 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jacy
Date: 2002-05-12 13:39
Just found out next year's projected instrumentation for my school's senior band will be...
2 oboes, 20 clarinets (1, me, might be doubling on Eb), 2 bass clarinets, 1 bassoon, 10 alto saxes (1 doubling on soprano), 6 tenor saxes, 2 bari saxes, 2 horns, 10 trumpets, 7 trombones, 3 euphoniums, 1 tuba, 6 or so percussion...
...oh, and 40-odd flutes!
Something seem a little wrong here?
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Author: Mitch A
Date: 2002-05-12 14:06
"Something seem a little wrong here?"
Yea. 40 is an even number.
DING!! I win.
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Author: Jacy
Date: 2002-05-12 14:08
...not only that, but they can't be auditioned out of the band. Our band director says she doesn't want to look like a "bully". Seriously.
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Author: Katfish
Date: 2002-05-12 14:10
You're short about 20 alto saxes and 10 alto clarinets. Just kidding. How odd are the flutes?
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2002-05-12 14:16
Is there just one band in your school, or do you have several groups based on performance ability? High school directors have to rely on their middle school feeder patterns to achieve balanced instrumentation. It seems that there has been an oversight in this regard. The number of brass is low compared to the number in the woodwind section. I've found that flute players usually are successful switching to French horn. I think that is due to the listening skills that they have to develop for intonation. I would also find a couple of more students to move to bassoon to strengthen the lower voicing as well as develop at least three more bass players. Right now the balance is so poor, unless your director specifies early on that all will not participate in festival because of the instrumentation problems, there could be some ratings issues involved.
jbutler
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Author: Jacy
Date: 2002-05-12 14:33
We have 4 concert bands: 7/8 Ensemble, a Grade 9 group, a 10-OAC group that feeds from the 9's, and a 10-OAC group comprised of the best players in the general 10-OAC band. However, there've been times in the past where the weaker Grade 10 students were left in the Grade 9 group to avoid instrumentation problems like this one in the senior band. Now the director of the Grade 9 band is complaining that the "leftovers" are tampering with proper instrumentation of his band. At this point, the Grade 9 band has no bass clarinet/tuba/piccolo/bassoon and 20 of the 60 students play some sort of sax.
It doesn't help matters that I'm the only clarinet player, other than the current bc players, who has ever played bass or owns a mouthpiece; however, I can't play bass now because the band director doesn't want to lose one of her strongest seconds (soon to be first). We have no alto clarinets for some reason (it's a Canadian thing, I suppose), and everyone panics upon mention of the contrabass. Things get worse when you consider that most of the current second flutes (who won't be graduating for another 2 years) are rather...unskilled, and the school is scared to recruit another bassoon player after they had to pay about $2000 on repairs on our current bassoonist's bassoon.
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Author: Arnold
Date: 2002-05-12 16:22
You could ask your director to form a Wind Ensemble where you have to audition to get in. If there are too many flutist, then some of them could instead form Flute Choir or something. Just ideas.
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Author: Willie
Date: 2002-05-13 00:48
What! No contras? Need a few contras to augment that poor tuba.
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2002-05-13 01:11
My school orchestra has 10 violins, 2 violas, one cello, three clarinets, 8 flutes, no double reeds at all, 5 trumpets, one trombone, one horn (!), 3 pianos (!!!) and a guitar. It's weird, but it's us.
We're nothing but treble. (groan)
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Author: Laur
Date: 2002-05-13 01:58
Hmm... In my school there are :
orchestra - 30 violins,4 viola, 6 cello, 3 bass, 3 flutes, 3 clarinet, 2 oboes, 1 bassoon, 3 trumpets, 3 french horn, 3 trombones, 1 baritone, 1 tuba, and 3 percussion
My Wind Ensemble however has : 8 flutes( 1 doubling on Picc) , 2 oboes, 10 clarinets ( 1 doubling on Eb, 1 on Piano)1 bass clarinet, 1 bassoon, 6 Alto Sax, 2 Tenor Sax, 2 Bari Sax, 6 Trumpets, 3 French horns, 1 trombone, 1 Bass Trombone, 2 Baritone, 1 Tuba, 8 Percussion, 1 mallots and 1 Piano
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-05-13 02:07
So long as the "odd" flutes are entertaining in the oddness - it should be fine! :-)
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Author: Julie
Date: 2002-05-13 02:44
our band has about 20 flutes (1 piccolo), 2 oboes, 18 clarinets, 4 bass clarinets (1 on contra), 1 bassoon, 20 alto sax, 1 tenor sax, 1 bari sax, 10 trumpets, 3 trombones, 3 baritones, 2 yubas and like 15 drummers (!!!!)
too much treble ~.~
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Author: Julie
Date: 2002-05-13 02:44
yubas? I can really type. I meant tubas
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Author: carmen izzo
Date: 2002-05-13 04:10
Our wind symphony has
10 flutes, 9 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, five horn, 4 alto saxes, 1 tenor, 1 bari, 2 tuba, 6 trumpets, 2 euphoniums, four trombones, 3 oboe, 6 percussionists, 1 piccolo, 2 bassoon, and 1 piano
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-05-13 12:33
18 saxes will easily drown out 40 flutes, so perhaps you need some more flutes. :-)
2 flutes out of tune sound really gross. But if you have MANY flutes out of tune it is not quite so bad, sort of like a string section, hehe!
It could be called the Mantovani principle!
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2002-05-13 20:55
Wind Ensemble:
1 piccolo, 5 flutes
7 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet
2 saxes, no oboes, 1 bassoon
5 trumpets, 2 trombones, 1 French horn, 1 euphonium, 2 tubas
5 percussion
Concert Band:
1 piccolo, 7 flutes
12 clarinets, 3 bass clarinets
3 saxes, no oboes, 1 bassoon
9 trumpets, 4 trombones, 2 French horns, 2 euphoniums, 3 tubas
10 Percussion
Returning Members:
1 piccolo, 3 flutes
5 clarinets, 2 bass clarinets
2 saxes, still no oboes, 1 bassoon
7 trumpets, 3 trombones, 2 French horns, 1 euphonium, 2 tubas
4 percussion
And we're expecting about 25 freshmen...
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Author: Cindy
Date: 2002-05-15 00:46
Our band next year will have a very horrible balance. There will be only 7 clarinetists in a 120 person band. Also, only one person from our top band is continuing on, so we will have a very weak section. I think the wind ensamble by audition is a good idea. If you are bold, daring, and insane like I am you should suggest it to your director.
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2002-05-15 02:17
If our school did that next year we'd have a chamber ensemble, not a wind ensemble. (I'm serious!!)
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Author: Kim L.
Date: 2002-05-15 02:44
It sounds like all of your feeder programs are bad. Middle school band directors should begin oboes, bassoons, and French horns at that level so that this insanity does not happen!
Another good idea is to bring in exceptional middle school players to play at the high school level.
Kim L.
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Author: Dieter Fornby
Date: 2002-05-19 22:02
Bring Tylenol 3 some milk and 2 ear plugs...
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