Klarinet Archive - Posting 000330.txt from 2002/12

From: Roger Shilcock <roger.shilcock@-----.uk>
Subj: Re: [kl] Intonation (was Bass Clarinet in A)
Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 04:05:17 -0500

Remote keys => intonation probs? Well, I think so, but the problems seem
to be primarily perceptual and psychological - and presumably afflict amateurs
far more than pros.
Roger S.

In message <5.1.0.14.2.20021212161451.00a135f0@-----.org writes:
> At 11:31 12/12/02 -0500, Lelia wrote:
> >But I would rather
> >not hear a bass clarinet struggle with intonation in the key of B; and
> >notating an extracted part in C-flat carries transpositional purity to an
> >extreme that really is ridiculous.
>
> There seem to be three issues here. First is the difficulty in remembering
> which notes are flatted or sharped, and I agree that a good musician (not
> me) should be able to do this "on his head." Second is the mechanics of
> fingering in remote keys, which becomes progressively more difficult as the
> number of sharps or flats increases. On the bass clarinet, this is
> exacerbated by the size and inertia of the mechanism, which makes it more
> likely to be sluggish and clanky. Both of these are real, but have been
> discussed before.
>
> Leila's comment above, however, implies that the clarinet's intonation is
> not tempered (i.e., "just" or some other system), or not properly tempered
> (by accident or by the nature of the instrument.) Granted that no clarinet
> is perfect, and there will always be some "wild" notes that need attention,
> and that these will differ instrument to instrument, the question
> remains: Is it in fact true that playing in remote keys produces
> intonation problems?
>
> I am particularly interested in this right now, since I am trying with some
> success to tame an old Kohlert bass clarinet, and have been wondering if
> some of my problems might be due to the instrument not being made to play a
> tempered scale.
>
> Comments?
>
> >
>
> George Kidder
> Bar Harbor, ME
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

--
Cet animal est méchant. Quand on l'attaque, il se défend.
---- Alleged sign in French zoo.

---------------------------------------------------------------------