Klarinet Archive - Posting 000104.txt from 2003/04

From: "Keith" <100012.1302@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Clarinet Sound
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 00:30:41 -0400

I would support Dan and even go further. When I was very young I learned
on a simple or Albert system clarinet. When I changed to a Boehm, at age
about 13, almost the first thing I noticed was that the timbre of the C
above the stave was nothing like so good (and I think this is still true
of modern instruments), and it sounded slightly different. And even
more, a written C on the Bb sounds different from the C# on the A and
the A above the stave on the Eb even though they are all the same pitch.
Or again, the opening of K622: written G-E on the A sounds different
from F#-Eb on the Bb. If one does harmonic analysis of course this is
easy to see, but more important it can be heard, especially if there is
a register change for one of the instruments.

Keith Bowen

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Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2003 14:27:00 -0800
From: Dan Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subject: Re: [kl] Clarinet sound
Message-ID: <3E8CB534.8080904@-----.net>

Ed, thank you for your response, but it is clear to me that we have no
basis of communication if, as your note indicates, you consider only the

pitch of a note as the required element in performance. In effect, the
character and register of the needed sound appears to hold no importance

to you.

I heard a performance of a Mahler symphony done without E-flat clarinets

because the management did not want to pay the extra money. The results
were that all of the pitches were heard on B-flat clarinets -- many in
the wrong register -- but none of the instrumenal character was
retained. The performance was awful at those moments when the needed
clarinet was not used.

What you propose is fundamentally unmusical.

Dan

Ed Wojtowicz wrote:
> There is no difference in the sound of clarinets- By transposing you
> can play the same pitches and avoid switching clarinets.
>
> Ed
>

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