 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Sambo 933
Date: 2008-12-06 01:08
Hi,
So I'm a high school student, I'm pretty serious about playing clarinet. I've been playing for about 6 and a half years now and am in the process of learning all the scales(in my opinion one of the most tedious things i will ever do), but I know this is essential to making a serious study of the instrument.
When i was learning the major scales I obviously played the same notes going up the scale as I did going down it. When I started on the minor scales I noticed that there are always 4 notes that, when going up the scale, that are given accidentals and therefore out of the key, then the notes are changed back into the key when going down the scale. So I have been wondering for some time why this is.
Sadly I have had few chances to learn a lot of in-depth theory about my instrument, which i hope to change before to much longer.
If any one could explain this to me it would be much appreciated.
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Author: cxgreen48
Date: 2008-12-06 01:15
If there are extra accidentals going up, and they are gone going down, that is a melodic minor scale.
There is natural minor, harmonic, and melodic minor:
natural = no extra accidentals
harmonic = raise 7th scale step by half-step (ex: A minor... G changes to G#) going up and down
melodic = raise 6th ande 7th scale steps by half-step each (A minor... F changes to F#, G changes to G#) ONLY GOING UP. When descending, it becomes natural minor again.
Melodic minor sounds like the one you were referring to... unless I read something wrong (which i think I may have)
playing scales on piano is a lot easier for me than playing it on the clarinet :P
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Author: Sambo 933
Date: 2008-12-06 01:23
yes it is the 6 and the 7 always raised a half step then made natural again going down.
yes I know a guitar player who knows all the positions and like 70 some scales...I guess its slightly more complicated on the clarinet.
thanks that helps alot
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Author: pewd
Date: 2008-12-06 01:46
if you want pdf files of all the major and minor scales, email me offline
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Sambo 933
Date: 2008-12-06 02:30
thanks but I am using Benny Goodman's clarinet method book which has them all and all the mechanical and interval studies and stuff. I've actually compared it with the H. Klose book and was suprised with how similar they are.
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2008-12-06 15:36
Tedious they may be, but many (most?) professional musicians drill them on a regular basis, cleaning, polishing, and speeding them up, varying articulations, varying dynamics. For example, one of the greatest pianists of all time, Sergei Rachmaninoff, practiced scales daily throughout his career.
Then too, some great players don't, or say they don't, work much on scales. I suspect they end up practicing a lot longer on other things to get them to sound well, thouch I may be wrong.
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Author: Sarah Elbaz
Date: 2008-12-06 17:52
The reason for the changes in the minor scale is the lack of a leading tone in the Hypodorian modus, what you call the natural minor.
The idea behind harmony is tension and relife or suspension- resolution.
The higher 7th degree of the scale makes the minor 'useful' for harmony
but not for melodies, therefor the melodic scale adds a higher 6th degree.
I am sure that someone with better English can rephrase it.
sarah
Post Edited (2008-12-06 19:04)
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