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 Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: clarinetdaddy 
Date:   2009-01-24 14:14

Hello All, I know that I should know this but I am a confused player when it comes to going from Bass clef parts and playing this on the Bass clarinet. The piece is written for Bb Bass clarinet but is written in Bass clef. The piece is "Tod und Verklarung" by Richard Strauss, Op. 24. When I see my first note, The note is D in Bass clef, middle line. What octave is my D on the Bass clarinet?
Thank you

clarinetdaddy
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing".

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: Grabnerwg 
Date:   2009-01-24 14:25

In bass clef, the bass clarinet notation is one step higher than actual pitch. If you are playing a low Eb bass clarinet, your lowest written note is the Eb one ledger line below the staff.

Your D on the middle line corresponds to the D you normally see on the space below first line on the treble clef.

Clarion and altissimo notes can get tricky, depending on the composer.

Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
Follow clarinetxpress events on http://twitter.com/waltergrabner

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: Ed Palanker 
Date:   2009-01-24 14:38

Of course Walter is correct. Remember, everything simply sounds one octave lower than on the clarinet. If you have a bass that goes to low C then in the bass clef that would be the C below the bass clef. Your low G would be the first line in the bass clef.
Just to confuse you a little more since your playing the Strauss, when it goes into the treble clef you will need to play it one octave higher so that it sounds in the octave your looking at. That's referred to as the German way of notation, the other, all in treble clef always sounding one octave lower than written, is referred to as the French way. Some composers never understood that and got them mixed up but Strauss always got it correct. ESP
www.peabody.jhu.edu/457

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: clarinetdaddy 
Date:   2009-01-24 16:03

Thank you both. That helped a lot.

clarinetdaddy
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing".

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: Chris P 
Date:   2009-01-24 16:18

Some more on the 'Tod und Verklaerung' bass clarinet part here:

http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=263574&t=49170

http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=270169&t=270167

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010

The opinions I express are my own.

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: Ken Shaw 2017
Date:   2009-01-25 03:07

So Ed --

Do you just read off the bass clef parts and the bass in A parts when you play them in the Baltimore SO, or have you gotten transposed parts?

Ron Reuben said he got to know the standard bass in A parts so well that when he tried a genuine bass in A he got confused.

Ken Shaw

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: Ed Palanker 
Date:   2009-01-25 14:35

Hi Ken, yes, I learned to transpose all the bass clarinet parts in both clefs. I do have a few transposed parts that people have given me over the years but have not used them because I learned them the way I did. Michael Drapkin is now working on a book that will have a great many of the standard and difficult bass clarinet parts in A transposed to Bb and all will be in the treble clef. Even though I still read off of the original parts I'm going to welcome having some of those transposed and will probably use some of them that are more complicated to read. ESP

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: Ebclarinet1 
Date:   2009-01-25 15:59

Ed,

Do you know which parts are being included in the Drapkin book? La Valse alone would be worth the price! I have a hand-written one that is almost as bad as sight transposing!

Have a couple of the D parts transposed for Eb but i finally was able to give up my hand-transposed part of Till from 1973 when the Hadcock book arrived. Had even loaned it out a few times!

Eefer guy

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: kdk 2017
Date:   2009-01-25 16:06

La Valse is one of the parts he's planning to include.

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: Lynn 
Date:   2009-01-25 16:40

Kevin,

Michael Drapkin is a personal friend of mine, and we play together weekly in the Austin Symphonic Band. He tells me that Volume Four is coming along nicely and that it should be finished soon. Ed Palanker is also on Michael's advisory board, so he may have a complete table of contents for the new volume.

On another note it has been very nice having Michael in our ensemble to serve as my cheerleader as I made the transition from soprano to bass clarinet a year ago. (Michael plays Eb and Bb soprano in the band) He is very knowledgeable of all-things-clarinet, and I've relied on his advice concerning the "Clarone."

Lynn
Austin, TX

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: Jack Kissinger 
Date:   2009-01-25 17:42

Eefer guy,

Try this:

http://www.orchestralibrary.com/specialparts.html

Best regards,
jnk

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: Chris P 
Date:   2009-01-25 18:03

I downloaded the 'Till Eulenspiegel' Eb part from that site several years back but found a couple of grace notes need correcting. You'll see where they are.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010

The opinions I express are my own.

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: Ebclarinet1 
Date:   2009-01-25 18:20

Jack,

Thanks! Those are cleaner than my hand done parts!

Eefer guy

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: LarryBocaner 2017
Date:   2009-01-25 18:57

The downloadable "Va Valse" referenced above is great -- even corrects some of the wrong notes in the original published non-transposed part!

However, it is not mistake-free.

If you download it, you might want to make these corrections:

#22 to #25 -- correct key signature should be 2 sharps.
Two bars before #23 -- should be c-natural.
Fifth bar of #59 -- dynamic is piano-crescendo.
Two bars before #90 -- third note should be g#.

When I got to perform this piece a couple of years ago I discovered that my ancient handwritten part had disappeared (must have loaned it to a student). The web-available part was a lifesaver -- this is one piece that you don't want to have to transpose!



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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: Ed Palanker 
Date:   2009-01-25 20:13

Below is the proposed list of music Michael is including in his new book. Please remember that this is not the final or complete list. It's possible something will be eliminated or added by the time he's finished with the project. There are several professional players helping him with suggestions and he's trying to get all the parts play tested on the job when possible. If you have any suggestion please e-mail them to me and I'll pass them on but I'd rather not have that done on this clarinet bboard. Keep in mind that his book can't be to large so we choose the pieces we all thought were the most important. ESP

1. Mahler Symphony No. 4
2. Mahler Symphony No. 6
3. Mahler Symphony No. 7
4. Mahler Symphony No. 8
5. Mussorgsky Picture at an Exhibition (3, 4, 6)
6. Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances
7. Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2
8. Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 3
9. Ravel Concerto for the Left Hand
10. Ravel La Valse
11. Resphigi Pines of Rome?
12. Schoenberg Gurre Lieder
13 Schoenberg,Pelleas and Melisande
14. Tchaikowsky Nutcracker Ballet, Act II Scenes 10, 11,12F
Mother Gigogne and the Clowns, 14 Pas de
deux Var 1 Tarantella, Coda
15. Wagner Prelude to Act I - Lohengrin
16. Wagner Prelude to Act III - Lohengrin
17. Wagner Prelude and Liebestode - Tristan
18. Wagner Ride of the Walkures (Prelude to Act III)

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 Re: Bass Clarinet in Bass Clef?
Author: Ebclarinet1 
Date:   2009-01-25 20:46

Ed,

Looks great! Can't wait to have it in my hands! Had just done "Pictures" and "Nutcracker" this spring. My first problem with the "Pictures" partwas trying to take out the marks from the person who had it ahead of me. What a mess. I just sat down with a soft eraser until it was clean and then transposed. sad to get a part so marked you can't read the music!!

Eefer guy

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