Klarinet Archive - Posting 000587.txt from 1998/02

From: ROBERT HOWE <arehow@-----.net>
Subj: Re:Low registers: Sax and oboe vs. clarinet
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 1998 12:13:49 -0500

I wrote:
>THus, the second register of a clarinet IS less secure in its behavior
>than is that of an oboe (etc). And there is a logical reason why this
>is so.

Gary L Smith wrote:
"Having approached saxophone as a modification of my clarinet technique,
I
never looked at a saxophone beginner book until I started offering
lessons. It was somewhat of a surprise at first when I realized that a
beginner sax player starts out in the upper register rather quickly and
only gets into really low notes after the embouchure begins to be
established. Of course, this is opposite of the way clarinet is taught,
and suggests that the upper register of a saxophone is *more* stable
than
the lower. Is this true of the oboe as well?"

First, I disagree with your approach to Saxophone, better to treat
Saxophone as a unique instrument than as a modification of clarinet.
But this aside, your question is subtle and profound, Saxophone is
really much closer to oboe in its behavior than to clarinet. The
accident of the Saxophone using a single reed causes the confusion.

In a word, Yes, this is true of Saxophone and oboe as well. In both,
the first peak contributes more or less equal energy to the equilibrium
as does the second peak, so when played at less than MF, as the first
peak gets smaller the tone can become weak and insecure,and if peak two
remains larger than peak one, the pitch jumps up an octave. Hence
second oboe is the toughest spot in an orchestral woodwind section, all
those low D and C# and B that clarient players eat for breakfast can be
a great chore for an oboists, especially in pianissimo. Do your oboe
colleagues a favor and tune down to them if they are playing a held note
below Eb!, the oboe is really tough to control that low in its range.

Regards, Robert Howe