 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2004-12-08 00:34
Does anyone know if a study/survey/compilation has ever been done regarding the tendencies of certain instruments across the board?
For example, the vast majority of clarinets tend to be a bit sharp on note X, or french horns flat on note Y.
Information specific to any instrument is appreciated.
Why I ask: As a musician, I know it's imperative to adjust intonation constantly based on the context of music. However, as a composer, I'm considering trying to do some of the work for the performer, by choosing keys and voicings in which, say, the major third is already a bit flat (in equal-tempered terms) in the instrument that plays it.
I'll likely ask around some time in the future, but was wondering if someone could give me a head start (or tell me this is a foolish idea that will get me nowhere )
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: John O'Janpa
Date: 2004-12-08 00:50
Great idea, but also consider the difficulty of the key you are writing in.
For example don't write difficult parts across the break for clarinets.
One thing that drives me nuts, is that a lot of the music our church orchestra uses was written by people who never played a clarinet, or never consulted with a clarinet player when writing the clarinet parts. These days it's too easy to pop out music on a midi keyboard, and then punch the transpose button to convert it to the different parts. What works for violin, probably won't work as well for clarinet, etc.
One reason Mozart's Clarinet Concerto is so good, and so popular, is that he actually talked with Stadler. It is possible to write something that sounds good
and is not overly difficult to play if you put some thought into it and talk to people who play the instruments involved.
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