Ruu, U48 Thesis M 788.6 E31 C.1

CHICAGO MUSICAL COLLEGE MODERN PRINCIPLES OF CLARINET PLAYING A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THB FACULTY OF TIIB CHICAGO MUSICAL COLLEGE AS PARTIAL RE~UIRE~:NT FOR THE D&GREE MASTER OF MUSIC DEPARTMENT OF CLA.RINll.""'l' • • BY RO BERT EDWARD EGNER _, -. -- CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -.: - . .ruu, U48 Thesis M 788.6 E31 c.1 NOTE: Images were not included in library copies • -::-- - ·- ·- ~ AUG 6 - . ' Dc;DICATIID ********* TO ** MARGARET LYLB WILSON **•a••*****••••********* • FORWARD ******* Since the turn of the century there has been a gradual increaee in the number of instruction books for clarineti1t1 and at present there is no dearth ot books and other related material dealing with this subject. I have, however, long felt that no book actually synthesized the Principle! ot clarinet playing in all its aspects, and thi! ha• been the aim throughout thia work. All of the elements ot thieetudy, muat, ot necessity, be integrated if a unity ot purpoee ia to be achieved. Thi• work makes no pretenae to completeness -- the 1ubject ia tar too broad for the attainment of.uch a goal. It tbe material is not aa meticulously organized aa might be deaired, the reason is that so much of it defies rigid claaaitication. The predominant hope is that somewhere • within theae pagea the reader will find a few practical ideas, 1ugge1tion1 or techniques which may be applicable to hie own playing. I am especially grateful to the following persons tor their work and very valuable assistance in the planning and working out of this books Mr. Max Wald, Chairman of Theory Department, C.M.c. Mr. Albert Freedman, Instructor in Clarinet, C.M.c. Mr. Riobard J. Egner Modern Principles of Clarinet Pl~ing ' 1aa•~***************•••••****M••**"*** \ \ Table ot Contents \ \ ·····**~•·••••*** CHAPTER PAGR I Orientation •••••••••••••••Brief History ot The Instrument 1 II Prel"equialtea •••••••••••••For Prospective Clarinetists 6 III Baaentiala or Tone Production 9 IV Interpretation 30 V The Clarinet in The Jazz Idiom VI Technlo 51 VII Survey ot Important Solo Clarinet Literature 68 Bibliography 74 CHAPTER I ********* In order to gain some knowledge from any study, it is neoesaary to arrive at an orientation. Hence, the writer will briefly diaouaa the growth and development of the clarinet ao that the principles which underlie modern clarinet playing may be more .fully understood. The evolution ot the clarinet was a very natural and gradual prooeas. It is, of course, impossible to say exactly when each new development took place, but in this chapter of the theaia a brief discuasion of some of the im portant stepa in this process seem to be desirable. The olarinet aa we know it today represents the oulmin~on of the work ot many men in many lands. Therefore we cannot say that the clarinet was "invented" by any one individual. Some authora would have ua believe that suddenly in 1690 • there appeared a new instrument, the clarinet. We must take into account the fact that the development of the clari net has ita roots in antiquity. The term "clarinet" has been defined as an inetru- ment with a "alngle beating reed accompanied by a olylindrical tube" •1 It ia thia instrument that we have ref'erenoe to when we speak of the "clarinet". (The term "clarinet" did not come into exiatence until 1732) Without attempting to "pidgeon-hole" any of the im• portent innovations into def'inite agea, the writer will briefl7 ..••••11111111111•*****•••••••**'lt•••••••••••••••••***'****•••n• lsaoh, Curt • The B1atol'J' ot Mua1oal Inatrumenta • w.w • ....• trace some of the atepa in the evolution of the clarinet in the following ways l. Earliest ancestors of the modern clarinet. 2. Johann Christen Denner•a Contribution. ~. Recent Innovations. The origin of the clarinet is unknown. We do know that it waa used aa early as the "beginning of the thil'd milleniua B.c. in Egypt".1 The primitive clarinet ot the BSTI>tiana waa made of cane and the mouth hole was made bJ' meana of a three-aided out into the cane which formed a rectangular tongue. The fourth or uncut side permitted the tongue to vibrate due to the elasticity of the material. The tree end ot the reed waa held entirely within the players• mouth whiah allowed tor no modification of timbre or force and whioh gave the aound of the instrument one of unalter • ing atrength and shrillness. Very little La known about the development of the clarinet after the early Egyptian period untll toward the end or the seventeenth century. Throughout the middle ages the single beating reed appears to have been chiefly confined to the peasant tolk. These single beating reed instruments. generall7 known by their French name Chalumeaux,2 became the clarinet• (the writer uses this te%'m in the modern sense) when toward the end of the seventeenth century (possibly 1690) Jobeoo Cb£iattn Denner, at Humberg, gave them the shapes or t••••** .... *******•••••*•••••*'lt*******************••••******* lorton • Oompan7, Inc., Rew York. Rew York, 1940. 8P1ng1ll7, J • Bradtol'd • Blue Book or Style • llua1o 'rimea Oompu7. 1942. -3- oboe• with wooden tubes tuMted on a lathe and cut into several Joints, with separate bell and two keys -- one above the front holes to produce!', and another, op poa1te in the rear, tor~·· After this basic foundation had been completed, Denner•e son Johann, shifted the ~· hole towal'da the top in order to facilitate over-blowing. He alao d1m1n1ahed 1ta aize so that it produced --B s•. (Denner'• eon appeara to have been doing this work about 1720). Denner•• next innovation was to pierce an "E" hole into the lengthened lower joint and cover it with a long k•J to be preaaed down by the amall finger ot the left hand. Thia bole, when overblown, produced A' (a twelfth from "E") and tbua a oomplete aoale from "E" to~ A', and an .,,erblown acale from!' on waa seoured. It should be noted in this oon neot1on that -all modern clarinets are tuned in twelfths, not octavea. The clarinet la unique in this reapeot because all ot the other woodwinds are tuned in octaves and aa a result have what are known ea "octave keys". The clarinet has what ia known aa a "register key" since it produces an interval other than an octave. After these baaio keys had been added to the clarinet, its turther development appears to have been rapid. The instru ment, no• known by ita new name, clarinet, aoon appeared in the manuscript acore or an overture by Handel 1n his own handwriting, preaerved in the Pitswilliam Museum at Cambridge, England and oompoaed about the year 17.a. l In thie work there 1a a "con• certJino• tor two olarineta in "D". The compaa• of the clarinet 1····Oa).pln,.. ·················•*****••••••••••••••***********••······ Pranoea w• • Buropean Mu• ioal Ina trument• - P • 187. 1 part• range1 trom "A" to "n3n (actual sounds). In thoee early day• the clarinet waa frequently pitched 1n the key ot "D" rather than in "c", "B" .flat, or "A". By the middle of the eighteenth century the value ot the clarinet began to be appreciated, though 1t was often •till aoored tor under the name "Chalumeau", by Gluck in his 11 0rpheo" and "Aloeati" (1767). The clarinet probably .first appeared 1n the Theatre in Rameau's "Zorastre" (1749), though, as the "chalwneau" it is round in Kaisers Croesus (1711), and alao BQ!le of Teleman'• work•• Pritz or Brunawiok added the "F" sharp and "a" sharp ke7a about 1760. A aixth key, lower "C" sharp, was added to the inetrwnent b7 Stradder or Lefevre about 1789. Muller• or Paria, one ot the great olarinetieta or the nineteenth century, ral1ed the nWllber or key• to thirteen in 1810, and about the f 7ear 1842 Klo•e, in conjunction with But.fat, remodelled the whole ayatem with rings, following the lines which Boehm had already adopted tor the !lute. Since the initial steps in the perrection of the clarinet by Johann Christen Denner, the instrument has rapidly beoome one ot the major aupports ot the orchestra. It has won an important plaoe in chamber music and its solo literature is growing eaoh year. We, of course, have re.ference to the "B" tlat soprano clarinet. The "E" !lat soprano, "E" !lat alto, and "B" flat baa• clarinet• are comparatively minor supports ot th• oroheatra and are rarely .found in chamber mua1o. The aolo literature tor the•• latter ttuoee inatl"Wllenta la very small. In later ohaptera we will brietl7 dlaouaa the role or -5- the clarinet 1n the symphony orchestra, chamber music, and also evaluate the moat a1gnif1cant aolo literature. • ' CHAP'l'ER II *:.Ht**il 1111 ** Prerequiaitee for Prospective Clarinetists *******'II 1Ht**·~***********4}****•!l-***·l~******* There are many persona who would like to study the clarinet, however, comparatively few of them have the neoeaaal"l' qualit1catione to make such a study feasible. The prospective clarinetist ahould be a "musical 11 person. Certain phya1cal aapecte ot hie personality should be aerioualy considered. In the following paragraphs the writer will diacuee in detail aome of the moat important prerequ1ait••• It an individual ia "musical", or talented.he will haves A.) An "ear" for music. , a.) A natural sense or rhythm. c.) A "reeling" for muaic in general. It has already been suggested that the prospective clarinet student should possess a detlnite talent for music. The -ear aeeme to be the moat important single constituent or this talent. In order to become a clarinetist, one must have a diacriminating ear. rr, tor example, a prospective clarinet atudent i• unable to hear that there is a different pitch between two tones, he should be discouraged from making a serious study ot the instrument.

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