How To Play Ac On Clarinet

Snorlax
Registered Member

Date Joined Dec 1998
Total Posts : 500

Posted 7/13/2007 7:39 AM (GMT -6)

Clif said...
I should have added that I don't actually have a C clarinet yet...I am in the debate mode between a Bb clarinet and one that plays in concert key.

Where ever are you going to get a clarinet in C? If you harbor any desire to play in an ensemble, you will have to learn to transpose because no clarinet part will be in C. My advice is to get a Bb instrument and a method book for Bb clarinet, and then just learn to read concert pitch. A C clarinet is a useless instrument except to a player in an orchestra in some cases. Are you a beginner? Perhaps there's some fact I'm missing in your decision.

Is it one of those eBay horns?

Do we have all the info?

Jim

Jim Williams-- Indianapolis Brass Choir

N9EJR

WinFin 2006B, TGTools , P-IV portables, XP Pro, 2gB RAM, 60 gB HDD, GPO full & JABB, Echo Indigo I/O, Willson 2905 & Yamaha 321 euphoniums, Guinness, briefs. Hear snippets from a live performance at http://www.northernsounds.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33948

Snorlax
Registered Member

Date Joined Dec 1998
Total Posts : 500

Posted 7/25/2007 11:23 AM (GMT -6)

Clif said...
Are you saying that the fingering is different on a C clarinet???
That is not my understanding.

I think it is probably the same except when you play Eb you actually get Eb which would agree with my chromatic tuner, violin, and piano.

Look at on-line music stores...the C Clarinet is NOT obsolete.
If I were in a marching band, I think I would be forced to use a Bb clarinet.

The fingering is not different.

Your statement about Eb is correct.

The C clarinet is not usable in any group outside your living room. It is obsolete, as is the C-melody saxophone. Remember that stores are in the business of selling instruments.

There are a bunch of C tenorhorns and euphoniums available in addition to the standard Bb ones.

"Available" does not equal "good" or "useful."

Finally, you will be closing yourself out of a lot of fine music if you buy this thing in C.

Do you have a huge library of violin music? You will certainly find NO published music for C clarinet. You'll have to read flute music--too high--or violin--probably also too high. There are 50 zillion pieces available for the Bb instrument.

So...if you have an unlimited supply of playable (mid-register) violin music and never plan to leave your livingroom, join a band, or sell the instrument, enjoy the C clarinet.

My final advice would be to get a Bb clarinet, buy music for Bb clarinet, learn to read concert-pitch music on the Bb clarinet so you can use your violin music, and look for a NEW HORIZONS band in your area. These bands are composed of older beginners or returnees...you'll love it.

Jim

Jim Williams-- Indianapolis Brass Choir

N9EJR

Snorlax
Registered Member

Date Joined Dec 1998
Total Posts : 500

Posted 7/25/2007 12:10 PM (GMT -6)

derf said...

Clif said...
This will be my adult hobby. I will not be playing in any group or band.

Unless you plan to play with SmartMusic! Really, the ensemble titles are a fun way to learn. As Snorlax was saying, violin and flute music aren't really likely to be ideal for clarinet (even one in C). The range is going to go too high, and it will never use the lowest notes. The key signatures are also not likely to favor the clarinet. Also, music that is written for clarinet, especially for beginner or intermediate levels, is written to be manageable. Some technical things you come across in flute and violin music just won't be designed to finger well on a clarinet.

When you have to get work done on the clarinet, you might run into some trouble finding parts for a C clarinet. Does anyone know if he'd actually be able to use Bb clarinet reeds on a C clarinet? If not, finding reeds could be a big nuisance.

Wow...good call, derf!! Being a brass player, I never even considered that one!!

Snor

Jim Williams-- Indianapolis Brass Choir

N9EJR

Clif
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2005
Total Posts : 24

Posted 7/25/2007 12:34 PM (GMT -6)

I see advantages of the Bb clarinet over the C for me:

1. cheaper (the Forte C is about $800 and the Forte Bb is about $400)

2. I can play with my grandson who plays clarinet in a middle school.

3. SmartMusic has Bb as an instrument

Otherwise:

1. C is smaller and probably easier for me to play

2. I have never seen a church hymnal written in Bb.

3. I could play with my wife (fat chance...she had been playing the piano for about three years...but said she gets nervous trying to play with someone else so she will not play in recitals). Plus she can't stand for me to play the violin or clarinet in the basement "too loud."

4. I never want to play in a group.

5. I wouldn't have to transpose.

Here is a question I wish someone would answer:

Suppose I buy a Bb clarinet....what is to stop me from playing Concert music WITHOUT transposing. Playing by myself, who is going to tell on me?

If I play some of of Wohlfahrt's Sixty Studies (etudes) for the Violin...would the Clarinet and Violin angels strike me dead?

I would appreciate comments on this and I appreciate everyone's opinions.

Motet
Isorhythmic

Date Joined Dec 2002
Total Posts : 12849

Posted 7/25/2007 1:19 PM (GMT -6)

My point about the fingering was that when the clarinettist sees a C in a part written for their instrument, they finger it the same no matter which instrument they're playing. On a Bb clarinet the actual pitch is concert Bb; on an A clarinet the actual pitch is concert A. The advantage of this--and indeed the reason for the existence of two kinds of clarinets--is that if the piece itself is in the key of A, the A clarinet part will be in the key of C, which is an easy key to play in. Likewise, if the piece is in Bb, the composer/arranger can write the part for Bb clarinet and the clarinettist would see the music in C.

The C clarinet used to be a third choice in the mix, but acoustically it was hard to make a C instrument that played in tune, and symphony players eventually abandoned them, playing the part on A or Bb clarinet as appropriate and either rewriting the part or transposing it at sight. That players are willing to go to these lengths should tell you something about the desirability of a C clarinet. They probably still exist for sale in the band music world because there's old music written for them, and transposing at sight is difficult.

If what your music teacher friend said was true--that pitching the clarinet in Bb was just an historical annoyance--and you somehow talked everyone into reading concert pitch, clarinet players would have to learn an entirely different set of fingerings for each instrument. So I think the teacher is misinformed.

If you're never going to play with anyone, then there's no reason to worry about what key the clarinet is in. You can play from the hymnal or the violin etudes on a Bb clarinet and it won't matter that it's a step lower than actual pitch. If you do play with a group, you can get an arrangement for Bb clarinet. The situation where a C clarinet would be handy would be if you were playing with someone else and reading non-clarinet music (common), or reading old C clarinet music (uncommon).

(Finale 2005b on Windows XP)

derf
Registered Member

Date Joined Jan 2007
Total Posts : 38

Posted 7/25/2007 2:23 PM (GMT -6)

Clif said...

Here is a question I wish someone would answer:

Suppose I buy a Bb clarinet....what is to stop me from playing Concert music WITHOUT transposing. Playing by myself, who is going to tell on me?

If I play some of of Wohlfahrt's Sixty Studies (etudes) for the Violin...would the Clarinet and Violin angels strike me dead?

There's no problem with playing the music without transposing. People do this all the time. The relationship (interval) between the notes is consistent, regardless of what key your instrument puts it in, so it just works.

And while there doesn't seem to be much information available about the musical preferences of angels, to my knowledge no one has been struck dead yet for playing violin music on a clarinet. I'd be more afraid if I played drums or electric guitar.

Snorlax
Registered Member

Date Joined Dec 1998
Total Posts : 500

Posted 7/25/2007 6:45 PM (GMT -6)

Clif said...
What would this sound like...if I play using Bb instrument and someone else plays using a C insrument (piano, violin, flute) and we play together without transposing.

I notice in piano and glockenspiel there tends to be a below note always below the main note...maybe two notes apart.

You will be playing in two keys one step apart. Pianos and glocks can play more than one note at a time. That's what you're seeing most likely.

Are you the Clif that posts to the Band-in-a-Box group? Not many "one-f" Clifs.

lol

I'm tellin' ya...playing at pitch on a Bb instrument is not that hard.

I'm one of the dumbest people I know, and I have learnt to read:

C treble

Bb treble

Eb treble

F treble

Bass Clef

Tenor Clef

(I am a euphonium player--I happen to like alto sax music & I play french horn parts in my brass quintet. Much euph music is british & written in Bb treble. For the church jobs, C treble is a must.)

Jim Williams-- Indianapolis Brass Choir

N9EJR

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