Klarinet Archive - Posting 000248.txt from 1997/09

From: Mark Charette <charette@-----.com>
Subj: Re: treble clef
Date: Sat, 6 Sep 1997 13:06:06 -0400

bert.six@-----.edu wrote:
>
> There you go, in the 18 years that I am on this planet, I haven't been in
> touch that much with the orchestra world. I have been around the block
> though. You may be right. But I still my explation of the soprano
> clarinet... was still the right one.

Are you sure, Bert? It seems to me that the alto clef would
have been a better fit. The viola, an older instrument
with similar range, uses an alto clef for written music. In fact,
there are a good number of pieces where the composer has
specied to use either a clarinet or viola for a part.
Following your logic, why not the soprano clef instead of
the treble clef (the soprano clef had the bottom line as
middle C). We don't see the soprano clef often today, but
it was used in earlier centuries.

You *believe* your explanation to be correct; an opinion,
but not necessarily a correct opinion. As Dr. Lacy pointed out,
there are other instruments at least as old as the clarinet which
use multiple clefs in their normal range.
--
Mark Charette "How can you be in two places at once
charette@-----.com when you're not anywhere at all?"
http://sneezy.mika.com/clarinet - Firesign Theater