Klarinet Archive - Posting 000030.txt from 2005/06

From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Bb versus C Clarinet?
Date: Wed, 01 Jun 2005 18:41:30 -0400

The fact that it is not true today has nothing to do with the it!
If Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, or any other composer who
requested a C clarinet for the kinds of technical reasons I gave,
then the sound character of the music they wrote is related to
the sound character of the instruments employed THEN. If all you
seek are the pitches requested by the composer, you can play the
piece on any instrument you wish. Play the clarinet part on a
trumpet. You can certainly get most of the right pitches and in
the right register, too. So why not?

What you have to be able to do as a performing musician is to
broaden your horizons about what and how you play. It is not
just the pitch, but the timbre and character of sound that you
are obliged to deal with.

Thus, while the technical reasons behind the use of the C
clarinet are not relevant today, you are still stuck with the
instrument and neither you nor I are authorized to suggest that,
"Well, that's nonsense. Today we are modern people and can do as
we wish."

Dan Leeson
DNLeeson@-----.net

-----Original Message-----
From: willy kostucki [mailto:wk@-----.be]
Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 2:46 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Bb versus C Clarinet?

Hello Dan,
Thanks for this answer.
If I understood correctly there was an inability (you mean
technical?) to play in keys other than C and F. But is this
still
true today with our modern C clarinets? Is it still easier to
play
some keys on a Bb versus C?
Thanks forwards,
Willy.
Le 01-juin-05 à 04:20, dnleeson a écrit :

> Your questions fall into two broad categories. One is
historical
> about the evolution of the C and B-flat clarinets, while the
> other questions deal with issues related to quality of
instrument
> manufacture. For example you ask if the C is likely to be out
of
> tune, and the answer to that question is a function of the
> manufacturer.
>
> The development of the family of clarinets, the C, B-flat, A,
and
> others now generally considered obsolete, was due originally to
> the inability of the clarinet to play in keys other than C and
F.
> So as long as those keys were used, the C clarinet was fine for
> the job. But if the composer wanted to write in B-flat or
> E-flat, the clarinet change was made to the B-flat clarinet
which
> allowed it to continue to play in written C and F, even though
> music was written in other keys. Same thing for the key of A
and
> D. The A clarinet was used and it played in written C and F.
> And that's that.
>
> The problem is unique to the clarinet family. No other woodwind
> instrument has this peculiarity.
>
> As for the other questions, C clarinets are made very expertly
> today. Try one.
>
> Dan Leeson
> DNLeeson@-----.net
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: willy kostucki [mailto:wk@-----.be]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 5:18 PM
> To: klarinet@-----.org
> Subject: [kl] Bb versus C Clarinet?
>
>
> QUESTION TO THE PANEL OF EXPERTS.
>
> Hello,
> Can someone explain to me the real "advantages" of the Bb
> compared to
> the C clarinet?
> Some questions:
> -Historically spoken is the Bb anterior or posterior to the C?
Do
> we
> need to consider the Bb an evolution or an improvement of the
C?
> -The C clarinet allows one to play the "real" notes and not
notes
> that are one whole tone of difference with the non-transposing
> instruments. Isn't this an "advantage"?
> -Is the fingering system easier on a Bb than on a C for the
usual
> scales in west music?
> -Why do so few clarinetists play on Bb (beside the fact most of
> the
> classical pieces are writen for Bb).
> -Is the C clarinet more likely to be out of tune than a Bb
> because of
> construction differences (smaller)?
> -Why is most classical music writen for Bb and not for C?
> -Who buy today a C clarinet and for what purpose?
> -Other comments welcome.
>
> Thanks forwards,
> WILLY.
>
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> http://www.woodwind.org
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>
>
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