 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: IHL
Date: 2001-10-20 04:20
I heard mentioned somewhere, that a clarinet was made an octave below Leblanc's octocontrabass (of which only one exists in the world). Has anyone else heard of this super-bass instrument, and wether or not it exists?
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Author: Stephen Froehlich
Date: 2001-10-20 13:45
http://www.contrabass.com/pages/octobass.html
The whole site is a source of great amusement. Leblanc sure went to some crazy extremes with this whole clarinet thing. The fact of the matter is that I can begin to hear individual beats at the bottom of the extended BBb contra range - these bigger instruments must have subsonic (20 hz or less) notes where it doesn't register as a sound any more.
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Author: Stephen Froehlich
Date: 2001-10-20 23:01
I just realize you're looking for something twice the size of an octo-contrabass.
First sounds less than 20 hz aren't heard as sounds but the individual beats
So, let's do some calcuations
Middle line B (concert A) just over the break, then lowest note in Hz (approx):
Bb: 440 147 (E)
Bass: 220 60 (C)
Contrabass: 110 30 (C)
Octocontrabass: 55 15 (C)
OK, so 15 Hz is low enough where all you hear is pulses - I think most drummers can roll that fast. In other words, the clarinet becomes a rather poor percussion instrument by that point. Adding another octave to go down to 7.5 Hz would be useless. There is a reason only one octocontrabass was made - its not a useful addition to the clarinet family. I can hear the pulses when I play the 30 Hz low C on the Contrabass. By 15 all sense of tone would be gone. At 7.5, well, I think that it might be possible to triple tounge a trumpet faster.
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2001-10-21 03:24
Interesting thought process, Stephen.
I agree that an octocontrabass doesn't have an overly wide range of use. I think it would be cool if they made more than three of those octocontraltos, however; They seem slightly more practical. (My taste favoring Eb-keyed instruments myself.) I guess a few people just wanted to design a clarinet that would satisfy people who wanted that low-contra sound that a contrabass couldn't quite reach.
OTOH, maybe they just wanted to beat the double-reeds at the call for lowest-pitched instrument. Sorry, contrabasoons!! (Octocontrabasoons? Scary thought.)
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Author: IHL
Date: 2001-10-21 08:08
And another thing, how would you get your mouth around the mouthpiece, considering that a contrabass mp is already the size of a soft drink can...
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Author: kenabbott
Date: 2001-10-21 11:30
Not really. The mp on my contrabass is only a bit bigger than that on my bass and contralto.
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Author: IHL
Date: 2001-10-21 12:42
oh, I must have looked at that other picture wrong. Judging by the other replies, this instrument probably doesnt exist because of practical reasons. oh well.
now onto those octocontrabassoons...
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Author: Stephen Froehlich
Date: 2001-10-21 13:47
Part of it is G. Leblanc had an obsession for this clarinet thing. I believe that we are all properly thankful for this. Why it turned in the direction of making ever-larger instrument is beyond me - but I doubt anybody had any illusion that these were useful - just interesting - a rich collector looking for unique items - he owned the company so he had them made.
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2001-10-22 02:15
Seriously, though, what would the mouthpeice and reeds even look like? I mean, obviously the same shape, but it would take its own size reeds and everything! I know that most of this is duh reasoning, but it just occurred to me how expensive and difficult it would be to maintain such an instrument, much less make it. "Oops, broke an octocontrabass reed. Call up the reed shop and see if you can get another contrabass sax reed delivered until I can make a new one..."
Shoelace ligatures would be a downright necessity (Or boot-lace ligatures?)
The exact placement of key structure would also be difficult with something that has at least three tubes in it's body.
A contrabassoon has two or three tubes on it's body, depending on what key it's in or it's model, one of those two; so how many would an octocontrabassoon have? Maybe the lowest you could get with still convenient tubing would be like the octocontralto clarinets. That would be a... let's see... an octocontraltobassoon!! Say that five times fast!!
Let's just get bigger and bigger.
Now I'm waiting for the other end of the spectrum with Db piccolo clarinets about as big around as a pencil!!! How come we get bigger but not smaller? Is it too, well, HARD to design a "pocket clarinet"? but it's okay to make a kitchen sink? (Maybe good old Leblanc has one hidden somewhere...)
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Author: IHL
Date: 2001-10-22 07:39
as big around as a PENCIL? that would be more like a dog whistle than an instrument.
has anyone heard of the garklein recorder? tiny thing (in C) about as long as your outstretched hand is wide. There's a soundclip and picture here:
http://members.tripod.com/~Goddess_Isis/garklein.htm
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-10-22 11:28
This garklein has only 2/3 the range of a piccolo and the piccolo goes a little higher - and sounds a lot better, although seemingly louder.
With very small instruments there is a major problem of squeezing enough fingers onto them. My fingers touch eachother on a sopranino recorder and there is a serious room problem on an Eb clarinet, although piccolo is OK.
Even on my Bb clarinet I have blocked the alt Bb/Eb tone hole with cork because I either touch this key or the C# G# key with my wide (but not over-wide) finger while playing.
It would be crazy to spread the fingers using mechanism on an extension to the instrument with no acoustic function.
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Author: Kathy Beatty
Date: 2001-10-22 17:06
Several years ago, I remember seeing a message on the Klarinet list, from Dan Leeson I believe, about a novelty piccolo clarinet in C, made in the 1940s as I recall. It (the message, not the clarinet) should still be there in the archives.
Kathy
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2001-10-23 00:51
So, do the math: How many octaves in between these two theoretical instruments?:
1) Highest note on a Bb piccolo clarinet (Let's say C 5 spaces above the staff.)
2) Lowest on a BBBBb suboctocontrabass clarinet (Let's say with low C extension, 4 spaces below the staff.)
Keep in mind that these are theoretical, the piccolo being an octave higher than the standard soprano and the suboctocontrabass being one octave lower than the solo octocontrabass clarinet in existence, the two most impractical clarinet ideas possible.
Grand total is... On the same clarinet it would be four octaves... piccolo vs. soprano makes 5, vs. bass makes 6, vs. contrabass makes 7, vs. octocontrabass makes 8, vs. suboctocontrabass makes a grand total of 9 octaves!!!
It hits me that a grand piano has 7+.
I agree, it would be completely impractical.
To improve on my longest name for a thepretical impractical instrument... go lower than that bassoon I mentioned, you have a suboctocontraltobassoon!! Anyone want to top that?
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