 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Catherine
Date: 2001-08-29 13:29
I'm a beginner in clarinet. And I have a Bb clarinet. I'm just wondering does that mean the lowest key this instrument can play is a Bb? But My fingering chart shows me that the lowest is a low E. I'm confused. Why is called a Bb clarinet or a Eb Clarinet?
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Author: John
Date: 2001-08-29 14:34
This is a question most beginners struggle with, Catherine. No, the lowest note isn't the answer. The clarinet is a "transposing" instrument. So is a saxophone, and others. This means that when a clarinet is playing a "C", it is actually playing a "Bb" pitch. Try this: play a "C" on your clarinet and then play a "C" on a piano. Not the same note. Now play a "Bb" on the piano and it is the same. This is mostly due to convenience of fingerings. So with an Eb clarinet, when you play a "C", it really sounds an "Eb" on a piano.
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Author: William
Date: 2001-08-29 14:36
Because when you read and play a printed C on your Bb clarinet, the actual sound coming being produced is a concert Bb--same as the Bb on a piano. When an Eb clarinet reads and plays the same C, the sound being produced is actually a concert Eb--same as Eb on the piano. "Concert" sound means actual pitch--a piano player playing a C actually produces a C. Therefore, the piano is a "concert" pitched instrument. The clarinet is a "transposing" instrument that produces a different pitch than the one being read and played. Basically, transposing instrumens are named for the actual sound they produce when reading and playing their own C. Consequently, an A clarinet will produce A when playing it's C--a Bb cornet will produce Bb when playing it's C--a F horn will produce F when playing it's C--etc, etc, etc, (to quote the King from "The King and I). However, this rule only applies to instruments that read treble cleff. In other clefs, instruments read the actual notes they sound. Example, a trombone (which is a Bb instrument) actually sounds C when reading and playing C. The BBb tuba is another example. Baritone players must learn two sets of fingerings, one for treble and one for bass--in treble cleff, they read C but sound Bb. But in bass clef, they read Bb to sound Bb. If all of this sounds confusing, don't worry--you are normal. It is confusing and is something that arrangers, conductors, composers, players and music teachers take many years to become proficient at. I've often wished that I could meet the person responsible for this silly notion that some instruments must transpose what they sound and others must not. Why not everyone read and play in concert pitch--read a C and sound a C, not something else??--is what I would ask!! But, bottom line, we are "stuck" with this system--and that is why you play a Bb clarinet. Good "Bb" Clarineting!!!!! (I hope this cyberbable is not untransposable)
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2001-08-29 15:54
If this totally confuses you, don't worry. Just realize if you try to play duets with your friend who plays flute, it won't work if you're using music for two flutes or for two clarinets (something it took me years to figure out- once I did I thought "now THAT'S why it sounded so bad!"). If you do get it, great- I didn't get the whole transposing thing straight for about five years of playing.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-08-29 16:26
William wrote:
>
> ... I've often wished
> that I could meet the person responsible for this silly notion
> that some instruments must transpose what they sound and others
> must not. Why not everyone read and play in concert
> pitch--read a C and sound a C, not something else??--is what I
> would ask!! But, bottom line, we are "stuck" with this
> system--and that is why you play a Bb clarinet. Good "Bb"
> Clarineting!!!!! (I hope this cyberbable is not
> untransposable)
It's not a silly notion. Do you want to learn different fingerings for different sizes of instruments? The way it is now, you can learn one basic set of clarinet fingerings and it applies to all sizes of the clarinet. The transpositions are taken care of in the music. So from the smallest Ab sopranino to the monstrous Bb contrabass, you see a C and use the same fingering on all of them.
Although the flute is normally in C, there are also Bb flutes and G alto flutes. Again the flute player only needs to learn one set of fingerings to apply to all these.
The oboe (in C) player often doubles on English horn (in F). It's much easier to use one set of fingerings and have the music take care of it.
Why not build them all in C? Well you wouldn't have the tonal characteristics for certain ranges of pitches that you want. Take the English horn. If you want it in C, you have to shorten it and the result is basically an oboe. If you lengthen it to be the C an octave lower, it simply becomes a bass oboe.
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Author: Catherine
Date: 2001-08-29 19:04
Thanks everyone for your help. I'm a lot clear on this now!
have fun "clarineting" (new word for me!) everyone!..
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2001-08-30 13:43
I don't want to confuse the subject, especially now that Catherine is clear on things, but there is some terminology currently in use that can muddy things up again. I am speaking in regard to bass clarinets especially. Nearly every (with a few exceptions) bass clarinet made is a B-flat bass clarinet, meaning, as was stated above, that if you play a C on the bass clarinet, it will sound like a B-flat on a piano.
However, you will frequently see, including on this bulletin board, someone referring to a low-C bass clarinet or a low-E-flat bass clarinet. Although these are still bass clarinets pitched in B-flat, this terminology is used to distinguish between bass clarinets whose lowest note is an E-flat and those that have extra length and extra keys that allow them to play to a C below the E-flat. (There are also older bass clarinets that only go down to an E.) To avoid this potential source of confusion, we should use a different terminology, but I expect that we will always fall back to the convenience of calling them low-C and low-E-flat instruments.
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2001-08-31 01:21
Also, for low clarinetists who read bass clef, those suddenly become "in C". i.e., constantly transposing, like going from Bb trumpet to tuba.
I'm sure that we could all go on for DAYS about transposing. I personally see both sides. It IS convenient to have one set of fingerings for all ranges of an instrument, but the ability to transpose can come in handy greatly. (Ever talk to a orchestral French horn player? They practically make a living on transposition!!)
Bottom line is - and I'm sure you all know this but I'll say it anyway - transposition is a beautiful idea of making everything easier, and you can't find a copy of every orchestra peice for Basset Horn AND Contralto AND Sopranino because they often don't need one. BUT (And this is a big but) sometimes people add more instrumentation or replace another instrument for general effect, to get a different sound. And no offense to Ab sopraninos, but there's very limited selection to what you can play. You're stuck reading piccolo. And Contralto, grab a tuba part and change the key and let both clef and key transposition cancel themselves out!! (Beautiful combination, but tricky with accidentals.) And Basset Horns, hope that the French Horns aren't transposing or grab an English horn.
Now that my long rant is finished... I will simplify: Circumstances often work for the worst of us, and it's not gonna change without killing more trees for sheet music. We should all learn how to transpose and let the styles deal with themselves. I like the present idea of different keys, but transposition is definitely a skill worth having.
Well, there's my $.02 cents. More like $2.00.
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Author: ~jerry
Date: 2001-08-31 23:56
Catherine wrote:
"But My fingering chart shows me that the lowest is a low E."
In reading the above posts I did not see a reference to this comment of Catherine's. The question here was not explicit but I guess she should know that the fingering chart is correct. Huh?
~ jerry
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Author: Bob Curtis
Date: 2001-09-01 01:15
Dee said ; "Although the flute is normally in C, there are also Bb flutes and G alto flutes. Again the flute player only needs to learn one set of fingerings to apply to all these." Don't forget the Eb flute -- rare but still there. This is the flute on which I learned to play way back there. Why, I don't know except it was the only one left to use in the woodwinds class when I was studying in ancient times. There was an advantage to this instrument -- it was a little smaller and easier to handle.
Bob Curtis
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