Klarinet Archive - Posting 000974.txt from 1998/10

From: "Tim Roberts" <timr@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Basset Questions
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 16:25:02 -0400

I have a couple of obscure questions.

Basset clarinets are pitched in A. What about basset horns? The WW&BW catalog
says the bore on a basset horn is exactly equal to the bore on an Eb alto. Is
a basset horn, then, pitched in Eb?

Is it accurate (but simplified) to say that a basset clarinet is just an A
clarinet extended to low C, and a basset horn is an Eb alto clarinet extended
to low C?

For those who have played basset instruments, does the longer air column make
it more difficult to play those very low notes? Does the longer tube affect
the sound of the horn? For example, do clarion register notes on a basset
clarinet sound different than the same notes on an A clarinet?

And what is the origin of the term "basset"? I would naively guess the
etymology as deriving from "small bass", or something similar. Or was this the
name of a person?

--
- Tim Roberts, timr@-----.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.

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