Klarinet Archive - Posting 001173.txt from 2003/04

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] The basset clarinet as a regular orchestral instrument
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 00:48:29 -0400

On Thu, 24 Apr 2003 15:42:54 -0400, GrabnerWG@-----.com said:

> Last summer I had the opportunity of trying an A clarinet with a
> bassett extension made by one of our expert instrument makers.
>
> While I certainly enjoyed the bassett notes, and admired the excellent
> craftsmanship, I would NOT play this clarinet with the bassett
> extension unless I needed the bassett notes.
>
> Why?
>
> The character of the long tube notes, in particular third line B, and
> fourth space C, were inferior to the notes using the original joint.
> They were simply less resonant - less "ring" to the sound, more
> muffled.
>
> Is this a characteristic of all bassett extensions? I have NO idea.
> However, on this clarinet, I would only use the bassett extension when
> I needed those notes.

Just to say that your 'address' to those notes might well change over
time. I found a similar effect, but noticed that it went away with
practice.

My explanation is that they're 'funny' notes on the ordinary clarinet.
That's not surprising, because they're voiced in a way that is different
from all the other notes on the instrument -- namely, by a very short
tone-hole lattice. Therefore, we get used to playing them in a
particular way, without noticing what we're doing.

And that takes time to unlearn.

Playing a reform Boehm instrument is strange in that register to begin
with, too. If you've ever tried playing on a Dutch student's
instrument, you'll know what I mean.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE http://classicalplus.gmn.com/artists
tel/fax 01865 553339

... Insanity is just a state of mind.

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