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Re: Which key is my clarinet in?

Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-08-20 13:43

These clarinets were standard issue with all military bands in the UK and British Empire back in the time when there were various different pitches - sharp pitch or high pitch ('HP') was used with marching bands as it sounds much brighter in both pitch and timbre than low pitch ('LP').

If you listen to military band players they do tend to go for a bright sound that cuts through as opposed to orchestral players whose sound has much more tonal depth and blends with the others around them.

This is the kind of sound Kenneth Alford would have had in mind when writing his marches - the solo and 1st clarinets playing their obbligato parts in unison (usually up in the stratosphere as the clarinets are taking on the role as violins) along with the piccolos cuts right through the rest of the band, and with the brightness of the cornets they will have to top that to cut through.

I don't think these old Boosey&Co. or Hawkes&Son clarinets were marked 'HP' or 'LP' - the ones I've seen had no markings at all so it's a gamble if you're going to buy one as you won't be able to tell (without a modern clarinet as a referrence) what pitch it could be.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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