 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Carlos Martin
Date: 2001-02-07 16:50
I think this can be interesting for anyone looking for his second clarinet:
I agree that Bb and A clarinets are the ones to perform 90% of the written music for clarinet . Anyway, here is my point of view about C clarinets:
1. Forget about music written for clarinet: if you need to transpose ANY melody (from a violin concert, or a piano piece, a popular melody, or whatever...), the number of sharps/flats will probably be the lowest if you have a C clarinet (the highest: as much as for an A clarinet). This is so because the most commonly keys used for music are closer to C Major/minor scales.
2. If, like me, you use midi files for learning and improving your tecnique (believe me, you can find WHATEVER music you think of in searchers like www.vanbasco.com), if you have a C clarinet you just have to play what you see in your midi editor staff, without transposing!! (by the way, muting the clarinet part in your favourite midi song, and playing your clarinet instead, is the closest way to playing in an orchestra or in a band without being a professional).
3. The second hand C clarinets happen to be cheaper than their Bb brothers (ŋ!), donīt ask me why. Iīve been watching for weeks an ad about a 10 year old Buffet E-10 C clarinet for US$300!!!
4. For playing in modern bands with no-transposing instruments itīs much easier for rehearsals to talk about the same notes, which will only be possible when playing a C clarinet.
Good luck!
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2001-02-07 19:08
C-fers are great little horns. They don't have as rich a tone as the Bbs but are not shrill and piercing like the Eb sopraninos. I would describe their tone as bright and lively and with a quicker response than the Bbs. There also easier to practice for long periods of time than the Bbs due to their lighter weight. I use my C-fer (Leblanc Esprit) mostly to play folk style music such as Irish and Appalachian fiddle tunes. C-fers can also come in handy playing jazz when sharp keys such as D, A, or E (E,B, and F# for a Bb horn) come up. Any serious clarinetist who wants to play music other than classical should have a C-fer.
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Author: Bill
Date: 2001-02-07 20:41
What reed, e.g., Bb or Eb or other, does it use, and what are the mouthpiece choices??
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Author: Fred
Date: 2001-02-07 21:35
What are some decent brands? How do they compare? How about the Lyons student model - any vendors in the US?
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Author: Graham Golden
Date: 2001-02-08 02:57
Hi,
I have found most C clarinets to use Bb mouthpieces and reeds. I have only had experience with a Noblet C clarinet, excellent horn, and a new AMATI C clarinet model ACL 351, also a great horn. Most manufacturers make them,, and im sure you cant go wrong with a buffet, Leblanc, Selmer etc... I haven't herd anything good or bad about the Lyon C clarinet. I assume that they are of a lesser quality being they are made for students, and are entirely plastic - pads, keys, BODYetc...
Graham,
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Author: Steve Epstein
Date: 2001-02-08 05:02
I have a Patricola CL-7 (grenadilla). A very fine clarinet. Took me a long time to find the right mp for it, one that wasn't too loud and didn't let the high notes go flat. I use a Vandoren 5RV Lyre-13 / Profile 88 with a traditional Vandoren 3.5, or a Selmer HS* (that's just one star) with a Rico Grand Concert 3.5, if I really want to suppress the volume. Projection is not a problem with these babies:).
I use it for the same reasons Robert Small does. One should not have to transpose to play folk music with other people. A's would be easier, as they take the sharps of fiddle music out, but they require transposing.
Robert Small, do you ever play for contradancing?
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2001-02-08 05:12
Leblanc offers a fairly wide selection of C sopranos ranging from the intermediate level Noblet which I hear is a very nice horn, the entry level pro model Esprit which I own and is a great little horn, and the top of the line Concerto and Opus. Patricola offers a C model that I've heard good things about, especially the ones that have been set up by Charles Bay. C-fers use a Bb mouthpiece but some or most Bb pieces will play flat as they are a little long for the C-fer. Ralph Morgan's jazz series and possibly his other models as well are designed to play a little sharp on the Bb soprano (tuning barrel must be pulled out) so they play pretty well in tune on the C-fer with the tuning barrel pushed on tight. Custom pieces by Charles Bay and others are also possibilities.
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2001-02-08 05:46
Steve--your post went up as I was writing mine. Most of the commercial work I'm doing these days has me playing bari sax in a 16 piece big band playing mostly for swing dances. I get to double on the Bb clarinet but so far all of my C-fer playing has been in the woodshed (actually my living room). But I intend to learn enough fiddle tunes so that I can at least get out and sit in with people. I had thought about using an A soprano for fiddle music because of its' making the sharp keys easier but the keys of C, F, and Bb (especially C) are fairly common and they would put the A clarinet in the keys of Eb, Ab, and Db respectively. I don't mind playing in three or four (if need be) sharps but I find any key with more than two flats to be a little cumbersome on the clarinet. The C-fer is definitely the best clarinet to use for fiddle tunes and folk music.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-02-08 14:19
Fred -
The Noblet C clarinet has a good reputation. As I recall, they sell new for well over $1000. There have been a couple on eBay recently, but I didn't follow them so I don't know what they sold for.
I played the new intermediate level Buffet recently and liked it about as much as the Noblet. The tone was good, though it lacked the character of the pro-line instruments. The Buffet rep said they would retail for $1000, and that seems like a bargain.
Both instruments are listed in stock at Woodwind & Brasswind, but they don't give prices. WW&BW also lists an Amati for $749, but I've heard bad things about the low-end Amatis.
I tried the Leblanc Opus and Buffet Prestige at a show and liked both very much. Steve Fox's instrument was even better. However, these are in the $2000 and up range.
My own instrument is an ancient (1928) Buffet, which for me outplays them all.
The Lyons C clarinet is a great idea for beginners, but it's not a substitute for a "real" instrument. See my recent posting on the Klarinet board at http://www.sneezy.org/Databases/Logs/2001/01/000887.txt.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: William
Date: 2001-02-08 15:18
I play a Buffet E-11 C with a shortened Chadash barrel and like it very much. I picked it out from 5 others at International Music Suppliers (they seem to have a direct connect to the Libertyville Buffet depot). Used it last in Bereloz Fantastic Symphony (2nd clar. 4th & 5th mvts--that tricky little solo). Am looking forward to having to use it again (for jazz I am strictly a Bb guy). C's are great instruments and I recommend Buffet. Good clarineting.
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Author: Steve Epstein
Date: 2001-02-09 04:15
Wonder why C's aren't used more in classical music. I understand that the dark sound is the "standard", but if there are roles for Eb's, which can really scream, why not C's? Just to add a different color.
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Author: Steve Epstein
Date: 2001-02-09 04:24
Also, can anyone recommend any recordings of classical music played with a C-clarinet? I've searched discography here and the internet in general, and haven't found anything. I've heard some klezmer stuff by Feidman on C, but it's very brief. I have a cd of Brahms clar trio, op 114, and clar quintet, op 115, with Jozsef Balogh as the soloist; is that a C? His tone seems very thin, or is that because he plays to a different standard, being an Eastern European?
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