CHAPTER 3 - Multiple Sounds

Diads

Another category of multiple sounds that has received innovative treatment in several works is diads. These sonorities are generally only possible at very soft dynamic levels, and tend to have very dull, pale timbres. The interval between top and bottom pitches is generally either a major or minor tenth. Many of them are undertones, with top pitches commonly between G-sharp4 and C5.

Isolated diads are adopted in Matsuo's Hirai III (1987), a concerto for clarinet and strings. They are blended in a marvelous texture of string harmonics (Example #13).

Example #13

Other conventional fingerings in the clarion and altissimo registers of the clarinet are available for producing marvelous dynamic and timbre contrasts with the throat register, by simply releasing the register key.

Example #23

Drake Mabry, in his work Street Cries for Solo Clarinet (1983), employs diads that gradually and softly fade in from their lowest pitch.

Example #24

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