Klarinet Archive - Posting 001031.txt from 1998/02

From: Edinger/Gilman <wde1@-----.com>
Subj: alto clarinets
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 17:52:24 -0500

Roger Garrett wrote (about alto clarinets):

"There simply is no reason to mess with this particular color clarinet
[in marching bands]."

As a one-year college-level alto clarinet player (concert band, not
marching!), in regard to its musical contribution, I can only concur
(and it's only marginal at best in the concert band). But of course the
alto clarinet sound (which is completely inconsequential in a marching
band) is of no significance at all - it is there for its funny looks.
Period. That's a characteristic of marching bands - they have very
little to do with music except as a vehicle for the visual and rhythmic
noise effects. If you want musicality, go somewhere else.

By the way, since we're taking pot shots at alto clarinets, has anyone
else ever noticed that those who play it tend to be a bit eccentric
(remember, I was "volunteered" to play it too, so I claim immunity from
prejudice, if not from eccentricity). The person in our community band
who plays it usually wears boots and hip waders to rehearsal (but not to
concerts, so far). BTW, this is NOT a joke, she really does wear them.
She's very discreet, though, and you can hardly ever hear the swish when
she walks.

Bill Edinger