Klarinet Archive - Posting 000033.txt from 1998/03

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Clarinet as a Tuning Instrument
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 01:55:18 -0500

On Sat, 28 Feb 1998, Roger Garrett wrote:

> Why did the Trumpet receive special treatment and the tuba did not?
>
> Is the trumpet the only member of the brass family to "break the rule"?
>
> In other words.....why not call it a C for trumpet also? Same horn
> except for the octave......

As a starting point, it is well not to try to rely on logic or reason to
unravel the system of transposing instruments, because it was not logic or
reason which brought us to the point where we are. Rather, it was a
gradual evolution, the weight of tradition, expediency, etc.

In considering this question, we have to separate the instruments which
normally play in treble clef from the ones in bass clef. Next, it is well
to begin by eliminating from discussion those instruments which have
octave transpositions, such as the piccolo, contrabassoon, double bass,
and several mallet percussion instrumens. All of these are "concert
pitch" instruments, meaning that when they play their written C, they
sound a C. The piccolo, the xylophone, etc. sound a C an octave higher
than written, while the double bass and contrabassoon sound an octave
lower. (Incidentally, the glockenspiel sounds _two_ octaves higher than
written.)

Of the remaining instruments, those which are normally written in the
treble clef follow the rule previously mentioned, "an instrument playing
its written C sounds its key name."

The bass clef instruments are another matter. The trombone, the euphonium
and the tuba are always written as though they were pitched in C, and the
player has to learn a different set of fingerings for each different key
in which the instrument may be pitched. Thus, a tuba player playing a
tuba in Bb, C, Eb, F, or whatever, will always sound a C when C is
written, but will use different fingerings on each different instrument in
order to accomplish that. To play C below the bass clef, the Bb tuba
player would use 1st and 3rd valves (3rd partial in the F series); on the
C tuba, all valves are open (2nd partial in the C series); on the Eb tuba
the fingering is 1st and 2nd valves, but in this instance, the pitch is
the 2nd partial of the C series; and on the F tuba, the fingering required
is again 1st and 3rd valves, the pitch being the 2nd partial of the C
series. So, this not-so-hypothetical tuba player would have to know four
different sets of fingerings for the instrument.

It is precisely because it allows us woodwind players to avoid such a
complicated system that the transposing system is so advantageous for us.
When a clarinet player picks up a clarinet in Bb, A, C, Eb, or a bass
clarinet, the fingering for a written Eb on the fourth space, for example,
is always the same. And this is true of most other pitches - admittedly
with a few exceptions having to do with the eccentricities of some of the
larger clarinets in the higher register.

Now, to get back to the comparison of the trumpet and the trombone, both
of which are based on the harmonic series of Bb. Again, let's use the
example of middle C for the trumpet, and the C one octave lower, on the
2nd space of the bass clef. for the trombone. In order to sound middle C,
the Bb trumpet player will have to read a D, and will use the 1st and 3rd
valves. This is the sixth of the seven different valve combinations on
the trumpet, so the player will be playing a note based on G, 2nd line,
lowered by six half steps (a perfect fourth) by six succesively longer
combinations of tuning. Another way to think of this is as the 3rd
partial of the G series.

The trombone will play the C in question in the sixth position of the
slide, which is comparable to the 1st and 3rd valves on the trumpet. So,
both instruments are based on the overtone series of Bb, the valve and
slide combinations are comparable, both players sound a C, but the trumpet
player is taught that he is playing a D.

We could teach clarinet players, for example, that when they cover the
thumb hole and the three finger holes of the left hand, they are playing
Bb. That _is_ the note which is sounding. However, that would work only
if every clarinet player played the same instrument exclusively, or that
they learn a new set of fingerings for every clarinet in another key that
they wanted to play.

Complicated as this may seem, this is the easy part of the field of
transposition to deal with. For more difficulties, look into
transposition as it affects the French horns or the bass clarinet!

Ed Lacy
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Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722
el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
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