The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: R. Simpson
Date: 2002-03-16 16:41
Please tell me what multi-phonics means, and is it possible on a bass clarinet?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-03-16 17:58
More than one sound at a time. From <i>The New Grove Dictionary Online</i>:
"The pioneering in multiphonics was done by a number of players but particularly important was the contribution of the clarinettist Detalmo Corneti, working with Bartolozzi (using a clarinet extended to eb). They exploited the fact that by employing certain complex fingerings, usually involving the opening of holes in the tube at unorthodox places, it is possible to produce a number of different sounds simultaneously. It is often essential for the player to adopt an unusual embouchure. The resulting 'chords' consist of a number of upper partials, some out of tune, in groupings that are normally only discovered empirically. Because of the difficulty of fingering and blowing these chords, and their inherent instability and unreliability, players have been somewhat reluctant to use them to any great extent, and most composers lack the necessary technical knowledge to specify them. However, players such as Alan Hacker have done much towards making such techniques an important part of modern clarinet playing."
Bass clarinet multiphonics are indeed possible. In fact, one of Sneezy's sponsors, Mike Lowenstern, has a CD out with extended bass clarinet techniques including multiphonics. See http://www.earspasm.com/.
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