FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102  
103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   >>   >|  
G B-flat B-flat C B-flat E-flat F B-flat A-flat B-flat B-flat D-flat E-flat B-flat G-flat A-flat or A B-flat or A C-flat D-flat B-flat [Sidenote: REASONS FOR TRANSPOSING INSTRUMENTS] The principal reasons for the use of transposing instruments are: first, because certain sizes of instruments produce a better quality of tone than others (_e.g._, the B-flat clarinet sounds better than the C clarinet); and second, because it is easier to play in keys having a smaller number of sharps and flats, and by transposing the parts to other keys, we can usually get rid of several sharps or flats. In the case of performers on the clarinet, each player is necessarily provided with two instruments (an A and a B-flat--the C clarinet being almost obsolete, and the E-flat being used only in military bands); but in playing upon the brass wind instruments the same instrument may be tuned in various keys, either by means of a tuning slide or by inserting separate _shanks_ or _crooks_, these latter being merely additional lengths of tubing by the insertion of which the total length of the tube constituting the instrument may be increased, thus throwing its fundamental pitch into a lower key. In order to gain facility in dealing with transposed parts, the amateur is advised to try his hand at arranging simple music (hymn tunes, folk songs, easy piano pieces, _et cetera_) for his group of players, transposing the parts for clarinets, cornets, _et cetera_, into the appropriate keys. In this way he will also get an insight into the mysteries of instrumental combination that cannot be secured in any other way. [Sidenote: PITCH STANDARDS] The first difficulty that the conductor of an amateur ensemble group usually encounters is that the instruments owned by his players are tuned according to various pitch standards; and he is very likely to find at his first rehearsal that his first-clarinet player has an instrument tuned in "high pitch," _i.e._, what is commonly known as concert pitch (about one half step above standard), while his second-clarinet player has an instrument in "low pitch," _i.e._, international, a' having 435 vibrations per second. (There is also a third pitch which is used by many of the standard symphony orchestras--this pitch being based upon a vibration rate of 440 for
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102  
103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
clarinet
 

instruments

 

instrument

 

player

 

transposing

 
players
 
cetera
 

Sidenote

 
standard
 

amateur


sharps

 

mysteries

 
instrumental
 

insight

 
secured
 

combination

 
clarinets
 
pieces
 

cornets

 

simple


arranging

 

symphony

 

concert

 

international

 

vibrations

 

commonly

 

encounters

 

ensemble

 

conductor

 

STANDARDS


difficulty

 
standards
 

rehearsal

 

orchestras

 

vibration

 
performers
 

smaller

 
number
 

obsolete

 
military

necessarily
 

provided

 
easier
 
principal
 

reasons

 

INSTRUMENTS

 
TRANSPOSING
 

REASONS

 
sounds
 

produce