Klarinet Archive - Posting 000152.txt from 1997/10

From: "C Henderson" <chenderson@-----.au>
Subj: Re: Bass Clarinet...clefs...transposition!
Date: Mon, 6 Oct 1997 19:16:11 -0400

Fred wrote:
> Now we come to bass clarinet parts in C and How to transpose them on =
the Bb
> instrument?...
>
> [6]...play the notes a whole tone up [????????? For some reason my mind
> goes out of gear at this point! Can anyone elucidate?]
>
> 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 jaz=
z to
> classical playing!] and need primer advice on many of the fundamentals.
>
> Any comments/thoughts/advice will be much appreciated. Fred S.

Let's see if I can put your mind back in gear. Transposition is easy onc=
e you get your head around what you're doing, so I'll try to put it reall=
y simply:

When transposing, one instrument sounds a certain interval higher/lower =
than another. In order to make them sound the same pitch, you need to =
adjust the key you play in the opposite direction. For example: a Bb =
clarinet sounds one tone (do you call it a step?) lower than a piano. =
That means that to make the clarinet sound the same pitch as the piano, =
the key you play in has to be one tone *higher* than the piano music key.=
Likewise an A clarinet sounds one and a half tones lower than a piano, =
so the key needs to be one and a half tones higher than the piano music =
key (which, of course, means taking the music written at piano pitch up =
one and a half tones each note). So supposing you wanted to play Bb clar=
inet music on an A clarinet (Dan Leeson - don't shoot me, please - it's =
just an example): the A clarinet would sound the music a semi-tone (half-=
step?) lower than the Bb clarinet the music was written for, so you would=
have to transpose the music up one semi-tone (don't do it if you can hel=
p it - that'll add seven sharps, or five flats, to the key sig). One las=
t example: say you want to play Bb clarinet music on an Eb. The Eb sound=
s an interval of a 4th (two and a half tones/steps) higher than the Bb, =
so you would need to transpose the music *down* a 4th to compensate.

If that's still not clear, or if you want further help, feel free to emai=
l privately.

Good luck
Clare
*******************************************************
Clare Pascoe Henderson
variously clarinetist, writer/lecturer, herbalist
chook fanatic and menagerie manager
<chenderson@-----.au>
*******************************************************

   
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