase the entire family of clarinets. I have
> > > an Bb and A of course and also an Eb and Bass. The bass is not a low C bass
> > > (which is problematic) and it is pitched in Bb, not A. There have been some
> > > instances where an A bass clarinet was needed; I transposed the part.
> > > Though I am first and foremost a clarinetist and I love to play and oddly
> > > enough practice, I cannot justify, with my present income, the purchase of
> > > an A bass clarinet, an A sopranino, a C clarinet and/or a D clarinet. Does
> > > this make me a villain...I don't think so. Does this mean I do not want to
> > > play the instrument intended...I don't think so. Most of us are caught
> > > between a rock and hard place. This is not a justification to play the
> > > "wrong" clarinet, merely an observation.
> > >
> > > Steve
> > >
> > > Steve Prescott
> > >

One can spin Dan's logic a little further and insist that in the case of
Mozart we must use a 5 key clarinet, for Beethoven a 5 or preferably 8-10 key
clarinet. And for Brahms we MUST use a German system clarinet to reproduce
the beautifully GERMANIC sounds of Herr Muhlfeld.

I do not own a C clarinet, and frankly it is lower on the list than
BBb Contra. I also do not own an A bass clarinet. I was extremely lucky
to have studied with Russell S. Howland at Fresno State as an undergrad. Mr.
Howland was one of the most "complete" musicians I have ever known. In
addition to mastering all of the woodwinds and several other instruments, he
was a composer and arranger. As a very young man (18!) he began playing
in the studios and theaters of New York. From this experience he knew
the value of being able to transpose at sight! He was the first person
to bust my butt to learn transposition. I became quite fluent in A, C and
octave transposing. I am very often called into the SF Opera to substitute
at the last minute and if it's an Italian Opera you better know C transpositon!

I am completely dumbfounded by the resistance to learning transposition.
I know of a young bass clarinetist in our area who is quite capable, but is
so terrified of any bass part in A he pays to have the part transposed on a
computer. Another plus to learning transpositon - especially C- is that
one learns to read by key rather than reading note to note. If you do
not know how to transpose into C, I highly recommend grabbing a good
looking flutist and playing duets (For two C instrunments).
I did this as a student and learned a life long skill.
Well, two life long skills!

Clark W Fobes