Author: ebonite
Date: 2021-01-17 14:58
SunnyDaze wrote:
> I wondered if could add in a small question on the same
> subject?
>
> If a person is trying to head towards grade 8 on the clarinet,
> it is easier to play the advanced pieces if there is the option
> of an A clarinet? I just wondered if I should start saving now?
> I'm only on grade 4 at the moment.
The short answer is that you don't need an A clarinet to do grade 8. The long answer is that it might be desirable to have one, depending on which pieces you choose.
Here's the Associated Board syllabus:
https://gb.abrsm.org/en/our-exams/woodwind-exams/clarinet-exams/clarinet-grade-8/
You will see that you can easily choose the whole programme using only pieces originally written for Bb clarinet. There are also some pieces that were originally written for A clarinet, but you can choose to play a Bb version.
In most cases, where a piece has been originally written for the A clarinet, the Bb arrangement involves the publisher transposing the piano part up a semitone, so that the clarinet solo part is in the same written key (the whole piece would sound a semitone higher in the Bb version to somebody with absolute pitch). In terms of fingerings, the experience of playing the piece will be the same whether you choose the Bb or A version, as the written key will be the same. The only difference will be the feel (slightly longer finger stretches for the A clarinet), and different pitch (for people with absolute pitch). Some people also claim that the A clarinet sounds "darker".
However, in some rare cases, the publisher makes the Bb version by keeping the piano part the same, and transposing the *clarinet* part down a semitone (to somebody with absolute pitch, the whole piece sounds in the same key, whether played on the A or Bb clarinet, but the written key for the clarinettist is different in the two versions). The Schumann Fantasiestuecke is one of these: it was originally written for clarinet in A, but the Peters edition includes one single piano part, and two different solo parts, one for clarinet in A and the other for clarinet in Bb. This means that Bb and A clarinet versions are in different written keys. For the Associated board grade 8, you can choose to do movements 2 and 3 of the Fantasiestuecke as one of the items in List A. If you choose this, you would be better off having an A clarinet. Movements 2 and 3 are in the written key of C major for the A clarinet, but B major for the Bb clarinet. Movement 3 in particular would be quite a lot more awkward in terms of fingering. Also, my subjective impression is that the clarinet sounds a bit more resonant when played in natural keys than in keys with lots of sharps and flats, even using modern instruments.
In the Trinity syllabus, grade 8 includes the option to play one of the outer movements of the Mozart concerto, which was also originally written for an instrument in A. Again, you can choose to play it on the Bb or A clarinet, but in this case, both Bb and A clarinet versions are in the written key of C major, and it is only the piano part that differs (the Bb version is in Bb major concert pitch, and the A version is in A major concert pitch).
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The Clarinet BBoard
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