 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-04-01 06:35
I talked to a friend who actively doubles on various instruments, about alto clarinets and other clarinets including the Eb contra bass in regards to the frequent usage of the instrument in just performance. He basically told me that alto clarinets don't see as much light as bass clarinets, ditto on the eb contra bass.
are there any manufacturers today keeping the production of alto clarinets alive? (well other than selmer/bundy)
are they more for woodwind groups or are they versatile?
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-04-01 07:52
As far as I know, Selmer, Buffet, Yamaha and Leblanc all make alto clarinets. I think some companies also make student or less expensive altos (maybe Leblanc, Yamaha). I don't know how much contra-alt clarinets are used but I think there are none in my country (maybe one or two contrabass clarinets).
"are they more for woodwind groups or are they versatile?"
Almost any instrument could be versatile (by a creative musician). I don't know about woodwind groups but I sometimes play alto clarinet when I want (solo, duo and some groups).
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-04-01 10:24
Contra-altos (in Eb) can be used to play concert pitch bass clef parts with an easy transposition - change te bass clef to a treble clef, leave the printed notes where they are and add three sharps (or take three flats) from the key signature, and alter the other accidentals as you go along.
Which is exactly the same transposition as bari sax as they're both pitched in Eb - though the contra-altos will descend to the Eb (or C) below the low A of the bari sax.
As for new contra-altos, Vito and Selmer (USA) make plastic ones to low Eb), Buffet and Selmer (Paris) make wooden ones and Leblanc do metal ones.
Only Selmer (Paris) make wooden Bb contrabasses to low C, Leblanc make metal ones to low Eb and C, and Vito make plastic ones to low Eb.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: rsholmes
Date: 2007-04-01 12:46
samohan245 wrote:
> not to offend anyone but alto clarinets is a horrible instument
No, it isn't.
Chris P wrote:
> Only Selmer (Paris) make wooden Bb contrabasses to low C, Leblanc
> make metal ones to low Eb and C, and Vito make plastic ones to low Eb.
and Benedikt Eppelsheim is bringing a metal one (to C) to market.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-04-01 12:48
> not to offend anyone but alto clarinets is a horrible instument
Is it? Why's that?
--
Ben
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-04-01 12:51
"and Benedikt Eppelsheim is bringing a metal one (to C) to market."
Oh yeah!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: joannew
Date: 2007-04-01 13:08
Has anyone had experience playing string quartets with clarinets? It seems 2 sopranos, alto & bass would make a great combination, which then opens up a huge amount of literature (especially for those skilled at transposition).
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Author: swkeess
Date: 2007-04-01 13:40
I'm terrible at transposition, but have played some very nice clarinet quartet and quintet pieces on my alto. "Piece en Forme de Habanera" by Ravel, arranged by Tony Finno for clarinet quintet is a good example of how the alto clarinet can be highlighted in a chamber group.
As to whether the alto clarinet has a terrible sound, that depends on the instrument and the player. I played a Bundy alto during high school and now have a Buffet alto that I've played in both community bands and clarinet ensembles. Personally, I love the mellow sound of an alto.
Susan Keess
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Author: LonDear
Date: 2007-04-01 13:50
samohan245 wrote:
> not to offend anyone but alto clarinets is a horrible instument
I'm sorry about your horrible alto. It can be difficult to find the right horn for you. It took me four iterations before I found an alto that is just wonderful. Don't get lured in by the horns with open tone holes, and keep trying.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-04-01 14:21
As Leblanc altos and basset horns share the same bore size (18mm), bell, crook (Leblanc basset horns use the same crook as the Vito/Noblet altos) and use an alto clarinet mouthpiece, there's not a great deal of difference between the sounds of the two - some differences, but not huge differences.
Though with the basic range, the basset horn (with four full octaves) descends a semitone below the alto, and a whole tone above the altissimo C.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2007-04-01 14:23
May I second L D's comments on altos, please, it took me several horn-trials to find a good one and also a mouthpiece which brought out the best tonality I can produce. I'm still striving to develop as good technique as on a sop. cl, but love the sound, somewhere between a sop and a basset horn. As to string quartet music, in our cl choir, a number of the more-classical pieces were derived directly from it and were VG. Keep at it, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2007-04-01 14:34
Alto clarinet bashing again!
Actually I think it suffers from a couple of problems, nothing to do with the instrument itself. The parts in the band tend to be either a doubling of the 3rd clarinet part or the alto sax part, although some of the better band orchestrations of the symphony classics do have better parts. Second, band directors tend to put their less talented players on alto than on bass, which in general has more solo/ interesting parts.
A good mouthpiece and horn seem to be more of a problem with alto than some others of the family. With a good horn and m'piece the often-heard "weak breathy sound" comment is no longer legitimate.
The alto has the same sort of public image problem that the Eefer has (i.e. that the horn does not sound good ort is out of tune or both), although at least the Eefer has an important role in symphony music that ensures its cointinued existence. Directors are always pleasedc that "you can actually play that thing" as they've actually AVOIDED pieces that featured it!
My band director in high school had a clarinet choir (I played Eefer) but we had the whole range from me to cntrabass. It was a great musical experience and a very pretty sound that emanated too!
The other day I had the alto out and played the Adagio Movement of the Mozart Concerto and that mvmt. REALLY suits the alto. t erxpresses the melancholy nature better than an A, I think. Also sounds nice on the bassett horn.
Ok keep slinging your arrows at us!
Eefer guy
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Author: kuteclar
Date: 2007-04-01 18:40
No comment on the alto clarinet - I will simply say that I was able to play a glorious Buffet basset horn a few months ago. It shifted my beliefs in the instrument. If I could have held on to the horn longer, I really would have ejoyed playing around on it...just too expensive to own a good one.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-04-01 23:36
It's not all down to the alto clarinet - it's all down to the player (as is the case with ALL instruments).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-04-02 01:10
noone attacked the original question!!!
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2007-04-02 02:13
extinct like the dinosaur ??
isn't the alto clarinet still played in high schools and colleges? Just not much elsewhere.
And, since we are talking about alto clarinet, what would one do if one "inherited" about 20 boxes of alto clarinet reeds ??
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2007-04-02 02:34
Our community band has both an Eb soprano and an alto clarinet (and an Eb alto horn, too) because like many community bands, we scrounge much of our music used from school and college leftovers, that auction site, and where ever else we can find it. Because much of it is older stuff and/or school band music, most of it has parts for Eb and alto clarinet, as well as other esoteric stuff like Eb alto horn, D piccolo, Bb trombone, etc.
So, as long as there are school and community bands, there will probably be music around for Eb soprano and alto clarinets.
Eu
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-04-02 07:17
"noone attacked the original question!!!"
Maybe you missed the first couple of replies? I don't see a question in the original post that wasn't answered.
"The alto has the same sort of public image problem that the Eefer has"
I've never heard this from anyone other than on this forum, both for the alto and Eb clarinets. Maybe it only exists in some countries/areas.
"well ive heard the alto play and in my opinion its a wannabe clarrinet"
Have you heard good players on alto clarinet? "Wannabe clarrinet" is too vague to have a real meaning anyway.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-04-02 09:34
"... as well as other esoteric stuff like Eb alto horn, Bb trombone, etc."
These are standard instruments in all UK military and wind bands, though the tenor horn (Eb alto horn) does get treated with the same level of respect the alto clarinet has - which in orchestral settings is the viola.
Bb trombones are your common-or-garden tenor trombones, though a lot of brass band trombone players tend to read treble clef Bb (same pitch as a tenor sax or bass clarinet) as opposed to concert pitch bass clef that big band or orchestral trombones read.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2007-04-02 11:20
Hi!
Clarnibass I HAVE DEFINITELY seen the prejudice against the EEfer personally. I had to convince a community band director once that "I could play it and in tune" before he'd let me play it. I agree that an Eb played badly can RUIN a group and I've heard numerous examples of bad Eb playing. Obviously this director had bad experiences and that ruined him to it. He subsequently changed his mind after hearing me play so I hope that i have changed his mind permanently that it cAN be an asset. Other directors seem to be pleased that i can play it in tune and with a pretty sound, this both in orchestras and in wind ensembles.
Alto seems to be more "do we really need one" than "it sounds awful". The parts are often doubled by other instruments.
Eefer guy
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Author: jmcgann
Date: 2007-04-02 13:44
Samohan245: You wanna hear some in tune alto clarinet playing?
1) Marty Erlich, on Ken Peplowski's "Grenadilla" CD
2) Sujeito A Guincho
3) Paulo Sergio Santos "Segura Ele" (especially on the Villa-Lobos arrangements).
That's some seriously in-tune ensemble playing with incredible feeling. You should wannabe like they already AM.
PS- Which models would one look for as having the best shot at quality?
www.johnmcgann.com
Post Edited (2007-04-02 13:47)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-04-02 15:06
Leblanc altos seem to be the market leaders (and what most people seem to own or play), as well as their intermediate and student models (Noblet, Normandy and Vito).
I haven't seen any Yamaha or Buffet altos in use (in the UK), and only one pro Selmer.
Some people have Bundy/Buescher altos, but they're part ring key, part plateau models. Best go for full plateau models.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: CJB
Date: 2007-04-02 16:48
I think the biggest problem with the alto clarinet (and Eb in a band setting) is the music assigned to it. I am not a fan of the alto, I've played a couple of real dogs (the one that caused my right hand to go into spasm due to the stretch and the one with a perfect minor 9th between low G and high G are enough to put anyone off) but I've also been lucky enough to play a couple of good Buffets and a good Yamaha. The instruments were nice and had a character of their own..........the parts I had to play on them (with one exception) were tedious and doubled to the extent I felt totally redundant.
I think too often composers/arrangers for band don't realise what the different clarinets are capable of. The Eb is often written for as if it was another piccolo or doubles the 1st clarinet part. If the parts were more rewarding more players would be prepared to put in the time and effort it takes to develop the instruments characteristic voice and the skill to play it in tune.
*steps down off soapbox*
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2007-04-02 18:52
Please stay up on the "soapbox", CJB, I agree well. Now playing more Alto than Bass [cl's that is], I greatly enjoy the few soli-solo parts in our comm. band music and make sure I'm heard ! My Eb Sop experience, years ago, taught me to beware of the [sharp] piccolos and also play sharp. I recall some Wagner transcriptions for band where I could play correctly !! Haven't had the Till E opportunity, tho. Keep at it, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: joannew
Date: 2007-04-03 12:32
Why the prejudice against open hole altos? Is it just because some lower quality instruments used this style, or is there a mechanistic reason to prefer the plateau keys?
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-04-03 13:13
...open hole instruments require more careful finger placing. With an Alto, that can be difficult unless you have really beefy fingers. (mine are average and I have no problem, tho')
--
Ben
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Author: LonDear
Date: 2007-04-03 13:20
My hands aren't comfortable with the stretch on an open-hole alto, and I don't mind the feel of plateau keys because I regularly play large clarinets and saxes. However, my mom prefers an open-hole alto because she is purely a clarinet player, and she likes the reliability of the "directness" of the mechanism.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2007-04-03 16:03
Both Ben and LonDear bring up the "problem" I had with my first alto, a Bundy open-hole , that of reach and covering with my relatively small hands. I still have some "reach" difficulties with my plateau alto and bass [Selmers], with both low Eb' s and the alt. Ab/Eb on bass, but survive. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: joannew
Date: 2007-04-03 18:09
I have the combination open/closed hole, and stretch is not an issue, even with fairly small hands, as the spacing is identical to my A clarinet. Then again, this is a bit of an oddball instrument. Is it much wider spacing on most altos?
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Author: FrankM
Date: 2007-04-03 18:10
In my experience at least, I've never seen an alto clarinet required in a pit/show orchestra. Anyone ever see an alto clarinet part in a musical?
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2007-04-03 18:54
Nope, at least not in the ones that I've done. Other than concert band arrangements (with titles like Blaze of Glory Concert March, for God's sake), and in one or two symphonic works by Percy Grainger (Apollo And The Seaman was one, if my increasingly faulty memory is correct), that's about it.
Of the ones that I've tried (both Selmer and Leblanc, "pro" and student models), I most liked the Selmer open hole horn from back in the Sixties that I played at a demo (and got me and my bass clarinet playing buddy Lynn Biggins paid for our troubles as well). After that was a pro Leblanc with covered holes, and after that were the G. Bundy student horns. (I've never seen a Signet horn, and don't know if they made them or not.) The Vito and Normandy horns did not impress me in the least. Never saw a Buffet or Everett-Shafer, and Yamaha was not importing clarinets back in my younger days.
As someone mentioned up the way a bit, there are those who do jazz on them now and then. But, you can "do" jazz and improv on almost any instrument, and I don't see the latest Bird-wannabees picking up altos (clarinets, that is) upon which to wail.
As I've said, I've played the open hole version of the horn, and I think that that design was another reason why it's not as beloved. Face it, the harmony clarinets are (for the greatest part) school owned, and people are assigned to them rather than selecting them. Put a weak enough already clarinet player on the alto clarinet, and you are already in trouble. Give a young lady with slender fingers an open-holed horn and you most likely are guaranteed squeak city from that point forward. Better a plateau horn no matter how you slice it.
(And, alto clarinets also suffer from the "It's not my horn, so I don't really care what happens to it" syndrome just as much as do bass clarinets or baritone saxes. Putting a weaker young girl player on a poorly maintained horn with open holes too big for her to cover with her slender fingers is setting said individual up for failure, plain and simple.)
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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Author: Mark Horne
Date: 2007-04-03 18:54
I have an older Vito Resonite w/ full plateau keys and find it to be very "fast" as the finger spacing is optimized and the keys have a very short "throw." I also have an even older bundy with open holes and find that the reach is not a problem.
I find it a bit puzzling to see the amount of alto bashing on the board. Except for the basset horn, the alto is probably the most versatile of clarinets - capable of playing credible bass lines, while still being quite melodic and capable of high harmonies as well. Granted, the tone probably gravitates more towards that bass cl than soprano (not a bad thing in my book), and I have found that my instruments are more prone to sound bad when the mouthpiece/reed balance isn't optimal.
I tend to agree with others on the board that many musicians can be turned off by the parts oftentimes written for alto - I suspect that modern arrangers are afraid to feature alto when many bands wouldn't have them. You have to get into some of the more serious wind ensemble material to find the meaty alto parts.
However, this leads back to the original question - if there are fewer alto players because it's hard to find good parts, then fewer arrangers will score for alto - a path that might appear to head for extintion. But the bashers intentions may have an unintended consequence: As the alto has lost popularity, the relatively low current market price is putting these instruments back into the hands of musicians who are ready to take up a horn and represent for their community band.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2007-04-03 19:04
I've played in quite a few pit orchs, most of the "major" [older] musicals, and TRUE, no alto CLAR parts, BUT, there were some instances where playing SOFTLY on alto Sax, or Bari sax [middle register] was needed. I usually had too-many horns, so didn't consider an A C, might/could have used my bass cl !! Others who have had much pit experience [like John Moses] can give better info/opinion than I. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2007-04-03 19:20
Alto clarinet players of the world: arise and unite!
Let's not lose sight of the fact that, at one time, there were precisely zero alto clarinet parts. For that matter, the same was true of clarinet parts, bass sax parts and so forth.
As the instruments became available, the composers and arrangers began to write for them. From that point forward, the cycle continued according to the popularity.
Consider the soprano saxophone. Thirty years ago, when I bought my first Selmer Mark VI soprano, they were widely reviled by all and sundry. Other than Charlie Barnett and one or two jazz practitioners, you just didn't hear them being played.
Nowadays, of course, with interest in things from the 1920's again (Chicago, anyone?) and one Kenny G blowing the thing for all it's worth, it's a different story. Today, you actually find them at the secondary school level, carried in as the "starter" horn for youngsters.
Why? Well, partly it's because they want to be cool, but for many it's an understanding that the soprano sax is a versatile horn when played well, and even when played not so well.
Like the soprano sax, an alto clarinet can be played well or poorly. I always compare the alto playing that I have heard in the past to my standard, and in many cases the players come up short by a good degree. Maybe a better mouthpiece might help, maybe a softer reed (school kids are notorious for using bad harmony clarinet mouthpieces with too hard of reeds, and then not putting enough mouthpiece in their mouth to boot).
But, for the most part, alto players just don't care enough (assigned to the horn by an unthinking director), or don't have the right equipment (poorly maintained, or (even worse) never maintained) to perform well, even if the instrument itself was the 'cello of the clarinet family.
(Incidentally, the viola's bad reputation is partially due to the instrument itself. If you scale the sound-box on a violin, 'cello, or contrabass, and then compare a viola's measly resonator, you will see that tone and sonority were sacrificed for violin technique. To resonate properly, a viola needs a much larger sound-box, one that would not fit under a normal human chin. Listen to the sound that can be obtained from the viola de gamba, and you'll see what I mean.)
I could be all wet here, and I could be missing the opportunity to buy up a couple hundred of those all too common cheap alto clarinets, later to make my fortune selling them when the Kenny G of the alto comes upon the scene.
But, I'm not a betting man, and I surely would not take those kinds of 10,000 to 1-ish odds. Neither, for that matter, have many dozens of romantic and modern era composers, people who seem more than willing to use one (and even, on occasion, two) bass clarinets. Something about fifty million Frenchmen comes to mind here...
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2007-04-03 20:04
Now I understand why Ben (as in tictactux) and I bought these altos, as we are both in community bands. Eu
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Author: swkeess
Date: 2007-04-03 21:37
Just one example of an interesting alto clarinet part in a band arrangement: Johann de Meij's "Lord of the Rings". There's all kinds of interesting, non-doubling music going on for the alto clarinet, including a short solo passage in the "Gollum" movement. Twelve notes all alone by the alto clarinet, followed by an answering passage by the baritone saxophone. Lovely stuff!
Susan Keess
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-04-04 09:47
Maybe we should be range driven (rather than literature/score driven) when we look for Alto opportunities...play outside of the box.
--
Ben
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2007-04-04 15:44
Terry,
Your post was AWESOME!
I played an alto part in a symphony performance back in MA many (30+) years ago and even had a little solo on it. Can't remember the piece now.Think the concert programs are all archived somewhere so I'll have to find it again.
I actually have two LeBlanc (Paris) altos, one fully reconditioned into near new shape. The reconditioned one has a beautiful sound, more like what you associate with a Selmer. The Hawkin's mouthpiece, VanDoren optimum ligature and a good reed are all essential in getting a realy pretty sound. I use an identical setup for the bassett horn.
By the way, if you want to read some alto clarinet bashing, read the book on bassett horn by Terry Newhill. Admittedly SOME of what he says is true!
Eefer guy
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2007-04-04 15:55
I live to serve...
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-04-04 23:53
serve more delicious goodness. that indeed was a good post. thanks everyone for the comments about the alto clarinet. just kinda thought that music fizzled it out. older music libraries contain sheet music for alto clarinet, i guess one just has to find old music to get a group to go with. any links for good alto clarinet playing? =)
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: rsholmes
Date: 2007-04-05 01:07
This thread has surprised me, in a good way... Not quite time for an Alto Clarinet Yahoo Group, I suppose, but not time to bury the instrument either!
I have to confess to not asserting myself for the cause of alto clarinets. I just joined a community band, told the director I had soprano, alto, and bass clarinets and he said bring the soprano, we have a bass clarinet and need more sopranos. He didn't even talk about the alto. Then again my alto is my least satisfactory clarinet in terms of quality and condition, and as much as I love the lower clarinets I kind of feel the need to work on my soprano playing, so I didn't press the issue.
Decidedly a chicken and egg situation; altos getting no respect because they're badly played, badly maintained, and badly written for, because they get no respect. How great it'd be to have a Josef Horák for the alto, performing solo recitals and getting people to take the instrument seriously. Meanwhile, as someone said, at least there's plenty of cheap altos on the market...
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2007-04-05 01:31
Much the same could be said for the basset horn. Few play it any longer (in relative terms to the soprano), there's very little being written for it (once again in relative terms), and virtually no one owns one anymore (in relative terms as well). Only the presence of a body of classical compositions keeps it from being the alto clarinet of the past.
If someone wants me to play one, it's not too difficult to a) find a horn, b) bring my skills up to date, and c) hack the parts. However, there's no call, as you have found.
I see them as slowly dying out, whatever the cause. However, unlike the bass saxophone, there will be plenty of them left cluttering the landscape.
When we all die in a nuclear holocaust, the cockroaches that remain will be seen climbing over piles of alto clarinets to get to the Twinkies. Like those Canadian quarter that you occasionally get in change, they're impossible to lose once you've got one...
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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Author: rsholmes
Date: 2007-04-05 01:55
Hmm, I see alto clarinets and basset horns as being in very different situations. While there isn't much repertoire for basset horn, most of what there is is by Mozart and Mendelssohn -- which gives the basset horn a lot more cred than the alto gets. And while few people play it, I suspect more play it now than ever, at least professionally. I have a number of CDs featuring basset horn including one by the New World Basset Horn Trio. Where are the alto clarinet trio recordings?
In America at least (I've heard the situation was/is different in other parts of the world) alto clarinets were in fairly regular use in concert bands through the 20th century, while basset horns were pretty much unknown. As a result there are a lot more altos around than basset horns, and the latter usually are better quality and in better condition -- meaning that while you can get a playable (or semi-playable) alto on eB*y for under $100 (whether you'd want to is another question), basset horns rarely appear there and sell for thousands when they do.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-04-05 06:56
"Maybe we should be range driven (rather than literature/score driven) when we look for Alto opportunities...play outside of the box."
Do you simply mean to play pieces for other instruments that fit the range, or did I misunderstand? The result of that won't really make more good music so I think "literature/score driven" (as you say) is a better idea than "range driven" for those who only play composed pieces from sheet music.
Some situation that I would use alto clarinet could be, for example, to have more varied sounds when playing several pieces. It would be more interesting to hear different instruments than one instrument. Of course it's possible to stay intereting with only one instrument, but you can plan the entire concert to work better with differfent instrument throughout (i.e. you make the music itself and the audience "want" to have different instruments).
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-04-05 07:44
Clarnibass,
partly I did mean "play pieces for other instruments"; of course that doesn't create more music in the first place. But when a C clarinet can be used to cover an oboe part, why not an alto clarinet instead of an alto or maybe tenor sax? Every so often the question is raised whether someone has played a string quartet/quintet on woodwinds etc - that points in the same direction.
We can bemoan the lack of specific alto scores, or we can "embrace and extend" suitable other pieces and, of course, we can compose from scratch.
--
Ben
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-04-05 12:58
".....of course that doesn't create more music in the first place."
Actually it does. The sound is part of the music. Whether it creates more good music is another question, and is specific in every case. Nothing wrong with the idea of using differernt instuments, as long as the person doing it has a good reason to do it (musical or other reason).
"We can bemoan the lack of specific alto scores, or we can "embrace and extend" suitable other pieces and, of course, we can compose from scratch."
Sure, but why moan in the first place? Someone wants to play alto (for whatever reason) - play music that will make sense to use alto clarinet. Be active and creative.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-04-05 13:12
clarnibass wrote:
> The sound is part of the music.
Oops, I had "written" music in mind.
> Sure, but why moan in the first place? Someone wants to play
> alto (for whatever reason) - play music that will make sense to
> use alto clarinet. Be active and creative.
Hehe, my words. Now blow the dust off your Altos and get goin'.
--
Ben
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Author: EuGeneSee
Date: 2007-04-06 01:13
C2thew said " . . . alto clarinets don't see as much light as base clarinets, ditto on the Eb contra bass."
Interesting thing just happened on that auction site - some guy sold 2 Leblanc paperclips, a bass and an alto, both in about the same condition. The Bb contra bass pulled down $2,400 while the "unwanted stepchild" Eb contra (alto) bass sold for $2,600. I guess somebody wanted the Eb (lot of bidding for both horns), but I suppose it might be destined for a museum or collector rather than to be played, eh? Eu
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Author: joannew
Date: 2007-04-06 18:18
The basset horn will never go extinct... Mozart made sure of that.
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The Clarinet Pages
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