Klarinet Archive - Posting 000908.txt from 1999/03

From: Jack Kissinger <kissingerjn@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: [kl] High A
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 11:30:14 -0500

I agree with Roger S., here, (that's at least two things we agree on! ;^) ) though I
wouldn't expect A to be the starting point. The reference ("zero") point in the
system in Turek satisfies two useful criteria for me -- it is not instrument specific
and it is in the clarinet's (and most other instruments') normal range. While Turek
includes a piano keyboard with his description of the naming system in his book, it
seems fairly clear that the basis is not the keyboard or the range of any specific
instrument. Rather it is the relationship of the treble and bass clefs (itself an
arbitrary choice but at least more general than the lowest note on a specific
instrument) and the fact that middle C, at the midpoint between the two is a logical
reference point. (Without reference to a specific instrument, what is the lowest
possible note on the bass clef? In other words, where do we stop drawing ledger
lines? 1 cycle per second? per minute? per millenium? What is the highest possible
note on the treble clef? Neither is a feasible reference point. Also, neither
extreme is anywhere close to the range in which most instruments operate, making it
inconvenient for us to use.) Now here, I have to concede that there is an
inconsistency which troubles me. It seems more logical to me that this "zero" point
should be named c0 (c) rather than c1 (c'). The actual reference point appears to be
an octave BELOW middle C but Turek makes it fairly clear that middle C is the
reference point. There is probably an historical reason for this but I don't know
what it is. In any case, regardless of such arbitrary choices, the system still
appears to be instrument-independent.

Benade's system depends on the piano keyboard for its reference point, the Sneezy
basic and alt. fingerings system appears to depend on the clarinet for its reference
point (claricentrism rears its ugly head! ;^) ). The problem (for me) with these
instrument-specific systems is that, while they are all equivalent in the end and we
can use them unambiguously as long as everyone knows which system is in use, they
differ from instrument to instrument (and don't we already have enough transposition
in our lives?). Also when they are based on an instrument whose range is quite
different than the clarinet's they can be inconvenient, requiring alot of extra
counting which, in turn, can lead to erros. (Quick, without looking at a keyboard,
what is, e.g., the lowest note you can play on your soprano clarinet in the "Benade"
system?) The system in Turek (arbitrarily) defines the midpoint between the bass and
treble clefs as its "zero" then works upward into the treble clef and downward into
the bass clef -- same for all instruments and in the clarinet's normal range.

My $.02.

Best regards,
Jack Kissinger
St. Louis

Roger Shilcock wrote:

> Turek is correct - if there is "correctness" here. The number of
> superscript ticks increases by one at each c going up. You might expect A,
> but it ain't so.
> Roger Shilcock
>

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