Klarinet Archive - Posting 000834.txt from 2002/03

From: CBA <clarinet10001@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] C Clarinets
Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 18:19:34 -0500

Bob,

If you are not going to learn transposition, and have
the money to spend on a C clarinet to spare, it would
be a good investment.

I use my C clarinet for orchestral stuff, but more
frequently for church stuff when I don't have time to
transpose (or don't care too ;-) I can transpose to Bb
from C on sight, and have done so for 18 years in
Churches, but sometimes the key is NOT what you want.
Then of course, I also transpose on sight to A
clarinet from C parts, but sometimes this gets to be
too high for a small choir to compete with at church.
The C clarinet opens up a lot of options.

I have a Patricola C (professional model,) that I like
somewhat better than the Buffet and Leblanc C
clarinets I have tried, plus, it was about $1000
*LESS* than either of the C clarinets in those brands.
It's actually not much more than a Noblet *NEW* C
clarinet, which is NOT a professional model, but an
intermediate instrument. One word of caution. Do NOT
get the Rosewood in the Patricola instruments. It
looks really nice, and may give you a different
feeling when you play, and could sould different, but
the wood is less stable than Grenadilla, and
swells/contracts quite freely with humidity changes.
Rosewood also is more prone to cracking than
Grenadilla. I have a C and an Eb Rosewood Patricola
clarinet, and I do love them both, but find I have
stuffy notes when the temperature is dry, and also
some binding in the keys when it is super dry, or very
wet outside. This wouldn't be as much of a problem
with the Grenadilla Patricola models (or other brands'
instruments in Grenadilla, for that matter.)

A good investment right away after getting any C
clarinet would be a good mouthpiece. I use a Clark
Fobes Bb/A mouthpiece on mine, and know that Ralph
Morgan specifically produces a mouthpiece for C
clarinets. Depending on the instrument, you may have
to have the bottom of the mouthpiece (that goes inside
the clarinet barrel) filed or routered off for pitch
reasons, as a Bb mouthpiece is usually too long for
the C clarinet. A LOT of really great Bb/A mouthpieces
do NOT work with a C clarinet. usually ones that play
on the flat side (like many Vandorens) and ones with a
longer facing make the throat tones on a C clarinet so
stuffy amd flat, they are unusable, even if you got
them shortened.

The second investment I would suggest would be a new
barrel. I'm not sure if Clark makes a C barrel, but
Guy Chadash makes them, if you contact him directly.

Both the mouthpiece and barrel upgrades should make a
great difference in your playing ability on your C
clarinet. By the way, Patricola clarinets do NOT come
with mouthpieces, so the mouthpiece would be a
necessity anyway. I'm not sure what mouthpiece comes
with the Buffets and Leblancs, if any.

Good luck!

Kelly Abraham
Woodwinds - New York City
--- Bob Murch <rmurch@-----.edu> wrote:
> Any thoughts on the pros and cons of buying a C
> clarinet? Now that I am
> retired, I have returned to clarinet playing after
> 4+ decades of doing other
> things. One of my new musical activities is playing
> with the orchestra of a
> local music school (secondary level) and several
> times a year we have music
> written for C clarinet. Usually I can not manage
> the necessary real-time
> transposition on my Bb (or A) clarinet. I suspect
> that it would be
> beneficial in the area of my character development
> to practice sufficiently
> to learn full speed sight transposing--but it may
> not be worth the effort.
> Also, I have heard that C clarinets, in general, are
> not mechanically or
> musically "good". Transposing is easy but, for me,
> recording the results on
> paper is verrrry time consuming, whether done by
> hand or by using computer
> software. Comments?
>
> Bob

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