Brilliant video.I was wondering if you could at some point , talk about the differences between key systems(Bohem, Oehler, Albert) .I mean it terms of tone characteristics , intonation, ease of use, and maybe use in literature , etc (in case these differences are significant).And since you seem very well informed on clarinets maybe just a history lesson about those systems ; ) Thanks again for the great content
My teacher use to make me practice transposing C clarinet parts onto my Bb and A. A lot of Mozart C clarinet parts work well on the A clarinet. If the whole concert was for Bb clarinet and just one Mozart overture then he'd play on the Bb.
I recently bought a beautiful Boosey and Hawkes Emperor professional standard. A clarinet. It came in a double case with space for a B Flat, so I put my Buffet Pre R13 in. They make a wonderful pairing. I love the A clarinet though. That deep rich tone. ☺️
Some pieces scored for Bb clarinet are much easier when played on the A, two examples off the top of my head being the Intermezzo from Kodaly's 'Hary Janos' suite and the 2nd movement of Dvorak's 9th Symphony. In the Intermezzo from Hary Janos suite, playing in F melodic minor is dead easy on an A clarinet the solo in the middle section (where it goes to Concert D Major) will be in the far more friendly key of F Major, especially with all the ornaments compared to playing it in E Major. There's hardly time to change between Bb and A (even though that movement's all written for Bb), so do the lot on A instead. In the 2nd movement of Dvorak's 9th, you only have to change the key signature from the Eb to E where it's written for Bb (the sections just after the opening seven chords and the end of the movement are in Concert Db Major) and play everything on an A - the middle section in C# minor is played as is on A clarinet. You're using the A clarinet in every other movement anyway and it's much easier to keep the one instrument warm and up to playing pitch if you're performing it in a freezing cold hall or church and you're not faffing around changing instruments when you don't need to and less risk of the reed slipping if you're playing clarinets where you change just the mouthpiece instead of a set of clarinets where both the mouthpiece and barrel can be used on both Bb and A. Don't let anyone call you a cheat for using 'the wrong clarinet' if it makes your life easier - it's not cheating, it's being resourceful. As an example, the concert key of the Hornpipe section of Henry Wood's 'Fantasia on British Sea Songs' is in Concert A and the clarinet part for that is scored for Bb clarinet. Would you rather play it in the written key of B Major on a Bb clarinet because that's what's been printed and you daren't question anything and like to suffer for your art, or make life loads easier for yourself and play that same movement in the dead easy key of C Major on an A clarinet without even batting an eyelid? I know what I'd do as do many others besides. And if you don't have an A clarinet, chances are someone somewhere can always lend you one. And while Richard Strauss wrote 'Till Eulenspiegel' for D clarinet, it's much easier when played on the more readily available Eb clarinet. Remind me how many clarinettists you know in your area even possess a D clarinet - I can guess that would be a big fat O, unless you happen to live in an affluent area with several big time clarinettists all playing full-time in the several big name symphony orchestras which again is very likely a big fat O.
I'm curious about whether there's a connection between the A clarinet and its range going one semitone lower than the B-flat's range and the low E-flat key that alto and bass clarinets have. I know that there are many bass clarinets available now with a range down to written C, and that a lot of contemporary composers utilize that extended range (much to my chagrin back in high school, using the school's old horn that only went down to low E-flat), but that's a relatively new thing in the history of the clarinet family.
So the answer here is both yes and no. With the Bass Clarinet, there existed two sizes. One in Bb and the other in A, however, unlike the soprano clarinets, the A Bass was never used in major solo works to preserve its state. It did feature prominently in the works of Wagner and Mahler and because of that, Bb Basses were extended half a step to Eb. This extension also served to fix some major intonation issues with the long B, and its this reason that the note was added to the Alto Clarinet.
Hello Bret, I have a question. Since the clarinet's lower octave is the fundemental octave, rather than the octave where you're pressing the register key, does that mean that the Bb soprano clarinet is technically in Eb, and the A soprano clarinet is in D, since that is the scale which you can pick up your fingers without cross-fingering (without pressing the register key)? Like how the bassoon and contrabassoon read in bass clef C but the scales without cross-fingering are in F, and the tenoroon in G is technically in C? I've always wondered, because the oboe, and English horn read in C and F respectively, and the flute and piccolo read in C, which are their scales without cross-fingering. I know that the key of a brass instrument is determined by the harmonic series without pressing any valves, like how the Bb trumpet has a series of (Pedal C: C, G, C, E, G, Bb, C, D, and so on), but is there something that determines the key of a woodwind instrument, or is it arbitrary? Thank you.
Clarinets are weird in that regard in that they are named based on their overblown register, which is literally called the clarino (or clarion). It's this register that distinguished the clarinet from its earlier predecessors like the chalumeau.
Please someone help me, I have been trying to find information about the pricing of A clarinets, but have found nothing. Does anyone know how much they cost?
Brilliant video.I was wondering if you could at some point , talk about the differences between key systems(Bohem, Oehler, Albert) .I mean it terms of tone characteristics , intonation, ease of use, and maybe use in literature , etc (in case these differences are significant).And since you seem very well informed on clarinets maybe just a history lesson about those systems ; )
Thanks again for the great content
That would be an interesting one to tackle. If there's enough interest, I'll take a look at it.
I love the A clarinet. My sister and BFF have an A clarinet. Wonderful to play.
My teacher use to make me practice transposing C clarinet parts onto my Bb and A. A lot of Mozart C clarinet parts work well on the A clarinet. If the whole concert was for Bb clarinet and just one Mozart overture then he'd play on the Bb.
Good explanation for why some clarinettists carry multiple instruments in their cases.
I recently bought a beautiful Boosey and Hawkes Emperor professional standard. A clarinet.
It came in a double case with space for a B Flat, so I put my Buffet Pre R13 in.
They make a wonderful pairing.
I love the A clarinet though.
That deep rich tone. ☺️
Some pieces scored for Bb clarinet are much easier when played on the A, two examples off the top of my head being the Intermezzo from Kodaly's 'Hary Janos' suite and the 2nd movement of Dvorak's 9th Symphony.
In the Intermezzo from Hary Janos suite, playing in F melodic minor is dead easy on an A clarinet the solo in the middle section (where it goes to Concert D Major) will be in the far more friendly key of F Major, especially with all the ornaments compared to playing it in E Major. There's hardly time to change between Bb and A (even though that movement's all written for Bb), so do the lot on A instead.
In the 2nd movement of Dvorak's 9th, you only have to change the key signature from the Eb to E where it's written for Bb (the sections just after the opening seven chords and the end of the movement are in Concert Db Major) and play everything on an A - the middle section in C# minor is played as is on A clarinet. You're using the A clarinet in every other movement anyway and it's much easier to keep the one instrument warm and up to playing pitch if you're performing it in a freezing cold hall or church and you're not faffing around changing instruments when you don't need to and less risk of the reed slipping if you're playing clarinets where you change just the mouthpiece instead of a set of clarinets where both the mouthpiece and barrel can be used on both Bb and A.
Don't let anyone call you a cheat for using 'the wrong clarinet' if it makes your life easier - it's not cheating, it's being resourceful. As an example, the concert key of the Hornpipe section of Henry Wood's 'Fantasia on British Sea Songs' is in Concert A and the clarinet part for that is scored for Bb clarinet. Would you rather play it in the written key of B Major on a Bb clarinet because that's what's been printed and you daren't question anything and like to suffer for your art, or make life loads easier for yourself and play that same movement in the dead easy key of C Major on an A clarinet without even batting an eyelid? I know what I'd do as do many others besides. And if you don't have an A clarinet, chances are someone somewhere can always lend you one.
And while Richard Strauss wrote 'Till Eulenspiegel' for D clarinet, it's much easier when played on the more readily available Eb clarinet. Remind me how many clarinettists you know in your area even possess a D clarinet - I can guess that would be a big fat O, unless you happen to live in an affluent area with several big time clarinettists all playing full-time in the several big name symphony orchestras which again is very likely a big fat O.
its really unique cause its one of the only instrument in the key of A!
There is another instrument in the key of A, the oboe d'amore.
Just to fuck with people, I tell them I play an A# clarinet
Based!
I'm curious about whether there's a connection between the A clarinet and its range going one semitone lower than the B-flat's range and the low E-flat key that alto and bass clarinets have. I know that there are many bass clarinets available now with a range down to written C, and that a lot of contemporary composers utilize that extended range (much to my chagrin back in high school, using the school's old horn that only went down to low E-flat), but that's a relatively new thing in the history of the clarinet family.
So the answer here is both yes and no. With the Bass Clarinet, there existed two sizes. One in Bb and the other in A, however, unlike the soprano clarinets, the A Bass was never used in major solo works to preserve its state. It did feature prominently in the works of Wagner and Mahler and because of that, Bb Basses were extended half a step to Eb. This extension also served to fix some major intonation issues with the long B, and its this reason that the note was added to the Alto Clarinet.
@@BretNewtonComposer Oh wow, I had no knowledge of the A bass clarinet! That makes sense. Thanks for the answer!
Hello Bret, I have a question. Since the clarinet's lower octave is the fundemental octave, rather than the octave where you're pressing the register key, does that mean that the Bb soprano clarinet is technically in Eb, and the A soprano clarinet is in D, since that is the scale which you can pick up your fingers without cross-fingering (without pressing the register key)? Like how the bassoon and contrabassoon read in bass clef C but the scales without cross-fingering are in F, and the tenoroon in G is technically in C? I've always wondered, because the oboe, and English horn read in C and F respectively, and the flute and piccolo read in C, which are their scales without cross-fingering. I know that the key of a brass instrument is determined by the harmonic series without pressing any valves, like how the Bb trumpet has a series of (Pedal C: C, G, C, E, G, Bb, C, D, and so on), but is there something that determines the key of a woodwind instrument, or is it arbitrary? Thank you.
Clarinets are weird in that regard in that they are named based on their overblown register, which is literally called the clarino (or clarion). It's this register that distinguished the clarinet from its earlier predecessors like the chalumeau.
C clarinet: Bee
Bb clarinet: Wasp
A clarinet: Hornet
C clarinet could be a bumblebee, D a carpenter, and E flat a bumblebee
@@LordFloofTM eb honey bee you mean
Talking about the break, I almost broke a clarinet.
Based
Please someone help me, I have been trying to find information about the pricing of A clarinets, but have found nothing. Does anyone know how much they cost?
www.wwbw.com/A-Clarinets.wwbw
What do I think about the A clarinet? It is too expensive for my budget!!!
The clarinet has a octave