Author: mrn
Date: 2009-09-24 14:04
sfalexi wrote:
> I wouldn't transpose it. Four sharps isn't too bad for
> clarinet and is something you should get used to and
> comfortable with if you intend on playing orchestral pieces,
> transcriptions of orchestral pieces, etc. I remember reading
> somewhere on this board that a lot of orchestral, operatic,
> etc. pieces are in concert D major. Something about it lying
> well with the stringed instruments and allowing more "open"
> strings to be played.
That's true, and on second thought, I have to agree with you about the educational benefit of not transposing. When I was in junior high school I played in my city's youth symphony. I didn't own an A clarinet, and by far the most common key I encountered was E Major (which would be concert D major). So I got used to playing in keys with lots of sharps really quickly. I was thankful for this experience when, as an adult, I was handed Copland's Hoedown (which is in this key and written for Bb clarinet) to read through and play on a concert the same morning. I did not have time (or staff paper) to write out a transposition and I must confess that I'm not that great at sight-transposition, so I played it as written. So there will always be times when you need to play in these rotten keys, even if you have an A clarinet at your disposal.
Practice your E Major scale and scale in thirds (out of Klose, Baermann III, Jettel, or whatever you use) and you'll get used to it pretty quick. I conquered my 7th grade fear of sharp keys in short order that way--in fact, I came to dislike flat keys instead.
With regard to the key of D Major, I think it is no accident that so many of the great violin concertos are written in this key: Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Stravinsky. The violin has a D string and an A string, which make D Major a particularly comfortable key to play in for violinists.
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