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Re: C# to D (Mozart Clarinet Concerto)

Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-08-15 05:00

On Buffets and most narrow bore clarinets the altissimo D can be painfully flat without the Ab/Eb key held down, but then the C# can end up sharp. If it's a leading note then that's not a problem as has already ben mentioned string players tend to sharpen their leading notes when it's followed by the tonic note.

On large bore clarinets the Ab/Eb can remain closed for the altissimo D - there's a video of Gino Cioffi playing the altissimo C#-D without the Ab/Eb key as he's playing a large bore Selmer (click on the link below).

https://youtu.be/TQwww-dhQ54?t=36m47s

And a great feature of later B&H 1010 clarinets (with a large 15.2mm bore) was the Acton vent whereby the altissimo Eb can be played in tune with the short fingering (oxx|oxo Ab/Eb) without having to use the full fingering (oxx|xx/o Ab/Eb) which can be awkward.

But consider yourself lucky you don't play a mid 18th century clarinet with no ring keys, but has a closed key that's consciously opened by RH3 to bring up the pitch of the B and F# and quite possibly the altissimo Eb as well. The RH ring keys (for RH fingers 2 and 3) were later added which automatically compensated these notes and significantly simplified things for the player.

While at least one book mentions using the Ab/Eb key for altissimo C#, most charts and most specialist clarinet teachers don't.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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