Acknowledgments
I am very grateful for help on this project from many individuals along the way - however, I also disassociate them from any shortcomings to be found in this material; these are mine alone. Many thanks to Robert Erickson, Bertram Turetzky, and an extraordinary clarinetist, William Powell. Their ideas have been invaluable to my thinking from the beginning of my serious interest with extended techniques in 1980. The first edition of The Clarinet of the Twenty-First Century was also made possible by a grant from the Camargo Foundation for a residency in Cassis , France , and a Margaret Bundy Scott Fellowship from Hamilton College . I appreciate greatly the encouragement to pursue this project from Michael Pretina (Director, Camargo Foundation) and Eugene Tobin (Dean of the Faculty, Hamilton College ).
Work on this second edition, which also updates The Bass Clarinet of the Twenty-First Century (1996), and The E-flat Clarinet of the Twenty-First Century (2000) has been generously supported by a UMBC DRIF grant (2002-3). I owe a debt of gratitude to a number of people at UMBC -Linda Dusman, Chair of the Music Department, for selflessly giving her time and advice to help me clarify the format of this project; students Brandon Eckstorm and Brant King for patiently and expertly recording the audio files; Recording Staff members Mike Cerri and Billy Kemp for surround-sound and software advice; William Shewbridge , Director of the New Media Studio, for advice, and Production Specialists Aaron Weidele , Damion Wilson , and Renee Shaw for video recording and editing, and overall programming work on the DVD.
The material in this DVD and accompanying website is intended primarily to provide the imaginative performer and composer with points for departure. Even though the results of more than twenty years of research have been tested for reliability by my students and many clarinetist colleagues, the refinement and musical utilization by composers in their music of the future is, ultimately, the most valued judgment.
Finally, I am appreciative for the continuous support of my duo partner, pianist, and wife, Kazuko Tanosaki. Whether it was constructive, blunt criticism (most often), or gentle encouragement, she deserves a medal for patience (once again!) through some very busy times.
NOTES
1 -Brad Dow, "On Improvisation: KIVA," Ex Tempore , 3, No. 2 (Fall/Winter 1985-6), 6.
2 -Jack Brymer, Clarin et (New York: Schirmer Books, 1976), 150.
3 -Reginald Smith Brindle, The New Music: The Avant-garde since 1945 (London: Oxford University Press, 1975), 156.
4 -see Nora Post, "The Development of Contemporary Oboe Technique," Diss. New York University 1979.
5 -see Post, and Edwin Roxburgh, "Contemporary Oboe Technique," The Composer , 76-7 (Summer/Winter 1982), 13-6. This problem of wide dissemination of musical information is inexcusable in today's computer age, yet understandable because of the vast quantities of information (musical compositions) in existence.
6 -Siegfried Palm, "Notation for String Instruments," Translated by Vernon Martin, The Composer , 3, No. 1 (Fall 1971), 65.
7 -Roxburgh, "Contemporary Oboe Technique."
8 -Interview of Robert Erickson ( 7/24/78 ) by Nora Post, "The Development of Contemporary Oboe Technique," 146.
9 -Max Graf, Composer and Critic (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1946), 155.
10 -Karen Jensen, "Extensions of Mind and Voice," The Composer, 66 (Spring 1979), 13-4.
11 -Interview of Chou Wen-Chung (New York, NY, March 17, 1978) by Nora Post, "The Development of Contemporary Oboe Technique," 26.
12 -Bruno Bartolozzi, New Sounds for Woodwind , Translated from the Italian by Reginald Smith Brindle (London: Oxford University Press, 1967; reprinted 1969), 78 pages; also, clarinetist Giuseppe Garbarino, Metodo per Clarinetto (Milano: Ediziono Suvini Zerboni, 1973). It should be mentioned that American clarinetist William O. Smith was also influenced by Bartolozzi's work, since he was in Italy in the early 60's when much of the experimentation took place. However, most clarinetists find Smith's techniques difficult to reproduce, probably because of Smith's unique training. As a jazz player, he tends to have a set of peculiar characteristics including more throat and embouchure control than most clarinetists who are trained only in the classical tradition.
13 -Post, "The Development of Contemporary Oboe Technique," 8.
14 -Phillip Rehfeldt, New Directions for Clarinet (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977).
15 -Thomas Ridenour, The Annotated Book of Altissimo Clarinet Fingerings (Orlando: Tom's Clarinet Service, 1986).
16 -Paul Drushler, The Altissimo Register for Clarinet (Rochester, NY: Shall-u-mo, 1979).
17 -E. Michael Richards, "Microtonal Systems for Clarinet: A Manual for Composers and Performers," Diss. University of California , San Diego 1984.
18 -Rochester , NY : Shall-u-mo, 1981.
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PRELUDE
A Theory of Finger Technique
Questions of technical difficulty and practicality for the clarinetist have necessitated the application of a theory of finger technique; this theory is derived from several sources, who include teachers and performers of clarinet and other woodwind instruments. 1 Only fingerings that are the simplest and closest to conventional fingerings are included in this study. Adjacent notes in a microtonal scale are chosen not only according to pitch, but according to several other basic guidelines. Adherence to these guidelines by the performer (and composer) is of utmost importance to insure the greatest ease in production of a smooth legato, and therefore, technical facility in rapid passages.
1) minimum motion -
The smallest number of fingers move from note to note. It is easier to coordinate moving fingers on one hand than fingers from both hands. According to George Townsend, "It is reasonable to assume that the less distance a finger or group of fingers must move, the more reliably themotion can be controlled." 2 It also appears that if one has a choice between alternate fingerings, a smoother legato can be achieved if the same hand moves as moves in fingerings of previous pitches (Example #1)
Example #1
In this descending scale, the C is easier if fingered on the right, since the right hand has been in motion since the G.
2) avoidance of contrary motion, where possible -
It is more difficult to coordinate simultaneous movements of lowered and raised fingers than only one of these motions (Example #2).
Example #2 (click on music for mp3)
D-quarter-tone-sharp is easier to connect to D-sharp than to C-three-quarter-tone-sharp, because only raised finger motion is employed.
3) correspondence of air pressure and embouchure position -
(altissimo register) - Adjacent pitches that are fingered on the same partial of their respective harmonic series are easier to connect in a legato fashion. The conventional fingerings for D and E-flat are both on the fifth partial of their respective harmonic series (Example #3).
Example #3 (click on music for mp3)
It is also easier to smoothly connect these two pitches if they are both produced on third partials (Example #4).
Example #4 (click on music for mp3)
However, the vast fingering difference, as well as necessary changes in air pressure and embouchure position, make the following fingering progression more difficult (Example #5).
Example #5 (click on music for mp3)
4) correspondence of twelfths - (chalumeau to clarion register)
Use the same fingering, where possible, to make the system easier to learn (Example #6). In this example, the clarinetist need only depress the register key (R) to produce the twelfth above D-three-quarter-tone-sharp.
Example #6 (click on music for mp3)
NOTES:
1 -These teachers and performers include William Powell, John Krell, Leon Russianoff, and George Townsend.
2 -George Townsend, "Logic and Psychology of Clarinet Fingering Choices," Woodwind World , 19, No. 2 (March-April, 1980), 4-5.