 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: michele
Date: 2000-09-10 15:11
Is the fingering the same for a Bb clarinet and an alto clarinet?? (Also, is an Eb clarinet the same thing as an alto). Is a Bb clarinet also called a soprano clarinet?
Can you tell I am trying to get my terminology right???
So, how many different kinds of clarinets are there??
michele
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-09-10 15:29
michele wrote:
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Is the fingering the same for a Bb clarinet and an alto clarinet?? (Also, is an Eb clarinet the same thing as an alto). Is a Bb clarinet also called a soprano clarinet?
Can you tell I am trying to get my terminology right???
So, how many different kinds of clarinets are there??
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Basically all the different clarinets finger the same. Some will have additional keys, especially the bass clarinet.
Here's a partial list of clarinets and the keys they are in.
Contrabass - Bb
Contra alto - Eb
Bass - Bb
Alto - Eb
Basset horn - F
Basset clarinet - in A, similar to A soprano but has an extended lower range.
Soprano in A (primary clarinet for orchestras)
Soprano in Bb (standard clarinet used by band students, etc)
Soprano in C
Soprano in Eb
Sopranino in Ab
I think the soprano in D is still made but I am not sure of that. There may be a Turkish folk clarinet in G still available.
In the past there have been clarinets made in other keys but are no longer made today.
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Author: michele
Date: 2000-09-10 15:49
Okay, so there are tons of different clarinets I knew nothing about.... So let's say I am interested in the A clarinet (the one used in orchestras). Does this use different music than the Bb clarinet?? The reason I ask is if this clarinet is in a different key, if I finger a C on a Bb clarinet it won't sound the same as a C on the A clarinet correct???
michele
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-09-10 18:18
michele wrote:
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Okay, so there are tons of different clarinets I knew nothing about.... So let's say I am interested in the A clarinet (the one used in orchestras). Does this use different music than the Bb clarinet?? The reason I ask is if this clarinet is in a different key, if I finger a C on a Bb clarinet it won't sound the same as a C on the A clarinet correct???
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Yes the music will be in a different printed key to accommodate the different key of the clarinet. In naming the clarinets, it is based on the concert pitch that you get when you play your printed C. On the Bb clarinet, fingering your printed C will give you a concert Bb just below it. On the A clarinet, fingering the printed C will give you a concert A just below. The Eb soprano gives you a concert Eb above the C while the Eb alto gives you the concert Eb below it.
Concert pitch is what pianos, strings, standard flutes, and standard oboes use.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-09-10 18:44
michele wrote:
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I am a little confused. If I am playing a Bb clarinet and I am reading a piece of music and let's say I am playing an F (first space note on the treble clef) will that not corespond in pitch to an F played on a piano (the same F note, first space note on the treble clef)?
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No. An F on a Bb clarinet will sound an Eb on the piano (you're a whole step higher). A long time back, before the advent of complex keywork, clarinets would be very difficuly to play in more than (2 flats, 3 sharps? or vice versa - can't remember for sure) so clarinets in different keys were developed. To keep things simple for us they transposed the sheet music for us so we could play a fingered (F, let's say) and it would be in the correct concert pitch.
Instruments where the written key is different than the concert key are called transposing instruments. The most common transposing instruments are brass, clarinets, and saxophones.
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Author: Bill
Date: 2000-09-10 18:47
When you see the written A note on the sheet music, and finger the A on a Bb clarinet it will sound a whole step lower, i.e., sound like a G. The written F, will sound like an Eb (below the F).
If you had a C clarinet you would get the same sounding note as written, and you would be able to play in unison with the piano.
Alternatively, with the Bb clarinet, you could play each written note a whole step higher than written, and it would be the same note as the same as the piano.
Or, you could use the Bb clarinet, and music written for piano and clarinet.
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