 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: markcr
Date: 2014-01-31 20:31
I was wondering if someone can explain what an "A" clarinet is? I gather that it is pitched a 1/2 step lower than a Bb clarinet but I was wondering when and how it is utilized? Thanks!
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-01-31 21:33
A clarinets are normally used for avoiding remote keys often found on Bb clarinet parts that are written in sharp keys - say the piece is in Concert A Major, that puts a Bb clarinet up a whole tone into B Major (five sharps) whereas on an A clarinet, it is put up a minor third into the easy key of C Major, but still sounding in A Major.
So if a piece is in D Major, a Bb clarinet has to play in E Major (four sharps) and an A clarinet plays in F major (one flat).
It depends on what keys you're comfortable at playing in - if a piece is in G Major, you can either play it on Bb and be in the key of A Major (three sharps) or Bb Major on an A clarinet (two flats).
Sometimes things are made much easier by playing an A clarinet even though the published part is written for a Bb clarinet and vice versa, depending on the situation.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: markcr
Date: 2014-02-01 02:46
Thanks, Chris! That makes a whole lot of sense. Now I get it. :-)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-02-01 06:37
But the "A" clarinet is also treated by composers as an instrument with it's own particular color and write for it irrespective of the final key for the player. I reference Brahms as a good example of this. It is a remnant of a by gone era when there were many different pitched clarinets, and it is a must have piece of equipment for orchestral players.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Bennett ★2017
Date: 2014-02-01 07:16
Perhaps not clear from the preceding is that many chamber and orchestral parts are written for A clarinet. If you only own a Bb clarinet you have a lot of transposing to do . (Sometimes a publisher will include a transposed-to-Bb part along with the original A part but this is not too common. For an example, look at
http://imslp.org/wiki/Clarinet_Concerto_in_A_major,_K.622_%28Mozart,_Wolfgang_Amadeus%29
For an A clarinet, the part is in 'C'; if you have to play it on a Bb clarinet, you've got 5 sharps.
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Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2014-02-01 13:27
Bennett wrote:
> Perhaps not clear from the preceding is that many chamber and
> orchestral parts are written for A clarinet. If you only own a
> Bb clarinet you have a lot of transposing to do . (Sometimes a
> publisher will include a transposed-to-Bb part along with the
> original A part but this is not too common.
+1, also:
- low E
- some transitions could be easier to play faster
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