 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jane
Date: 1999-04-05 13:32
I have an old clarinet which I will try to describe. I would appreciate any info anyone might be able to give me on it. It has a different number and style of keys than a modern clarinet. I was told it was a European style. "France Bb HP" is inscribed on the barrel. The Bb HP is inscribed also on the other sections. The bell, as well as the unusual case and metal reed case, have "J.W. Pepper & Son, Philadelphia, PA" on them. The corks have worn off and have been wrapped with string. The pads are mostly present, but of course are in poor condition. Even if I got this horn fixed up, I wouldn't know how to play it because the fingerings are so different! Can anyone shed any light on this interesting instrument?
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Author: Rick2
Date: 1999-04-05 14:58
HP stands for high-pitch, so if you get the horn repaired, you will not be able to play in tune with anybody else. High and Low pitch instruments were both made before the standard A=440 was generally accepted. Unfortunatly for your clarinet, it was the Low Pitch that became the standard.
Regarding the fingering system, it could be an old Albert system clarinet, or maybe not. Hard to say without a better description. Wrapping string around the tenon used to be common, so it sounds like this is a pretty old clarinet that hasn't been played in a loooooong time.
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Author: herb
Date: 1999-04-05 15:28
>>>"J.W. Pepper & Son, Philadelphia, PA"
Still in business, with an interesting web site -- http://www.jwpepper.com
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-04-05 16:12
Since it is actually marked HP, there is a good chance that it is from the first part of this century (1900 - 1925). Possibly a littler earlier or a little later. But basically outside that time span there was no need to stamp horns HP or LP. The Albert and other related systems were still competing with the Boehm system which we now use.
However, the Rubank Elementary method book still in publication today continues to come with a fingering chart that shows the Boehm on one side and the Albert on the other. Apparently there were still quite a few students using the Albert system when Rubank first published this book in 1933 (the lessons however are set up showing the Boehm fingerings).
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