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Re: wind instrument transposition (was Good work, Keith!)
From: |
Neil Thornock |
Subject: |
Re: wind instrument transposition (was Good work, Keith!) |
Date: |
Wed, 5 Oct 2011 10:25:30 -0600 |
> I've been a pianist for 45 years and a clarinetist for 40, so I am
> comfortably aware of transposition issues, but what you're saying
> doesn't explain the issues I pointed out. If a piece is in concert D
> and I am asked to play it on my Bb clarinet, my music should have a key
> signature of E. If I am asked to shift to an A clarinet, the key
> signature of the music should shift to F. That rule has not been
> followed in the Dvorak.
>
That "rule" has never held for horns. Even composers as recent as
Ravel never used key signatures in a horn part; I have never seen one,
in my time teaching orchestration. It's simply one of the
idiosyncrasies of orchestration.
I have Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky open right now: G# minor
key signature, but the Horns in F have none; they get accidentals
strewn all over the place. Same in Debussy. Same for all composers
everywhere all the time.
I think it's mostly a matter of tradition. A long, long time ago,
neither key signatures nor accidentals would have been necessary; it
would all have been diatonic, with horns crooked (transposed) to the
right key. And some lazy horn player probably protested if they ever
got one :)
--
Neil Thornock, D.M.
No Stopping, Standing, or Parking:
http://neilthornock.net/mp3s/nostopping.mp3
Assistant Professor of Music
Composition/Theory
Brigham Young University