The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: cdgibbs
Date: 2019-10-17 08:18
Hello,
I have been curious about the extreme upper limit of several instruments' playing capabilities. Like clarinet, the "top" individual note of many instruments will come down to individual player ability à la altissimo. This is in contrast to "highest note most people can/should be able to play." The highest individual pitch I have heard is from a YouTube recording of a player squeaking out arpeggios and producing a concert Bb7 on a Bb clarinet and sustaining it barely long enough for it to be recognizable as an actual pitch. I would personally count this as "achieving a reference highest pitch on clarinet," but we would all agree this doesn't serve to inform the musical range or possibility of the instrument in any way. A squeak is a squeak, right?
To play higher notes on smaller instruments will be more difficult. So I cannot imagine an Ab or Eb clarinet having an easier time squeaking in the [concert] 7th octave if it it's barely acceptable for a Bb clarinet. Therefore, instead of trying to find the "world record clarinet note" (to dramatize), I was wondering: are there any pieces of repertoire that demonstrate a perceived highest note on Ab or Eb clarinets? (Obviously the latter is more commonplace than the former.)
For example, I've read that there is an Eb part in a musical theatre score [which I can't recall right now] that has a written high C, which would sound concert Eb7. I tracked down a recording and couldn't isolate the clarinet as it was in duet with piccolo if I remember correctly. A separate chamber trio piece had shown the Eb to play a little bit lower than this "goal" note of a top C. Can any of you refer me to a piece which shows off the highest capabilities of the Eb, or again maybe even the Ab? I know of a YouTube recording that shows concert C7 on an Ab, but I imagine the tiny devil can do a little bit more if anyone's ever bothered to record its squeaks.
I'd really appreciate any insight about this topic. Probably not super interesting or musically appealing, but a curiosity nonetheless. Thank you if you can help!
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Repertoire With High Squeals (Ab/Eb Clarinets) new |
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cdgibbs |
2019-10-17 08:18 |
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DougR |
2019-10-18 16:30 |
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