Klarinet Archive - Posting 000393.txt from 2003/04

From: Dan Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] C clarinet weirdness
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 00:35:29 -0400

It would make a fascinating and valuable study to find out why the
notation for bass clarinets is so screwed up. The Germans do it one
way, the French another, the English a third, and Wagner, all by
himself, yet a fourth way (sometimes). Occasionally the ambiguities
make it unclear in which register one is to execute the notes.

Now that's a doctoral dissertation subject if there ever was one.

Inresponse to Gary's comments, I sometimes would switch into bass clef
while in the middle of a treble clef passage and for no discernable reasons.

The use of bass clef sometimes results in the note being written an
octave lower than it sounds, such as how Mozart wrote a low C for basset
horn or even soprano clarinet in bass clef. It's weird all right.

Dan

Gary Truesdail wrote:
> Same thing happens to me when playing my quartets. All the bass clarinet parts in my arrangements are in bass clef. When playing the arrangements of others, whose bass clarinet parts are in treble clef, I sometimes find that
> I'm the one playing all the wrong notes because I unknowingly started to read the music as bass clef. Bass Clarinet parts just should not be written in treble clef. Right!!
>
> GaryT
>
> GrabnerWG@-----.com wrote:
>
>
>> I kept trying to transpose it!!!!!!!
>>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

--
***************************
**Dan Leeson **
**leeson0@-----.net **
***************************

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