Author: ChiTownClarinet
Date: 2015-03-03 22:07
I agree, the eefer is very underutilized. I love playing it, though. I played it through college in our wind ensemble and school orchestra. I'm probably biased, having studied with a prominent Eb clarinetist during my university days.
Plus, dedicating time to the Eb can significantly improve one's Bb skills, especially in the altissimo.
I now play in a community band and I only get to use it when absolutely necessary in pieces, but I requested to play it full time and was denied. Why? Because our director (who is a clarinetist, BTW!) HATES it! In fact, he takes every opportunity to bad-mouth the instrument during rehearsals, claiming the eefer should not exist (this is despite the fact we almost never use it in our band). He is a very opinionated guy, and I think he just hates playing it himself.
I actually play with good intonation, IMHO, and our director was bad-mouthing the instrument well before I ever played it with our ensemble, so it's not just me, so far as I can tell. I think it's really tragic for someone to have that kind of bias against an instrument. After all, poor intonation is hardly exclusive to the Eb. Plus we're in the ensemble to have fun and grow as musicians, but I feel restricted there. I love diversity of instrumentation and the layers of tone colors different instruments can add.
After saving up for a long time, I recently splurged and ordered myself a Buffet RC prestige Eb, which will be a major step up from the vintage horn I currently have (tried a few prestiges and loved them!). So I think there are really good quality eefers out there (upper-line Buffets and Selmers), it's just a shame they cost so darn much!
I think a lot of people would consider it a waste to spend that kind of money on something that I'm not using regularly or professionally, but I did it for the simple love of the insturment.
In the mean time, as I anxiously await my delivery, I'm on the lookout for an ensemble that actually has the guts to use the eefer! Happy playing, all!
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The Clarinet BBoard
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