Klarinet Archive - Posting 000229.txt from 2004/03

From: "Joseph Wakeling" <joseph.wakeling@------.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] reasons for basset clarinets---multiphonics
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2004 11:50:29 -0500

Whoops, that last mail got sent before I was finished writing it.

... To continue on from where I left off: as I said, I noticed some
significant multiphonic differences on Steve Fox's Benade-influenced models,
but wasn't entirely clear whether they were due to the bore, or due to the
key setup on those instruments.

For example, if you finger a usual Bb above the stave, on a regular
instrument you can produce a Gb-Bb dyad multiphonic. At my request a friend
who owns a basset clarinet tried out several multiphonic fingerings
including this one, and we found that instead of a Gb, an F was produced.
The extra length of the instrument, one might think, but I noticed the same
thing on the (non-extended) S. Fox Benade models. Both these, and my
friend's basset clarinet, come with a double register key.

However, in addition to this the presence of the low Eb key on Full-Boehm
and basset instruments also allows for certain multiphonics using
full-length fingerings combined with the A key (this is I think what's
necessary for the Berio Sequenza). Using these fingerings one can get
multiple notes very close together.