 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jacy
Date: 2002-10-24 21:01
Some other musicians from my school band and I are thinking about starting a woodwind quintet, but we're having trouble with the instrumentation requirements. The school's only french horn player is a very weak player and is swamped with homework this semester, so he's out of the question. There are no alto clarinet players although our school has an old Vito; the only person who'd even consider venturing near it is me, but I'd planned on playing soprano clarinet in the quintet.
In this case, what would be a better substitute for the horn: fugelhorn, euphonium (I'm not really sure if the range is comparable), another Bb clarinet, alto or tenor sax?
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-10-24 21:21
Jacy -
An alto clarinet might work, but remember that horn parts switch constantly from one pitch horn to another. Horn players have to be virtuoso transposers.
If the horn part is in Eb, you can play it on clarinet using upper register "C" fingerings in the low register.
Flugelhorn could work, but the player has to be comfortable in the low register (not to mention reading parts written for Eb, F and Bb horn). Alto sax won't go low enough or play softly enough in the low register. Euphonium would be too low. A good trumpet or euphonium player could switch fairly easy to alto trumpet, mellophone or alto horn, if French horn is too big a stretch.
Good luck.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Big Ben
Date: 2002-10-24 22:41
I'm not sure about this, but I think I played in a quintet once where we used a Cor Anglais(English Horn) to play the Horn part instead. Although, I guess depending on your circumstances.. ie: what instruments and players you have at your school, would contribute to how you go about doing it.
anyway, good luck.
Ben
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2002-10-25 01:59
What about a trombone (they'd have to transpose)? Could that work? The timbre is fairly similar but you might have to do some octave jumping.
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Author: Willie
Date: 2002-10-25 03:21
I agree with the flugel horn as its been done, only it was fitted with a "bucket" mute to sound more like a horn. Transposing may be easier if someone in your band has access to an Eb peckhorn. Again I would try a sft mute onit also.
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Author: anon
Date: 2002-10-26 17:25
I was in a quintet and we had to use a mellophone, and let me tell you....it worked out great. Better blend for some reason in some spots.
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Author: Jacy
Date: 2002-10-27 06:43
Thanks for the suggestions. Looks as if I'll have to go with the flugelhorn idea; I'm in Canada, we don't have marching band, so there's no way I'll be able to find a mellophone.
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