 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Kristian
Date: 2005-01-02 23:07
do you know anything about the Bb clarinets which have an additional low Eb key to save changing to the A clarinet - I've heard they're common in Italy although I've never seen/heard one?
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2005-01-03 00:34
AFAIK [as far as I know] the low Eb key [pad and touch on an extended lower joint] is the last of the [4] added keys/ring to make the usual [17 keys/6 rings] clarinet over into a "Full Boehm" of 20/7 . As you have observed its principal use is to produce the low E of a transposed Cl part in A, however it MAY produce an in-tune mid--staff Bb of different tonal character on some cls. By and large New F B cls are hard to find, so most are "old", before 1950, I have 3, a 1932 and 2 older. However several combinations of the other 3 "improvement-additions" are still marketed, generally in the order of the "left-hand little finger Ab/Eb lever" [the most useful to me], the "fork Eb/Bb" and the "articulated C#/G#", all of which have use to ease fingering problems. These and their benefits/shortcomings have been discussed by many of us and our comments may be found in our search/archives. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2005-01-03 01:39
Transposing on the fly is not so easy as it may seem.
Given a few months with Solfege (or other suitable exercise text), you could bring it off. Personally, I don't have the desire to work so hard.
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2005-01-03 02:09
Well, it's not an option for bass clarinet players (most of us don't have an A bass these days), so we have to do it for some pretty complicated stuff. It takes some doing, but you'll manage just fine if you apply yourself. For an orchestra clarinetist without the wherewithal to purchase an A horn, it's an obvious necessity.
As for the "character" of the middle Bb sounded by the low Eb key on a Full Boehm instrument, I have these two comments:
1) The main advantage of the low Eb (other than being able to play a low Eb, of course) is that it "evens out" the timbre of the middle of the staff B. Maybe it's just me, but on most (not all) clarinets, the middle of the staff B sounds "different" than the C above or the Bb and lower. This I attribute to the note sounding on normal clarinets through the bell alone rather than from a tone hole (like all of the other notes save low E). On a Full Boehm horn, it speaks through a tone hole, just like everything else, and it seems to come through a lot more consistently.
2) It offers an alternative to the throat Bb, albeit one with the same timbre problems as the normal B natural. I use it very occasionally when there's a Bb and no further drop in a fast passage. In a "normal" passage, I'll usually go with the A key and the side trill since it's better voiced on all of my clarinets, from sopranos through the basses. If it's up and down through the break in a fast passage, then I'll use the A and register key.
One other problem with the low Eb that I've found over the years: the pad doesn't always seat properly after long periods of non-use. I always make it a point to run a few full chromatic scales every time I warm up a horn, and make it a point to include the low Eb (and similar extension notes on the bass clarinet) whenever they are used. Since adopting this practice, I've not had any problems.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-01-03 04:02
The Amati 605 has it (only available through special order). It's primary reason I believe is (like mentioned above) transposing an A part to play on your Bb if you don't want to switch horns. But don't underestimate the usefulness should you need to play a run going down to or going upwards from Bb. I'm sure it would have it's purpose, not to mention give you a different tonal character to the note and might be a handy option for when you need something that isn't a throat tone.
US Army Japan Band
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