 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-03-17 20:52
There I was last night, listening to the radio, and on comes a United Postal Service advertisement about how somebody's little daughter had just received her new ALTO CLARINET on time to play a recital, thanks to UPS --- and sure enough, there in the background is what could have actually been an alto clarinet, playing something like "Mary Had a Little Lamb"!
Of all the instruments to have used as an example --- alto clarinet????
I'll bet somebody in their ad agency has an evil sense of humor and snuck that one in under the radar scope.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2005-03-17 21:37
Was it really our beloved/ accursed Alto, or just another unusual inst ,perhaps a Heckelphone?? Weird sense of humor? Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2005-03-17 23:13
I've always seen the alto clarinet as a plot on the part of ol' Vito to get back at the rest of the clarinet community. Ya never know...
(says the long-term alto clarinet hater who, nevertheless, earned his first money from Selmer for playing the damn'd thing at a music educator demo a many years ago...)
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2005-03-18 05:14
Alto clarinet -- such an odd choice for celebrity. Reminds me of that orange juice commercial a few years ago with Robert Loggia, where a kid wouldn't drink his orange juice and *POOF* Robert Loggia magically appeared to tell him to drink up. The kid's reaction was great -- "WOW! Robert Loggia!!"
Now I'll be thinking "WOW! Alto clarinet!"
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-03-18 14:12
clarnibass, of course you're correct about "UPS" --- I was just trying to make Larry Bocaner feel better by having a 'senior moment' of my own!
But back to alto clarinets --- I used to hate them too, until I bought and renovated a nice one, a 1950s Kohlert (Winnenden, Germany) wood instrument which is basically a scaled-down version of my bass clarinet. It sounds good and is enjoyable to play (couldn't tell you if anyone is enjoying listening to it, though!)
I think there are two reasons that alto clarinet has such a bad reputation:
1) Since it's basically only used in concert bands (if at all), there is little incentive for the purchase of good ones, and so most of the alto clarinets we hear are student models, often in a poor state of repair. Good alto clarinets, like good bass clarinets, should have an automatic double register vent system to really sound good in the clarion register, and most of them don't.
2) Let's face it, there is still a prevalent philosophy in schools and community bands that the less-accomplished clarinetists should play harmony clarinets -- so many of the alto clarinet players we here are maybe not such great players to begin with.
Just some theories.
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Author: ving
Date: 2005-03-18 15:27
When I started school band, the teacher started me on alto of all things: this after I requested saxophone and she told me there were too many, and apparently there was one lying around to use. In spite of that, I kept on playing...and continued on to bass cl, and eventually into the realm of sax...
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2005-03-18 16:06
Postal, parcel, doesn't really matter since they'll lose your package anyway....
OK but seriously, while we are talking about fireplace material, I understand you know a lot about Vitos David, so what do you think about the Vito contrabass clarinet? I'm thinking of getting a contra and don't want to spend a lot of money for one. The Vito seems to be the only option. How is the clarion and up register?
Would you say it's a bad idea to buy one without trying it first (if it's new that is)?
Bb and bass are my main instruments, but I want to expend. Since I'll play the rest of them just sometimes, I'd like to know about the less expensive ones.
What do you think about altos by Vito, Selmer plastic, or Yamaha student model?
Thanks.
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Author: William Hughes ★2017
Date: 2005-03-18 16:33
As a contra-alto player, when it comes time to pass out the music at our community band, I usually have the luxury of checking out two or three different parts and picking the one I want to play. Usually, it ends up being the bassoon chart. A few weeks ago, we got a West Side Story suite. Lo and behold, the arranger apparently had no idea what to write for alto clarinet, so he just gave it all of the melodic lines! Guess who's blasting through Maria, I Feel Pretty and America on his good old Bundy EEb? My fifteen minutes have come.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2005-03-18 17:39
Congrats, W H - you've made an excellent choice of insts, since bassoon and other bass clef C parts are that great/easy transposition [trick], and you can pretty well cover the bass cl part [partic those for low C BC's] with the 4th/5th transposition, and of course the Bari Sax part. I may need to hire another BC player for our comm band to allow me to "spread my reed wings". Again, Dave, I'd like to play my Sel-Paris Alto "only" S R Keyed, but still a good clarion !, and develop some skill approaching that on soprano, dreams tho. Keep tooting all, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: jim S.
Date: 2005-03-22 15:11
A reply that I was asked to post by a friend:
"I'm 46 and have played clarinet for 36 years. I've played alto clarinet for
the last ten years, both in a concert band and in a clarinet choir.
Everyone loves to knock the alto clarinet, and I agree, it's the Rodney
Dangerfield of the clarinet section. But it does things that no other
clarinet can do.
The biggie here is tonal blend. The alto clarinet has the ability to be
sensed but not heard in the clarinet choir. What I mean is that unless
there's an exposed passage, you can't really hear the alto clarinet (unless
intonation is poor) but when it's missing, the choir does not sound
sufficiently blended. Alto clarinet is the "leveling agent" that ties
together the soprano and bass voices. In part this is due to the unique
nature of the alto clarinet, which is that its voice is more uniform from
high to low registers than any other clarinets (Stubbins makes a point of
this in his famous book, "The Art of Clarinetistry").
Not all alto clarinets are alike. The bore sizes seem to vary more than
soprano clarinets. I play on a LeBlanc from the early 50s that has a
fairly large bore. It takes more air but it blends more readily than a
smaller bore instrument. I have an older LeBlanc (probably from the 20s)
that has a smaller bore, which gives it a more solistic sound that punches
through choir. This is also true of some Selmer alto clarinets I have
tried -- the Selmers are very fine horns but to my fingers, they are less
comfortable to play than the LeBlancs.
I have played Vitos and Bundys and I don't much care for them, not so much
due to the sound but more because the keywork is awkward and very
uncomfortable.
Also, you need a good mouthpiece. Nothing fancy, a good off-the-shelf setup
is a Vandoren 5RV and a Vandoren #3 reed with some adjusting. You'll get a
better sound if you use a softer reed than you'd normally use for soprano
clarinet. I start with Vandoren 3s and then scrape the heart (and sometimes
the sides) of the reed until I get the response I like. I tried softer
reeds to start with but the tip closes up.
I played on plastic alto sax reeds (Fibracell) for a few years but went back
to cane. A good Vandoren has a better sound, particularly in very soft
passages.
One word of caution. The alto clarinet is not a solo instrument. It
doesn't "cut through the mix" like soprano clarinets, though a small-bore
alto clarinet can get you going in that direction. And it can take quite a
few months to really get the hang of playing the instrument -- like any of
the harmony clarinets, a good sound is highly mouthpiece and reed dependent
and takes more skill to master. You will absolutely need to learn to scrape
your reeds as well. None seems to work out of the box.
Once you've heard a good clarinet choir with alto clarinet, you will never
scoff at the instrument again. And when you play one in a concert band,
you can tell within seconds if the composer or arranger is any good -- no
decent arranger gives you a warmed-over alto sax part.
Finally, consider this... since nobody loves the alto, you can pick up
decent altos at deep discounts. $400 might get you a very nice used
LeBlanc if you look around (your mileage may vary). That means you can
skip the Bundys and go right to the LeBlancs (or Selmer, if that floats your
boat).
-dave d."
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2022-04-15 04:47
i agree . i am also playing alto and bass clarinet in community band and get my choice of parts to play. very suprised how many good alto parts there are. now i am spending about 75% of the time on alto because the parts are more interesting than bass.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2023-08-03 03:28
skip the bundys and go right to the good stuff-thats exactly what i did. i do have a bundy but couldnt resist a mint noblet and i mean MINT. for 350and picked up a second battered one that plays lights out for 200. i bought it mostly as it has the rare stock leblanc peg assembly .it out plays the mint one! everything for alto is a bargin. mpcs reeds neck straps etc. ligatures also. got a brand new bonade for 16$. it seems they cant give the stuff away. community band restarts aug 9 and i cant wait!
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Author: pukalo
Date: 2023-08-03 10:24
I like how this thread suddenly gets new activity after 18 years lol. I hear the bundy altos are poorly designed (too small bore diameter, open tone holes, many don't have the low E-flat, just low E). I recently got a Noblet alto to replace my Vito (both have identical keywork) and the Noblet feels so much better after taking it to the repair technician.
I also play alto in a community band, and I play it about just as much, or even more than my B-flat clarinet.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2023-08-03 15:07
my bundy to my suprise actually holds its own against most other altos. the trick is the right mpc. mine absolutely loves the vandy b44. i started taking the bundy as my rehearsal horn on a reg basis. my dud horm is my hard rubber marlene. its a real turkey. bad tone and even worse ergonomics. the noblet is the hidden gems of alto clarinets. best band for buck by a mile
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Author: pukalo
Date: 2023-08-03 15:41
I used to use the B44 mouthpiece, but I switched to the J&D Hite alto mouthpiece and I like it a lot better. The table is designed such that it can also use alto saxophone reeds.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2023-08-03 18:50
the hite plays flat on my bundy as i have to use softer reeds than most. there isnt a lot of margine for error when tunning alto clarinets. esp if they have no tunning slide on the neck. of all the alto mpc,s i have only the 2 riffault ones have to have only alto clarinet reeds -all others can also use alto sax reeds
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