Klarinet Archive - Posting 000303.txt from 2003/06

From: Erik Tkal <bbtkal@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Keys and their character-AAAAAHHHHHHH!
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 15:38:20 -0400

At 12:04 PM 6/10/2003 -0700, Dan wrote:

>You and many others presume that the choice of a key signature is based on a scientific fact; i.e., bright keys (whatever that means) are derived from key signatures with a lot of sharps, somber keys (whatever that means) are derived from key signatures with a lot of flats. And the more sharps the brighter, the more flats, the more somber. You don't find such statement until the early part of the 19th century. Nowhere, for example, does Mozart make any statement that would allow any reasonable person to believe that he thought that way. Maybe he did, but you can't document such a belief on his part.

I think it has more to do with how different instruments sound in the different keys than anything else. The timbre of an instrument plays a huge part in the overall sound of a piece. I am only learning clarinet now, but my primary instrument is trombone, and there I see a definite difference in the way a piece sounds in one key versus another based on the characteristics of how the notes sound in each. I happen to like the sound of trombone in 3 or 4 sharps, although many cringe at this because of the increased difficulty in reading. It's just that some of those notes have better harmonic structure than the fundamental notes of the instrument.

Other than harmonics there is intonation. It was mentioned that strings sound more "brilliant" in open position, and that makes sense since there is no finger dampening or otherwise modifying the tone. With fixed-pitch instruments (not strings, not trombone) where each note is determined by specific fingering (i.e. for the most part not adjustable by the player, ignoring lipping up or down for now), how the note figures into a specific chord varies considerably (a true F in one chord may sound flat or sharp in another and should be adjusted accordingly). So how the composer picks a key can depend on the specific instrumentation, which is why some transcriptions and transpositions can sound terrible! And also given that many instruments today are quite different in character than when many pieces were originally written you have that variable as well.

One last thought is to echo the words of a clarinet player friend of mine: Clarinet design [and this is true as well for all other instruments] is a compromise. In order to get most notes to sound good, some have to be sacrificed. The tone hole opening positions are not perfect, nor are the characteristics of the openings, especially in combinations, along with the resonant and fundamental frequencies involved. Then there is mouthpiece design, etc. All of this contributes to a design that is optimal in some situations and fine in most but impractical in some as well. Otherwise being a musician would be just boring.

Erik Tkal

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