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Re: alto clari vs. basset horn

Author: Alphie
Date: 2003-06-26 16:21

beejay.
I developed my taste for the basset horn sound from playing a lot of the early style instruments. The sound of these instruments is nowhere close to the sound of the modern instruments. When playing the early clarinet it's quite clear that there is a relationship soundwise to the modern instrument but the modern BH is just another instrument.

The construction of the old original concept of the BH that Mozart knew is a norrow bore tube with tone holes placed slightly higher up on the tube from being acusticly perfect with therefore slightly smaller tone holes. This construction gives a velvetly dark smoothe timbre. You can play only mf maximum or nothing comes out or it will squeak. You would need fairly soft reeds to get the cross fingerings out and a tip opening not too closed. You have to be very careful how much pressure you use and it can be quite difficult to master it in the beginning but once you get to know it it's really something different.

You have to agree that the (french) modern BH has very little of the above written both in constuction and description of sound? It's basically a quite perfect large clarinet with the tone holes at the right place and you can basically blow as hard as you want. This is why the sound is different.

The German style BHs I've seen together with Selmer have kept more of the old concept, at least the narrow bore and come somewhat closer to the old sound but still the difference is bigger than the comparison old vs. modern clarinet. It's something about the "quacky" quality of the sound I'm having problems with. I agree that you can come closer if you carefully pick your MP/reed setup with a specific sound in mind and don't go only the easiest way and play what works the best and loudest. The most important thing is to get away from the Donald quacky-Duck thing.

Compare with the bassoon. An acustically perfectly constructed bassoon would probably sound like a double reed bass clarinet. On a perfect bassoon there is not a single tone hole at it's right place and the bore is even more out to lunch. Thats why it is a bassoon with it's unique sound.

Alphie

Post Edited (2003-06-26 17:30)

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alto clari vs. basset horn new

big fat lyre112

2003-06-24 20:07