Klarinet Archive - Posting 000127.txt from 1997/10

From: fersilv@-----.net
Subj: Re: Bass Clarinet...clefs...transposition!
Date: Sat, 4 Oct 1997 22:49:51 -0400

At 14:38 04/10/97 -0400, you wrote:
>****Because no one responded to the query below I assume it somehow got
>lost in the ether...consequently I am re-sending it with the hope that it
>makes the list this time and will produce some responses.****
>
>
>Having recently reviewed a sizeable collection of messages on Sneezy I am
>bold enough now to suggest that I may actually *understand* the
>complexities of the notation schemes for bass clarinet and for transposing
>parts in A or C on the Bb instrument. May I test my newfound knowledge with
>the group by making a number of statements that can be addressed as "true"
>or "false?"
>
>[1] Prior to this Century most bass clarinet parts were written in the bass
>clef...and these are to be read in the traditional fashion [the line above
>the staff is C] and the sound in concert key is one half-tone below.
>
>[2] ...but...for reasons of convenience, often to avoid a stack of ledger
>lines above the staff, some of these parts mentioned above were also
>written in the treble clef...and these should be transposed *up* an octave
>in order to sound a half step below the actual notation.
Maybe could be better you change your mind. Think that when you are
playing on bass clef the midle "B" is on the space above the staf, and when
you are plauing on treble cleff is the same of the Bb Clarinet.
>
>[3] Neither of the above "rules" are absolute and it is always desirable
>[necessary?] to examine the score to determine which octave the note is
>actually in...and adjust accordingly.
> FALSE
>[4] To play an A bass clarinet part on a Bb instrument [e.g.,
>Rachmaninoff's Symphony No.2], read the bass clef traditionally but lower
>the notes one-half tone.
> TRUE
>[5] ...same for any A part written in the treble clef [e.g., Mahler's
>Symphony No. 7]...read the treble clef traditionally but lower the notes a
>half tone.
> TRUE
>Now we come to bass clarinet parts in C and How to transpose them on the Bb
>instrument?...
UP ONE TONE
>
>[6]...play the notes a whole tone up [????????? For some reason my mind
>goes out of gear at this point! Can anyone elucidate?]
Is simple. If the C bass-clarinet play Bb you have to play(on Bb)C.
or better, remember that when the oboe plays the A you have to play, on the
Bb, "B"(up one tone).
>
>I recognize that all this no doubt is quite basic to most on this list, but
>some of us are making elementary transitions [I, for example, from jazz to
>classical playing!] and need primer advice on many of the fundamentals.
>
>Any comments/thoughts/advice will be much appreciated. Fred S.
>
>
Good Luck

Fernando Silveira
Principal Clarinet - National Symphony - Brazil
Chamber Music Professor - Rio de Janeiro Federal University

   
     Copyright © Woodwind.Org, Inc. All Rights Reserved    Privacy Policy    Contact charette@woodwind.org