Klarinet Archive - Posting 000221.txt from 2004/03

From: Dan Leeson <leeson0@------.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] reasons for basset clarinets
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2004 11:01:23 -0500

BEresman@------.com wrote:

> Dan Leeson Wrote:
>
>
>> The character of sound produced by any clarinet is affected by
>>extensions, and I suggest that the effect is invariably positive. I have
>>both a B-flat and an A that descend to low E-flat, and though I rarely
>>use the notes, the character of the instruments appears to me to be
>>improved by the presence of the extra length wood. By this I mean to
>>say that I also have a pair of clarinets that do not extend to low
>>E-flat, and I don't use them nearly as much as the ones that do. It's
>>because the extra wood creates a positive effect on the sound character.
>>
>>I once asked a player why he enjoyed playing everything on an A
>>clarinet. He did not even own a B-flat clarinet, but transposed
>>everything. His answer was that the extra length of the instrument (as
>>compared to a B-flat clarinet) allowed him to produce a character that
>>was unavailable to him on shorter instruments.
>
>
> But Dan, if the part was written for a "standard" length clarinet, how can
> you justify using a longer instrument? The composer wrote specifically for
> a regular clarinet, and may very well have had that particular sound in
> mind. Seems to me that this is no different in essence than playing C
> clarinet parts on a Bb instrument. DIfferent in degree, perhaps, but not
> in essence.
>
> And while my tongue is somewhat in my cheek, there is a modicum of true
> curiosity about this. I would not hesitate to do as you suggest, if i had
> the instrument, but i am not a purist about that sort of thing.
>
> Brent Eresman
>
>

OK. So what is a "standard length" clarinet. Anton Stadler had three
basset clarinets, one in C, one in B-flat, and one in A. Which was the
standard? Was there ever a standard length?

When I used the term standard length I was, of course, referring to the
length of the traditional, contempary clarinet used by most Americans. I
have no idea if this length is the same as the length of the
traditional, contemporary clarinet used by most Germans, Dutch, or
Austrians for example.

So before you insert your toungue in you cheek, you are going to have to
be a lot more precise about exactly what a "standard length" clarinet
is. For example, if I were to have a C clarinet of a traditional length,
it would have a certain character for the long B-natural. I'm not sure
that the character is measurable but if I were to play the instrument, I
would possibly recognize the character achieved by a C clarinet.

Then, what would happen were I to buy a C basset clarinet and play the
long B-natural. The issue is this: will it still sound like a C
clarinet even though the length of the instrument has been altered, or
will that same note now sound as if it is being played by a B-flat
clarinet because the character has been so measureably altered by the
additional wood needed to get the low C (and which I am not using in any
case)??

To take this argument to the extreme, wil a long B-natural played on a C
clarinet fo traditional length have essentially the same character for a
C clarinet of any length, including one 10 feet long?

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