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Re: To Bb or not to Bb

Author: fskelley
Date: 2014-11-22 00:07

I really just wanted to say that pretty much anything played a half step differently on a clarinet pitched a half step differently, even if the same concert pitches, is not going to sound the same. Acoustic instruments are not that uniform note to note, and we actually like that- it's part of their charm and character. Yes we work very hard to minimize, but the slight variation that remains is a good thing.

Compare this to 2 singers who try to match pitch. If they actually did, it would sound like 1 voice twice the volume. The slight mismatch of pitch is what makes 2 better than 1. (Today we use digital delays and choruses for the same reason.)

So if you are choosing which pitch clarinet to use for a given piece, and in the absence of any guidance from the composer (or even with it), I think you have to at least ask the question whether how the important notes fall leans the choice one way or the other, independent of how easily each plays. Though in most cases I guess that easier playing probably means better sounding.

Stan in Orlando

EWI 4000S with modifications

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