 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ClarinetQween
Date: 1999-09-20 22:12
I was wondering the usefulness of an Eb Soprano Clarinet and what brands are good. I am in High School and i was planning on picking one up for All-State this year. You advice is greatly appreciated!
-ClarinetQween:)
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Author: Drew
Date: 1999-09-21 00:25
Great topic! I've been researching the same questions for some time, so I'll be very interested to hear the responses.
Here's most of what I've been able to learn about the Eb:
Repertoire - according to the music librarian at the community band I play in, few band pieces are scored for the Eb. This doesn't jive with my recollection of my high school band where we had at least two active players at all times. My clarinet choir leader says she has a number of pieces scored for Eb, but no active player (hence my interest). The scores I've seen look like flute parts to me. A review of some music catalogs shows little scored for the Eb. None of the local community bands seems to have an active player.
Instrument tone - when you play an Eb, EVERBODY hears you, the tonal quality is very exposed. Great if you want to stand out from the crowd, bad if you have intonation problems (the Eb has the reputation of a difficult instrument to keep in tune).
Instruments - unlike the Bb, Eb's seem to be made mostly in two grades: student/basic (plastic Vito and domestic Selmer) and professional (Buffet R13, Selmer Paris, Leblanc in several models). There are a few intermediate instruments; Buffet E-11 ($900.00) and Leblanc Noblet (around $1500.00 if my memory is working today). Yamaha makes a couple of models also, but I have no information on grade and price. The used market is quite limited as not many of these instruments are manufactured. The setup is completely different, requiring unique mouthpiece, reeds and ligature.
Summary; limited repertoire, expensive and scarce, hard to tune, best for people with little fingers? The clarinet you love to hate, or hate to love?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-09-21 00:46
My composition database here on Sneezy shows about 120 or so compositions scored for Eb clarinet. This does <b>not</b> include band music.
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Author: TASH
Date: 1999-09-21 02:03
Hi, Drew,
Can I say something about Es soprano clarinet?
If the community band you play in is big enough,
Es soprano should be in the clarinet section.
Not only for its high-tone, but also its unique intonation and resonance.
If you are interested in Es soprano, please challenge the instrument. While challenging the delicate instrument, you can learn a lot of things related with mouthpiece, reeds, ligature, how to control the outstanding tone…
You can switch Eb and Bb depends on the scores.
I play Es soprano clarinet in a company sponsored band and in a clarinet choir.
To tell you the truth, my fingers are so thick.
I have given up playing Es soprano because of my physical feature for a long time. But I finally found a wonderful horn to fit my thick fingers this year.
Buffet RC Prestige---Regular price $5,600 in Japan (profesional model)
If your fingers are not so thick, you have many choices. If you like Buffet, E-11 is nice horn.
R-13 is also very nice.
Mouthpiece: Vandoren B-40 or B-44 is popular. I use Selmer C85-115.
Ligature: OPTIMUM is getting popular. BG, also good.
Reeds: Vandoren 3(Blue box)
Please try variations and find the BEST for you.
Hope this helps.
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Author: Daniel
Date: 1999-09-21 04:02
I am my school's resident E-fer in the band and clarinet choir, (though i also play Bb and bass in the choir as well as Bb in band).
There isn't much orchestral literature out there for Eb. But there's more than enough that could fill a few books.
Band literature, however, is amassed with Efer parts. Especially early band literature. Very fw pieces i've played have NOT asked for Eb. Though there are many times in which the Eb basically played unison with the Bb's or the flutes, and was not used.
Virtually any serious piece of music i've played has called for it, as well as every march.
Unfortunately, there is very little recital/solo literature for the Eb.
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Author: SeAn
Date: 1999-09-21 12:31
just a suggestion,
you may want to try using a cut-off Bb reed on an effer.
Just chop 5mm off the butt of the Bb reed. Push the ligature slightly lower than usual when playing in this configuration. also, use a slightly lower strength Bb reed than the usual Eb reed.
this arrangement work great for me. the Eb reed tend produce shrill tone.
good luck
SeAn
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Author: Meri
Date: 1999-09-22 21:43
Well, from having played it in both bands and orchestras, in most pieces the Eb does not make a difference (other than often affecting the tuning of the band or orchestra)
There are a few pieces where the Eb clarinet has an important role. Gustav Holst's 1st Suite in Eb calls for 2 Ebs--the part is quite different from the Bb parts. Parts of it sound really strange when done on two Bbs; I think it's in the third movement, with the repeating eighth's. Also John Phillip Sousa's Liberty Bell March. For orchestral pieces, there's the Franz Liszt Second Hungarian Rhapsody and Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel. (both were originally written for a D clarinet, but D clarinets are extremely rare)
As for brands of Ebs, my personal preferance are the Leblancs, either wood or plastic. (in spite of the fact my Bb's a Buffet--somehow, I don't like Buffet Ebs in general. (I've tried several of them))
Meri
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Author: doug
Date: 1999-09-28 20:15
The primary usefulness of the Eb Soprano is to fill out the upper winds in a large concert band. Typically you would not want to use this instrument in small ensembles. There is a ton of Band literature which calls for the use the the Eb and many of the old masters wrote parts for 2 Eb's.
The instrument is difficult to play in tune - needs a lot of support to get a good sound in tune. Could be could training - if you can play one in tune the Bb will seem like a piece of cake.
I play Eb soporano chair in a large community concert band (80+ members) - we play a wide variety of band literature from the past and have several hundred marches in our libaray - all of which have parts for the instrument. I also play with the local orchestra but we seldom use the Eb clarinet - nice part in Candide Overture though.
I play a Leblanc LL Eb which was made in the late 70's - their top of line professional from the time. I use a Borbeck mouthpeice with vandoren 3 reeds. I also have a vandoren B44 and a vandoren crystal for the Eb - they sound great but the pitch was a tad too high for the groups I usually play with. The tone of the Leblanc is very flexible and blows freely - making it easy to adapt to a wide variety of literature and control.
I understand - but don't know for a fact - that the Buffet Eb is more resistant and a tad on the stuffy side. I play Buffet Bb and A clarinets and that is certainly not true of them - quite the opposite. I know serveral people who play older Selmer Eb's and are quite happy with them. My advise on Eb's is to buy a pro model - Leblanc, Buffet or Selmer that is in good shape. The instrument is too fussy to not being playing a top end horn - unfortunately they are more expensive than Bb clarinets and a good used one is hard to find !!! Then find a good mouthpiece that will play in tune on the instrument - be ware that the high B and C tend to be sharp and then D and up tend to be on the low side. Practice with a tuner until you figure out what you need to do where. Try to play soft tones in tune as well - you'll need extra support to keep the notes from going through the roof.
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Author: Daniel
Date: 1999-10-04 04:56
doug wrote:
-------------------------------
My advise on Eb's is to buy a pro model - Leblanc, Buffet or Selmer that is in good shape. The instrument is too fussy to not being playing a top end horn - unfortunately they are more expensive than Bb clarinets and a good used one is hard to find !!! Then find a good mouthpiece that will play in tune on the instrument...
Personally, i think Patricola makes the best Eb available and for less than an R-13 Bb clarinet. Stephen Fox makes great custom made Eb's too. I haven't been happy with the Buffet Eb's that i've played. The RC's and the RC Prestiges are much better than their R-13 line. But they still aren't as good as a Patricola or my Selmer Series 9.
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