Klarinet Archive - Posting 000465.txt from 2006/03

From: Simeon Loring <sloring1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Alto Clarinet in the Orchestra
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 09:05:39 -0500

I was the alto clarinet player in the Goldman Band for several
years. In many of the really older arrangements that we played,
where the arrangements had been expanded from the smaller military
band orchestrations, I frequently either doubled the alto horn or
alto saxophone parts. In the newer (post 1930, I guess) pieces that
we played, the parts became more individually conceived, with the
occasional solo. The beauty of the instrument is that it so neatly
does what the basset horn does, it plays lyrically in an area lower
than the clarinet, yet is also able to sing in the higher registers,
offering an extra sonority to the clarinet section.
On Mar 24, 2006, at 8:37 AM, Lelia Loban wrote:

>
> Jay Niepoetter wrote,
>> Sousa enjoyed using a "multiplicity of quartets" in
>> his band to create multiple groups playing in four-part
>> harmony. He liked the colors this created throughout
>> the band.
>
> I love that rich harmony. With four distinct ranges, a composer
> can let
> each instrument follow its own line through a complex counterpoint,
> too,
> instead of swapping in and out with lower or higher instruments.
> That's
> less important with professional musicians, who can follow each
> other and
> blend seamlessly, but with students and amateurs, I think it
> usually sounds
> better to avoid breaking the line of a melody or a counter-theme
> between
> two different musicians: avoid the little "bump" of transition.
>
> One reason the alto clarinet has declined seems to be that the other
> clarinets between them can cover the alto's whole range, but (as an
> amateur
> composer, fwiw...) using an alto clarinet seems to me to be a much
> better
> option than making the bass clarinet go howling up to the top of
> its range.
> For the best overall tone quality in an ensemble, I'd rather use a
> greater
> variety of instruments and hear all of them playing in their best-
> sounding
> ranges most of the time.
>
>> The alto clarinet has prominent solos in standard wind
>> ensemble / band compositions by Grainger, Dahl, Dello
>> Joio and others. Its unlikely that alto clarinet will
>> disappear completely.
>
> I hope you're right. When I kept a Sibelius web page, and
> occasionally got
> comments in the Sibelius web forum that my alto clarinets were
> "unnecessary," or that "nobody plays alto clarinet," I knew I was
> hearing
> from someone who didn't know much about the clarinet family.
> However, when
> I score for alto clarinet or for basset horn, I do include optional
> parts
> for an extra soprano clarinet and an extra bass clarinet, in case
> no alto
> or basset is available.
>
> Kurt Heisig wrote,
>>> I believe the reason it has fallen into dis-use is
>>> the pitiful mouthpieces that come with them and
>>> that school instruments are in dis-repair.
>
> Bad instruments in bad condition and lack of instruction lead to
> discouragement, discouragement leads to negligent practice and the
> result,
> too often, is dismal playing that drops the reputation of the
> instrument
> even farther. Kids who hear the alto clarinet sounding like a bad
> joke are
> less likely to want to switch to it. Band teachers could do a lot
> to break
> this vicious circle, first by finding a good alto clarinet player to
> demonstrate the instrument during the "petting zoo" for children
> reaching
> the age to switch to the harmony clarinets. The band teacher also
> needs to
> persuade the school administration that buying the school a good-
> quality
> alto clarinet with a decent mouthpiece is as important as providing
> a good
> bass clarinet. The teacher can also encourage a student with real
> musical
> ability and a nonconformist streak to switch to the alto clarinet
> because
> it's a *special* instrument (like the bass clarinet). The teacher
> also
> needs to provide instruction about the differences between playing
> an alto
> and playing a soprano clarinet. Kids who respect and enjoy an
> instrument,
> and think of it as special, will take better care of it and spend
> more time
> practicing on it.
>
> Also, I'd like to see more instruction that's now labelled for bass
> clarinet re-labelled for alto and bass clarinet. At ClarinetFest
> 2004, in
> Washington, D. C., Edward Palanker gave an excellent presentation,
> "Bass
> Clarinet for Dummies." (I think the popular "for Dummies" label is an
> unfortunate one for *anything,* btw--I think people learn better
> without
> that label, because as humor, it's too lame--and nowadays, too
> trite--to be
> worthwhile, and it plants the discouraging suggestion that we're
> too stupid
> to learn *real* information.) Nearly everything Mr. Palanker said
> applied
> to alto clarinet, too. As an amateur, I learned a lot from that
> session.
>
> My nerd credential these days is a Selmer C* mouthpiece (usually
> with Rico
> Royal alto sax reeds) on a 1979 Selmer Paris alto clarinet. That's
> a good
> setup, imho.
>
> Lelia Loban
>
>
>
>
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