 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bigband
Date: 2018-04-30 06:41
Hello, new to the group. First post.
I have played clarinet for many years, and...many more years not playing. Picking it back up with hopes of joining the local orchestra. Yay!
Anyway, could someone tell me more about the A clarinet? I would be up to getting one in order to play the Mozart concerto, but really don’t want to shell out big bucks for one song. How many other songs are used by that key? What other keys other than A are good for that horn and what songs are used in symphony and maybe even jazz?
Thanks
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Author: Klose ★2017
Date: 2018-04-30 06:59
You would need an A clarinet for almost every orchestra concert. In addition to Mozart concerto, many well known concertos/solo pieces/chamber music also require an A clarinet.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2018-04-30 07:09
I apologize if you already knew this - I'm not sure how basic "tell me more about the A clarinet" means.
The A clarinet is used in symphonic music often - if you join an orchestra's clarinet section an A clarinet could make your experience in the genre more enjoyable. The Bb transposition removes two flats or adds two sharps to the key signature. The A transposition adds 3 flats or subtracts 3 sharps. So orchestral composers up through the mid-20th century tended to orchestrate or Bb clarinet for flat keys and A clarinet for sharp ones. You play with the same mouthpiece on both clarinets and they are fingered the same for the written pitches.
There are other clarinet concertos and other solo works composed for A clarinet. Also chamber music. But keep in mind that you can play A clarinet music on a Bb clarinet if you're only practicing for yourself and are not planning to play the pieces with the accompaniment. Unless you have "perfect pitch" and are bothered by the sound of the music in the wrong key.
You won't ever be required to have an A clarinet for jazz. You could choose to play jazz on an A clarinet, but jazz players as a rule use Bb clarinets and commercial jazz arrangements are always written for Bb clarinet.
Karl
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Author: Bigband
Date: 2018-04-30 07:25
Thanks, this helps a lot. I have played with the orchestra before and our pieces didn’t require the A clarinet. Not sure why I never really came across it, I guess the pieces we played while I was affiliated just didn’t need them. It was only for a few years. I guess I was just just playing all those extra sharps for nothing! Lol I have been enjoying restudying the clarinet and love the modern abilities I didn’t have earlier, like YouTube. Wow, everything right at my finger tips. I’m finding great works I never knew existed.
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Author: Bigband
Date: 2018-04-30 07:49
So, I’m searching the web for music and not finding much for clarinet in A. Seems like 99% is in B flat. What do I look for? What key? Weber plays a lot of F minor.E flat. When in the orchestra, will the conductor just say here...your A clarinet music?
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Author: zhangray4
Date: 2018-04-30 08:36
A lot of symphonic/orchestral works have A clarinet parts. Capriccio Espagnol has an extensive A clarinet part. Another example is Rachmanioff Piano Concerto 2.
For solo/chamber music repertoire, there are the Schumann fantasy pieces, Brahms Quintet, Brahms trio, etc. The Mozart Concerto and Quintet are actually written for basset clarinet in A - clarinet pitched in A that can go all the way down to a low C (concert A)
-- Ray Zhang
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Author: JF Clarinet
Date: 2018-04-30 09:38
Most of what you play in orchestra will still likely be for Bb clarinet, but having an A will make your life much easier. In the top left hand of most of the music you are likely familiar, it will say "Bb clarinet 1" or something like that. If you have a piece or movement of a piece written entirely for A clarinet, you may see that in the same place you'd be used to seeing that indication for Bb. In a lot of orchestral music you'll be switching back and forth between Bb and A, which will be marked in your parts when you are supposed to play on a different horn than you have just been using; in my experience you will see "In A" or "In Bb" to mark that.
Some tips to help you prepare for getting an A and playing in orchestras you can work on before you even have an A clarinet:
-Work on your ability to transpose, both with preparation and at sight. There are several reasons this is useful. Bb and A clarinets have slightly different tone colors, and some parts will sound better on one than the other. Some parts are much easier to play on one than the other. Sometimes there is a part written for C clarinet, and usually people will play those on Bb clarinet or sometimes A. Sometimes switching is undesirable if you have to play an exposed part on a cold horn, since tuning won't instantly be where you are used to playing when you are warmed up. For all of these reasons, it is a useful skill to be able to play Bb music on A, A music on Bb, and C music on both Bb and A.
-Make sure your ligature is decent and won't slip. Most people use one mouthpiece/reed/ligature for Bb and A, and when they have to switch, you take off the whole combo and swap it onto the other horn. If taking off and putting on the whole combo is difficult to do without your reed/ligature slipping, try different grips on the mouthpiece to find what will work, or consider using a different ligature. Some players also use the same barrel on Bb and A, which makes switching between horns much easier, but this is generally not advisable since most barrels are designed for EITHER Bb or A, not both. A clarinets also often use shorter barrels, but this will vary based on your instruments and your playing.
-Get a clarinet stand if you don't have one already. In an orchestra you'll always have your Bb or your A by your side/feet, and you don't want it to get bumped and fall over or fall over by itself.
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2018-04-30 09:55
If all you want to do is play Mozart's Concerto with , say , piano accompaniment Boosey & Hawkes and most likely other publishers have a Bb version of it. This means that instead of the Piano playing in A major, it plays in Bb Major. The Bb Clarinet part is identical to the A part.
Skyfacer
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Author: Klose ★2017
Date: 2018-04-30 10:44
A set of A and B flat has been the standard equipment for every orchestra player since romantic music era. And even now all classical composers assume that every clarinetist in orchestra has one set. As a result, in theory there should be half of the orchestral music (not band music) require A clarinet. Actually, A clarinet is even more often heard in concert hall. This is because although there are a lot of music for B flat instrument but for the really well-known clarinet music (among the whole classical music field), a large portion of them are for A clarinet, such as Mozart concerto, quintet; Brahms quintet, trio; Nielsen concerto etc. Also, your understanding of "Weber plays a lot of F minor.E flat" are somehow wrong. Both A and B-flat clarinets can play music in F minor or E flat major. Yes, there are a lot of solo music also composed for B-flat clarinet but if you ask a non-clarinet music lover, I am afraid that he/she can probably only name Debussy (Maybe Weber but unfortunately the great music of this composer is really underestimated).
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Author: Bigband
Date: 2018-04-30 16:18
This has all been very informative. Thank you. I am hoping to gather a repertoire to practice before I audition. This will all be very helpful. An A clarinet sounds like it is not just for Mozart to be sure. I certainly am not up for the B flat version with 5 sharps! As for the Weber, I just put that out as an example. I searched a well know sheet music page and those where the keys to choose from.
Transposing on the fly has not been my forte, so that will be a challenge for sure. This will take an extensive study in theory I guess, knowing which song will benefit from the A horn if played in x key. Nothing but time and practice.
Thanks again.
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-04-30 18:48
The A clarinet part on A clarinet sounds a half step lower than the A clarinet part played on a Bb clarinet. To transpose an A clarinet part on Bb you play every note fingered a half step lower and change the key signature appropriately.
For instance, an A clarinet part of "Happy Birthday" written in key of 'C' starts;
GGAGCB
Playing the A part on Bb to sound like the A would be fingered in key of B;
F#F#G#F#B A#.
More advanced orchestras also occasionally have C clarinet parts and the above would be transposed for C clarinet;
AABADC#
All advanced clarinet players in good orchestras can transpose into all keys.
It is worse in good opera houses. A singer may announce just before a performance that 'My low notes aren't good today, take all my arias up a half step" and the whole orchestra needs to transpose up a half step.
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Author: CapnCheapo
Date: 2018-04-30 19:08
Ken Lagace wrote:
> It is worse in good opera houses. A singer may announce just
> before a performance that 'My low notes aren't good today, take
> all my arias up a half step" and the whole orchestra needs to
> transpose up a half step.
Does this REALLY ever happen or is it just apocryphal at this point? Everybody mentions this as an opera pit horror story but I've never personally encountered it nor have I known anyone who has.
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-04-30 19:18
In 26 years at four operas per year it happened twice. In Broadway show pits it happened more often, (less well trained voices?). The clarinets and trumpets just brushed it off and got down to business. The string players tightened their strings and the other winds panicked..
PS - one lady violinist in the pit with perfect pitch couldn't play.
Post Edited (2018-04-30 19:35)
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Author: CapnCheapo
Date: 2018-04-30 19:39
Thanks Ken. Very interesting. It seems like a pretty "diva" and unprofessional thing to do, especially since you are potentially making a larger group of people sound bad because you are not feeling great about a few notes. I think most directors would tell the singer to "Suck it up, buttercup!"
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Author: Bennett ★2017
Date: 2018-04-30 19:42
Take a look a some repertoire your orchestra might play at http://imslp.org. Perhaps Beethoven, Brahms, Ravel, et alii. Ditto chamber pieces http://imslp.org/wiki/IMSLP:View_Genres/Instrumentation. By looking at the parts for each piece you can see how often and widely an A clarinet is called for. C clarinet parts also are common but generally for those there's a transposed Bb version available.
Or even easier, if you're near a library that has a sheet music collection, just pull pieces off the shelf and look inside.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2018-04-30 20:35
Ken Lagace wrote:
> The string players tightened their
> strings and the other winds panicked..
>
What did the string players do for the rest of the show? Re-tune their strings up and down all night?
Karl
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Author: marcia
Date: 2018-04-30 21:09
>I have played clarinet for many years, and...many more years not playing. >Picking it back up with hopes of joining the local orchestra. Yay!
Unless you want to spend much of your time transposing, I suggest you invest in an "A" clarinet. I have played in a community orchestra for (soon to be) 28 seasons, and have used my "A" extensively.
Marcia
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Author: ClarinetRobt
Date: 2018-04-30 21:41
I concur with the necessity of an A clarinet in orchestra situations. Unless you're playing a lot of 'easier' renditions of major works (think of water down versions for high school kids) - those seem to always employ Bb clarinet - since every HS kid has one in their hand. I'd argue the necessity of a C Clarinet too, but that's a different discussion - depends on your orchestra.
I'm sure there's are some good choices for A horns for sale on line. But (IMO) you can't really go wrong with Ridenour's A offering. Tough horn that can take a beating in any weather condition. And reasonably priced compared to a designer brand. Tom seams to have worked some of the pain-in-the-butt tendencies on his As.
~Robt L Schwebel
Mthpc: Behn Vintage
Lig: Ishimori, Behn Delrin
Reed: Legere French Cut 3.75/4, Behn Brio 4
Horns: Uebel Superior (Bb,A), Ridenour Lyrique, Buffet R13 (Eb)
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-04-30 22:00
>>What did the string players do for the rest of the show? Re-tune their strings up and down all night?
Karl, I guess if every aria had the same low note, they would have had to.
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Author: Bigband
Date: 2018-05-01 03:55
Great information everyone, well heeded! Going back to reread and take notes!
Much appreciated.
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