 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: return
Date: 2008-02-23 03:19
I'm transposing bass clef bassoon music to play on bass clarinet. My question: In what octave would I play the bassoon's 2nd line Bb? In treble clef on bass clarinet is that C4, or is it an octave higher?
Thank you
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Author: rsholmes
Date: 2008-02-23 03:53
Bassoon is notated at concert pitch on the bass clef, and bass clarinet at a ninth above concert pitch on the treble clef. So bassoon's B flat (2nd line bass clef) is bass clarinet's middle C (1 ledger line below treble clef).
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Author: ajhogan
Date: 2008-02-23 10:30
I'm transposing bassoon to bass clarinet for a theater production of A Midsummer Night's Dream... and I thought I was the only one.
Austin
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Author: JessKateDD
Date: 2008-02-23 12:27
My trick is to read everything two lines down (or 2 spaces down) and add two sharps (or subtract two flats).
Easiest is when the bassoon part is tenor clef - then you just read it like regular treble clef. I hope that helps some.
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Author: rsholmes
Date: 2008-02-23 12:43
Not the only one by a long shot. I covered a bassoon part for "The Music Man" on BC back in high school. I tried sight transposing but that was hopeless (for me at the time in the circumstances), so I wrote out the transcription.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2008-02-23 13:30
If you want to make your life really simple, acquire an Eb contra-alto clarinet and just play any bass clef concert-pitch part right off the page, by pretending it's in treble clef and adding three sharps.
The best bargain in the clarinet world is a used Selmer USA/Bundy/Buescher Eb contra-alto, readily available for less than a grand in decent playing condition.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2008-02-23 13:48
David, I agree with you about the Bundy Eb contra-alto. I've got one and I love it. In addition to making it easy to transpose from concert pitch bass clef scores, the contra-alto's range is highly compatible with the bassoon's.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2008-02-23 22:04
The Linton contra is a Bundy stencil, so search for those too.
However, if you play bass clarinet, you absolutely must learn to read bass clef. Once you do, you can read a step up exactly as you transpose a C clarinet part.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-02-24 11:08
When playing off a concert pitch bass clef on bass clarinet (or playing bari sax parts on bass clarinet or tenor sax), I drop everything down a 5th.
So top line concert pitch bass clef A becomes mid stave B for bass clarinet (when read as treble clef Bb basso). And add two sharps or take two flats.
Though I find sight transposing downwards much more difficult than transposing upwards (as in playing concert pitch parts on a Bb, A or F instrument).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: davyd
Date: 2008-02-25 02:43
Is/was there such a thing as a bass clarinet in C? I sometimes wish I had one. But I don't need it often enough to justify buying one.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-02-25 04:11
"if you play bass clarinet, you absolutely must learn to read bass clef."
I think that depends on what sort of player you are, and being able to do this can't hurt anyway. But that is probably true if you are a type of player who might need to play parts in bass clef or transpose bassoon parts, etc. OTOH, I've never needed to play bass clef.
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Author: rsholmes
Date: 2008-02-25 10:53
Once upon a time there were bass clarinets in C made, and in A. I'm not sure when they stopped being made, but I don't think finding one available is likely.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2008-02-25 11:08
clarnibass -
I was trying to give Return another reason to learn to transpose. And anyway, sooner or later every bass clarinetist runs into a part in bass clef, or needs to cover a second bassoon part.
I think every musician needs to be comfortable in bass clef. Hindemith (Elementary Training for Musicians) says it's disgraceful for a musician to be unable to read any clef, including alto, tenor or mezzo soprano.
Knowing bass clef gives you an easy trick for music in alto clef. Just read bass clef on Bb clarinet. I've played in several string quartets when the violist was absent.
Ken Shaw
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Author: rsholmes
Date: 2008-02-25 13:14
"sooner or later every bass clarinetist runs into a part in bass clef, or needs to cover a second bassoon part"
"Every" bass clarinetist? The ones who play only jazz on it? The ones in community bands (which may not have a second bassoon, but which also may never play a piece with an important second bassoon part)?
If by "bass clarinetist" you mean "person who plays written music professionally on bass clarinet" I suppose that statement might be not too far off the truth, but there are lots of people who play bass clarinet who do not fall into that category. This isn't to say the ability to read bass clef would not be a good thing for them, but it's not a necessity in a lot of cases.
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