 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: LCL
Date: 2015-07-08 07:05
Have a preowned Leblanc Ab that I bought about 15 years ago. It is in near mint condition and have played it a dozen times during that period. It is not easy to handle since the tone holes are extremely close but with practice it is manageable. I have not seen any parts in band music for it. My instrument is strictly a collectors item and not for sale.
Best,
LCL
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Author: TomS
Date: 2015-07-08 17:59
You have to have those surgically implanted to play properly ...
Tom
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Author: derf5585
Date: 2015-07-08 18:19
You do not have to be surgically modified to play a piccolo. Why not design an Ab that can be played?
fsbsde@yahoo.com
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Author: Paula S
Date: 2015-07-09 00:24
I would love one and have the silly hands for it. It looks fun but very few ever come up for sale.
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Author: bradfordlloyd
Date: 2015-07-09 07:06
Attachment: Aflat.jpg (70k)
I bought a vintage nearly full boehm Rampone and Cazzani Ab piccolissimo clarinet a few years back and had it refurbished. It was fun and a great conversation piece, though very difficult to play with my enormous hands. It was truly almost impossibly small (the mouthpiece, the reeds...oh my!)
The high pitches it could deliver were amazing! But it was very hard to play with any real skill and finesse (difficult to play quickly with fingers on top of one another, and intonation, well.....), and there is not much music written for it (yes, some in clarinet choirs).
I ended up selling it to a very nice teacher who ran a clarinet choir (for quite a nice profit, I might add). It was fun, I have pictures, but I neither regret buying it, nor selling it when I found it unmanageable.
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Author: AJN
Date: 2015-07-09 10:58
"... listening to videos like the ones below, I am not that enthusiastic."
Well it's hard to be enthusiastic about any instrument that isn't being played all that well. But the Ab clarinet is a traditional part of the ensembles that play Viennese "Schrammelmusik." Specialists in that genre are in a class by themselves. Try this (which is far from the most impressive Ab clarinet playing that can be heard from Schrammel players):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sXG4kx-MFI&list=PL1DCA2504E7B4191A
The guy in this other group is pretty amazing, though their CD doesn't seem to be available at the moment:
http://www.amazon.com/Music-Old-Vienna/dp/5550642719/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1436425392&sr=1-2-spell&keywords=thalia+quartett
You can hear bits of it here, however. Try the sample of track 5.
http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=1853
Post Edited (2015-07-09 11:24)
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Author: William
Date: 2015-07-09 22:11
I played a specialty number on an Ab clarinet on tour with our University Band. My tune was the "Clarinet Polka", lol. and as I remember it (years ago) it was a lot of fun to play, not very difficult to "get used to". I don't remember the brand name but intonation was the major issue. As for the keywork, I thought of it as just a small Bb--worked for me.
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2015-07-10 12:29
AJN, now I want one badly and hate myself for opting out an auction where the winning bid was $900... ;-)
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2015-07-10 17:05
The Ab guy playing with violins must have a hell when they play their favourite keys G, D and A. Maybe he carries a D clarinet.
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Author: ryan_david97
Date: 2020-01-04 17:24
Does this clarinet happen to be up for sale now? I’ve been looking for an Ab for a while...
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Author: johnnydodds
Date: 2020-01-08 00:26
Wow that thing is tiny. Guessing it's 10 half steps above a Bb, not a step lower?
I had no luck with sopranino sax, very difficult intonation so I am steering clear of little clarinets assuming the same problems there.
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