Klarinet Archive - Posting 000211.txt from 2009/10

From: "James Leonard Hobby" <jhobby@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Re: [kl] Coolest
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:11:02 -0400

Actually, I couldn't. I've been watching this go back and forth -- and had
seen Dan's remarks in earlier articles -- about clarinets only "allowed" to
play in 2 keys (or only being written in 2 keys). I never could figure out
why. NOW it's perfectly logical. Thanks for the clarfication. I guess my
mind isn't in the right century. <g>

Jim Hobby

> I think you should understand why.
>
> In order to play in keys with sharps, the clarinet had to have additional
> keys and holes put in it. It was not a big deal to put the hole in the
> proper place so that it worked fine for the upper or the lower register,
> but
> it was very difficult to put the hole in a place with the note worked OK
> for
> BOTH registers. And that was the inhibiting factor which drove the
> process
> whereby multiply pitched clarinets came to be.
>
> The mentality (and it was damned clever) was this: if you can't play in a
> particular key on the clarinet, then change the pitch of the clarinet.
> Kind
> of like being in a boat on a river with bridges that can raise up to allow
> the boat to pass through. But clarinets did not raise the bridge, they
> lowered the water.
>
> Dan Leeson

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