Author: tdinap
Date: 2010-05-17 02:56
I don't think you're approaching this the right way--if you're willing to transpose so much, why not just get really good at playing in all keys and stick with just a Bb clarinet?
The main reason I see for having any of these clarinets is that they're called for in a score, and you're unlikely to have any control over when that happens for most of your clarinet-playing life. And if you're not doing it because the score says so, I'd like to know who in their right mind would transpose the first movement of Beethoven's 5th symphony onto C clarinet just because the piece is in C (poor example, I know, but the point is the same).
Obviously it's sometimes easier (or even necessary!) to transpose a passage because it lies better on a different clarinet, but that shouldn't be your primary motivation for buying one. And if you're really so torn about which to buy, something tells me you probably don't need any specific one badly enough to bother spending all that money anyway.
To be a bit more useful, though I'd answer your original question this way: it seems to me that for "classical" playing, all clarinetists are pretty much expected to own both A and Bb clarinets, and all other instruments are basically optional, to be used for doubling or the performer's convenience. If you're not playing classical music, most people would expect you to own a Bb, and other than that, it'd be totally personal preference.
Tom
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The Clarinet BBoard
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