Klarinet Archive - Posting 000646.txt from 2003/05

From: "Matthew Lloyd" <Matthew@-----.uk>
Subj: RE: [kl] something a little different for marching band...
Date: Mon, 26 May 2003 21:09:34 -0400

Till is clarinet in D isn't it?

-----Original Message-----
From: DGross1226@-----.com]
Subject: Re: [kl] something a little different for marching band...

In a message dated 5/26/2003 1:19:13 PM Pacific Daylight Time, "Matthew
Lloyd" <Matthew@-----.uk> writes:

<<The Eb is unique - I assume you don't play one - and has a character
all of
its own. I'll not pronounce any further on Marching Bands - but please
don't
suggest the Eb is "just" a higher clarinet. It isn't.>>

Matthew,

That is perhaps the most helpful reply you could have made to
Stephanie's
original post! I also once thought that the Eb soprano clarinet would
be "fun"
to play, so I bought a professional caliber Selmer Paris Eb clarinet
from a
colleague. It worked out pretty well in a local community band but,
because I
played it so rarely and hated the looks of the piccolo player concerning
its
intonation, I finally decided to sell the beastie. Three "professional"
players
declined to buy the horn because of intonation problems. The fourth
prospective buyer was a university woodwind repair tech who took it on
as a challenge.
The $$ I received helped with the purchase of a low C LeBlanc paperclip
contrabass clarinet which was the best investment I've made in a long
time. I have
yet to find a wind ensemble conductor who doesn't "love" the
contrabass/contra alto (pedal clarinets for you Brits) clarinets.

In live performance I've only heard one or two players who truly
understand
the uniqueness of the soprano Eb clarinet including Monica Kaenzig...

http://www.laphil.org/music_and_musicians/performer_detail.cfm?id=347&
back=%2Fmusic%5Fand%5Fmusicians%2Forchestra%5Flisting%2Ecfm%3B

...who plays Eb with the LA Philharmonic and my current teacher, Helen
Goode-Castro. My own unsolicited advice to Stephanie would be to listen
to re
cordings of "Til Eulenspiegel" until my ears dropped off. And then go
to her local
professional symphony orchestra's Eb clarinet player's next master
class.

Played "correctly," the Eb soprano clarinet is a truly beautiful
instrument.
Played like 99.9% of the folks who "buy the instrument so I can play it
in
the band," it's truly criminal.

Don Gross
La Canada, California

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