Thanks to Selmer for sending me a professional Alto Clarinet. (Now, that does beg the question: are there professional alto clarinetists?! People get paid to play this thing??)
I wanna hear it! By the way, I’m glad to see your channel’s still alive. The nocturne you played on Contra-alto was my first repertoire I played on Contra back when I was in high school.
Hi. I work for Buffet Crampon. We have alto and contralto from the Prestige series, both in Eb. It would be nice if you could try them some time. Cheers!
He probably wouldn't as a selmer artist, BUT I play both your Prestige Alto and Contra-alto professionally. I love them both, the best models of either horn I've ever played ❤
@@hectorgarciamayen1826 I agree as well, my friend Keith has two Prestige Bassets and a Prestige Alto! The instruments are heavenly. Bravo, Buffet Crampon!
@@MatthewBanks100 Um, sorry, did you just say you played alto clarinet and contra-alto clarinet... professionally?? I'm both fascinated and confused by by this idea. Please explain!
If anyone is interested in hearing the Alto Clarinet played brilliantly in a jazz setting (I know y'all are out there!) check out Scott Robinson playing the first track of Maria Schneider's The Thompson Fields: "Walking by Flashlight". Even if you're not that interested, just do it - it's not just maybe the most beautiful Alto Clarinet playing I've ever heard, but one of my favorite pieces of recorded music of the past several years. Just spectacular. And - tho I could be wrong - I believe he plays an old LeBlanc metal horn.
I play on a Buffet Prestige Alto and totally love it. I played alto clarinet ( Leblanc pro alto at the time) exclusively for 6 years in a wind ensemble and only in a few instances I didn’t have a part. The conductor in that group loved the alto and eefer and he tried its best to select music that had an alto part. I now play alto only in a clarinet choir because my current band director does not like the alto. I am convinced that most American band directors have a bad impression of the alto clarinet because their exposure to the alto has been from a middle school or high school kid playing on a crappy instrument that hasn’t been maintained. If their exposure to the alto clarinet had been with a nicer instrument, it might be a different story. But no school is ever going to spend that kind on money on an instrument. So I’ll keep playing my alto clarinet in clarinet choir once the pandemic is over.
@@ghoulcaster The Leblanc is a nice instrument. If I hadn't had a chance to purchase the Buffet I would still be playing that instrument. I had some ergonomic issues with the thumb rest similar to what Michel describes with the Selmer. I had to have the thumb rest moved about 1 1/2" inch up and replaced it with an adjustable one. I also had a peg add it. But the Buffet is so much nicer and of course so much more expensive. I currently own 4 alto clarinets, I need to sell 3 of them, just who needs 4 altos, lol. A plastic single body Bundy, a plastic single body Selmer, a two part body wood Leblanc and the two part body Buffet. The way I list them is the order I think they sound in quality.
@@joediaz4244 I've been contemplating buying an alto clarinet myself, and there's a wooden Yamaha model (YCL-631) on Woodwind/Brasswind for a little over half the price of a Selmer or a Buffet, do you know anything about by any chance? Trying to find good quality footage of people playing alto clarinet, let alone specific information about certain models, is next to impossible to find. Not to mention that none of the clarinet faculty at my conservatory like or care about the alto enough to bother.
@@Ace-in8qr Hi Ace, unfortunately I have never played a Yamaha clarinet of any kind soprano, alto or bass. Yes it is very hard to find footage of people playing alto clarinet unfortunately.
Honestly as a composer, a redesigned alto clarinet is something I've always wanted. It boggles my mind why this instrument hasn't gotten any of the QoL changes that other members of the family have gotten in the past 50 years. An undated alto clarinet would be amazing to work with and open a lot of doors for so many people (and probably cause some people to give the instrument another shot).
The Buffet alto was revised and is nowadays a top modern instrument. It is in fact more resonant than the basses and the basset horn of the same brand.
Every alto clarinet I've ever seen was moldering away in the back of a high school's instrument storage room. They are all undated... because no one ever asks them out!! 😂
@@nillejoslin I actually played (a wooden Leblanc) alto clarinet in the symphonic band at Interlochen in 1984! (Just on the one piece that had a part that required it... but still.)
As a Bb (and A & C) and Eb alto clarinet player and the music librarian for our wind symphony, I can confirm what JoePlaysClarinet said below about a month ago. There are lots of perfectly good, interesting parts to play but you need to have two things in place to do this; an alto clarinet player and a conductor who wants to hear every voice among the parts that were written and cares about the overall sound and balance achieved. When I became music librarian, I began to realize that there were lots of perfectly good parts for the alto being shelved every concert. It became frustrating watching this happen, so I started checking the scores to see how the instrument fit in and found that the parts were no less challenging than playing Bb and as an added bonus the alto often plays multiple roles (altho rarely that of soloist) within a piece. Since I am one of those people who could care less about being the soloist, the alto is a perfect fit. These days, I get to play my alto clarinet a lot (by choice) in our wind symphony. On the rare occasion when there is no alto part, I play Bb on Clarinet 1, 2 or 3 depending on where I am needed for balance. I also play in a chamber orchestra. My Bb and A clarinets are a matched pair of Rossi LRs , my C and my Eb alto were made by Steve Fox and yes, my alto is the one shown on his website. I was saddened that this video kind of sounded like an anti alto tirade. It was just supposed to be a review of a particular model from the Selmer lineup. Perhaps some good will come of all this. Selmer would be wise to consult with their customers who currently own a Selmer altos and see what suggestions for improvements those people have. With 17629 views in roughly a month and a half, it is easy to see that there is a genuine interest in the altos and sales to be made. I know plenty of people who would love to have a better instrument someday.
Alto clarinet is a prime example of the no works loop Nobody plays Alto clarinet because nobody writes for it because no one plays it because no one writes for it because no one plays it.....
No longer true. Our wind symphony and soloist performed a Concerto for Alto clarinet and Wind Symphony about 5 years ago and since that time I have seen several composers add parts for alto to their compositions. I know several composers and they always include alto parts and yes they get played! Another wind band in town recently bought an alto for one of their players who could not invest in an instrument of their own.
<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="344">5:44</a> I first beg to differ and then ask for your response to my opinion: It's a bit difficult to compare the range of clarinets and saxophones because of the duodecimal nature of the clarinet. I play Bb (soprano-) clarinet as well as alto saxophone and I treat them as being in the same range with the clarinet reaching higher. At the low end, if you use the same fingering you get the same note (minus the low Bb of the sax). So the alto-clarinet, in my mind, would be the counterpart to the tenor saxophone. Edit: I love your closing message.
The genius composer Clare Fischer (in his own Jazz bands, and arranger/orchestrator for Prince, MJ, Chaka Kahn, etc.) loved the alto clarinet and Clare often wrote for it in his bands. In the Clare Fischer Big Band’s heyday, Hollywood legend Gary Foster played the Woodwind 1 book, which had the alto clarinet doubles. Gary played the Yamaha professional alto clarinet and seemed to like that instrument. Gary Foster was one of the very few who could improvise on alto clarinet over complex jazz chord changes.
My theory as to why as to why the alto clarinet isn’t used in favor of soprano and bass is because the range of individual clarinet family members is so large that both the soprano and bass can easily play pretty much its entire range. Unlike the saxophone family with its smaller range there’s more of a need for all four commonly used members.
Let's be honest, Alto Sax is also the worst of the saxophones. I know soprano has a bad reputation, but at the highest levels it's alto sax that gives me the headache almost every time. Mid-range Eb instruments are sketchy.
I've seen a video on youtube called "why do so many people hate the alto clarinet" and it is about 5 years old and has over a hundred thousand views. Maybe you should watch it too, since it talks a bit about the range. It's very interesting.
It’s a poor mans basset horn. That was why it was invented in the middle of the 19th C. The basset horn was considered very difficult and Muller had the idea to invent an instrument that would take its place and thus the alto clarinet was born.
@@Cornodebassetto but, on the assumption that the larger bore Buffet and Leblanc are acceptable basset horns, there’s no reason the alto has to be the poor man’s basset. It’s entirely due to poor manufacturing. But if your position is that Selmer is the only true basset horn, then that’s a different story.
That’s why I play the contrabass ocarina. There’s little repertoire for ocarina as is, but very few ocarina players play contrabass. Also its range is limited to a ninth instead of a twelth on other single chamber ocarinas
Love the Alto clarinet !!! The Alto clarinet is my main clarinet since 3 years now (I play clarinet since 6 years), first a try with a cheap Bundy, just to see... and I was so pleased with it that I found a second hand Selmer Alto (made in 1988 or 1989 accoring to the serial number) and it's my all time favourite clarinet ! I play free jazz, I don't play classical or written parts in an orchestra on Alto clarinet, and really have fun. I always felt I needed lower notes, but I don't feel good on Bass clarinet, so I found the Alto is an excellent compromise to me. The Keywork : I feel really comfortable, I do like Selmer keywork, the Selmer Alto keywork it's closed to my old L-series Bb clarinet, when I switch from one to another I don't feel any difference. But I agree with you : the trill keys are a bit too high. The bore : Selmer Alto has the smaller bore and I like it because it's more soft and round than other brands. The range : yes, bass clarinet wins. But I find Alto clarinet easier to play, with better high register. The price : nonsense... And finaly I found a good C* Selmer mouthpiece that fits well, adding punch to the instrument.
What's funny about this story is that Bundy was actually a brand name by Selmer USA it's (ALMOST) like you've never bought something from a different company this whole time (despite selmer USA and Paris being different companies in this day and age)
The alto clarinet may not be for you, but you sure sounded fantastic playing the Bach piece on it! If I didn't know better, I'd have thought you enjoyed playing that! :)
Michael, I just wanted to thank you for your videos. I’m 5 years out of high school, but I can still remember how much fun I had listening to your bass clarinet excerpts and how much I tried to emulate them in my own playing. I haven’t been able to play since then because it’s an expensive instrument and I’m a student (not to mention that I got to play a very expensive Low C bass clarinet, how can you go back from that???!), but your videos bring back such joy and remind me to buy one if I end up being a rich man. Maybe I’ll pick up a regular clarinet - I went straight into bass as a student so it might be a cool and more budget friendly way to approach the family of instruments. Keep up the awesome uploads!
His comments starting at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="469">7:49</a> really warmed my heart... That’s so wholesome, inspiring and convincing! And not just for the alto!! Thank you :)
You are absolutely right! In college I was required to join the woodwind ensemble, being a saxophone player the teacher told me since I played an instrument that had buttons to close the tone holes it would be logical for me to play the alto clarinet. I had no idea what it should sound like but it was the worse semester I ever had. I practice very hard... it was painful! The next semester he assigned me the contrabass clarinet! I agree with everything you said about that instrument. Thank-You
WOW!!!! first of all ...I've never seen music that featured the alto like this, and secondly.....your playing is WICKED AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are fantastic!!!! (my favorite clarinet btw)
Just thought I'd mention, Sparnaay made a huge and valuable contribution to Bass clarinet repertoire and was an amazing teacher and performer, but Josef Horak was the guy who pioneered the Bass as a solo instrument (in the 1950s, playing solo bass clarinet recitals at a time when Harry was 11 years old). Otherwise, thanks for the review, I won't be spending $12,500 on a Selmer Alto clarinet!
TOTALLY. (Hence my comment about rep being written starting in the 50s). I met Horak right before he died in 2005 and it was one of the highlights of my life.
Hi Michael - I love your playing and teaching - so enjoyed you at Clarinetissimo in Seattle last year thank you!!! Where I am with the alto is that it is a wonderful voice in the clarinet ensemble - the sharper tone really helps it come out when answering in the 'tenor' melody part or adding color in the harmony clarinet chords. I have a nice wood noblet a friend picked up for me at a school auction that another friend (true artist) restored. It has the best sound on an alto I've heard, I think as good as that $22K one, though of course I don't play as well as you do!
One good reason for alto clarinet: Its size makes it playable for younger students, preparing them for conversion to bass clarinet when they grow. A friend who runs music outreach programmes in local primary schools was GIVEN two Selmer bass clarinets that a school had bought and never used. There are other reasons.
Thanks for the review Michael! I've got a couple of these that are Series 9's but, I believe, they are identical to the current offering. So no changes since the early 1960's. I agree with your comments on the ergonomics. I ended up flipping my thumb rest so I could reach the trill keys. I found the Selmer C* mouthpiece to be a little less stuffy than the B44 I had been playing on.
I switched from Bb clar to alto clar some 7 years ago. I love its rich tone, but so much depends on the player and the instrument. I play a student instrument, the Vito. I could've gotten a Bundy with open holes, but the sound was weak, while the Vito was strong with a solid tone that I like. Listening to this great Selmer, I have a Selmer Ser.9 for my Bb playing, was amazing. This $12K wonder sounds much like my $400 Vito. Thanks for letting me make the comparison.
Thanks for this video. I'm mainly a saxophonist. I messed around with an alto clarinet for about a year before giving up. The timbre (for me) wasn't bass clarinet, wasn't clarinet, wasn't alto sax, ... I really didn't know what to do with it. So, I got rid of it. I am now playing more bass clarinet and I really enjoy it. :-)
I definitely approve!!!! I picked up the alto clarinet 20 years ago and haven't looked back. ...and you're right about the critiques! I play on a Vito Reso-Tone sans peg, lost it along the way and prefer using a neck strap. I've been using your videos to help tutor a new Bb flat student. I'm just a "hand me the music and I'll play what's there" clarinetist and have learned so much! Thank you! ....don't know if I'll be it's champion but I'm very much an enthusiast.
Yes I also used the neck strap as we did not have the floor peg support post when I was playing in my high school's symphonic band in the 1970s. I did not play Alto Clarinet after high school as it was too expensive an instrument (my B Flat was my own but the Alto belonged to the school's band).
The Buffet Prestige alto clarinet is TOTALLY different and ergonomically comparable to the best bass clarinets. The Buffet Prestige has a larger bore and isnt stuffy at all sounding exactly like a lower Bb clarinet👍🏾 ($13,000)
I picked up Alto Clarinet in middle school, played it through middle and high school and I loved it. It was extremely hard to find parts for, but many school band pieces surprisingly would have Eb Contra-Alto parts or Eb Contra-Bass parts (I know, same thing) that I would play off of, or just an Alto Sax 2 part (One time I was handed an Eb Soprano Clarinet part and I had to point out that the part was designed for a register higher than the Bb players). I like the sound, my band directors like the sound, the other musicians were always very intrigued by the instrument, we even had a few sax players try to switch, but the lack of parts and the school's instruments being awful made them (and our director) not want to switch. I wish it had more popularity,
I've owned a Noblet alto clarinet for about a year or so now. I picked it up on Ebay for under $200. Personally, I think Selmer really dropped the ball when designing theirs (ergonomically speaking). The Noblet is a joy to play. My only issue is that the register key mechanism is so archaic that the clarion register is incredibly difficult to play - this instrument really needs to be designed with a double register key rather than the register key/Bb key mechanism found on student bass clarinets. Other than that, I love the instrument. The timbre isn't as dark as my other clarinets, but it has a certain charm to it. Band/clarinet choir music becomes so much more fun when there's a competent player playing on a decent horn. I'd love to see some more rep written for it. Thanks for the review - until both Buffet and Selmer completely redesign their alto clarinets, they will never be worth what people pay for them.
Ah Michael, this brings such awesome memories for me! Believe it or not, I played my LeBlanc Alto clarinet in a grooving funk band, six night a week in the early '90s to be able to finance my first bass clarinet!! It did have flat and not so horribly unergonomic keys, a curved neck, and a relatively large bore compared to the Yamaha's of the time. I love Selmer clarinets, almost of all them. And the "almost" goes to the Alto Clarinet! Dear friends and Selmer, I am sure watching ;-)
Well, sure you did... but really, who among us hasn't earned their keep playing alto clarinet in a funk band. I mean, it's really a right of passage for anyone who wants to call themselves, a, uh, ...alto clarinetist?
LOL! The real story of the alto clarinet is more tragic than the clickbait of someone tossing the bass into the laundry where it shrunk and the black finish came off.
When I was working at Selmer Paris, they didn't have any plans in improving clarinets, the focus was exclusively on the saxophones. I don't expect them to put S&D in anything that doesn't bring immediate money, and 3-4 instruments a year (which is totally believable btw, I've seen a couple pass before me during my time there) isn't the core of their sales (consider about 70 saxophones -a day-)
I too have an older Noblet Alto that has a beautiful sound - I recently tried a new Buffet and much preferred the sound of my Noblet. I have an old Selmer Bass and a new Buffet Bass but still enjoy playing alto. For our quartet I will transpose the 3rd clarinet part where possible to give a better overall sound.
I have a Buffet Prestige alto clarinet from 2010 and it is a fabulous instrument to play - very free-blowing. There are a few wind ensemble pieces with notable parts for alto clarinet but very little solo repertoire and no orchestral parts that I am aware of. I have never played a Selmer alto so cannot compare it to the Buffet. I have played Buffet and Selmer bass clarinets and they are both good. When it comes to contra-alto or contra-bass I would go with the Selmers.
I had to pull out my LeBlanc Noblet alto when you were discussing the ergonomics of the Selmer alto, and eesh, my Noblet's keywork, itself an old design, is what you're saying the Selmer should have. The keys are flat, the C# lever wraps around the middle C key and thus left hand pinky keys are positioned higher, and the side trill keys reach lower. The only thing(s) missing are a left hand Ab/Eb lever, and the thumbrest possibly being too low (since I also own a Noblet bass, I could be confusing the thumbrest position with that one). If LeBlanc could figure this out on their 1960-70s horns, Selmer should have jumped on this.
I play a Vito Alto Clarinet all the time! I'm mostly a jazz/ improvisational player, and the range and ergonomics work great for me. I like to think of it as a lighter weight tonal alternative to a tenor sax. I will admit they are extremely resistant and hard to blow. One of my friends who plays great alto sax tried it once and couldn't even get a sound out of it haha
There are designated alto clarinet players in Japanese professional wind orchestras, even in universities and schools. But, as a solo instrument, I have seen some youtube channels, there are jazz players playing on alto clarinet.
Well, I've got this exact instrument, but made in 1970 or so and actually... in a pretty cool wind ensemble I play in, we get arrangements of Othello or recently, Wotan's Abschied, and so on (well, any plans of performing this are of course on ice right now). Pretty fun stuff and I love the alto for its obscurity and different timbre, though you do have to admit that this particular instrument is difficult. Still, just love it for some reason.
I had to play one of these Selmers in college and it was absolutely horrible. I later got a LeBlanc alto (on ebay for $300) and after a few minor adjustments (raising the key heights so it would be less stuffy) I absolutely love it and wish I had more opportunities to play it more than the occasional part in my local community band.
I bought a 80s Selmer Alto clarinet from EB nice shape for 400, and made and custom extension to reach the extre semitone to play the Basset horn repertoire. All for 500. I compared with a real Basset and its very similar, actually the alto is more free blowing.
I’m a high school student playing alto clarinet in our Wind Symphony and right into it, I played Ingolf Dahl’s Sinfonietta with all movements included. First thing I have to do with that exact Selmer model you’re on rn was switch for a clarinet feature, and solo up in the second movement😂
Hello: I watched your presentation and evaluation of the Selmer alto clarinet. I agree with your evaluation 100%. About 3 years ago I purchased a Buffet alto clarinet that was made in the 80s according to Buffet's serial number production dates. I have many concerns with it but I don't have $18,000+ to buy a new one. This Buffet alto that I have has double register key connections between the upper an lower sections. It this mechanism is off my just fractions of a millimeter, it will not respond or speak. This added connecting rod runs right past the thumb rest making it impossible to hold the instrument without rubbing against this rod. I got a larger thumb rest that pulls the thumb back enough to keep this from happening. I had to shave off a good amount of this thumb rest on its right side so that it did not rub against this rod and it helps. The nightmare with this design is that the D across the break does not respond quickly. I my last performance with the Howland Clarinet choir, this mechanism just would not respond to rapid passages from the third Brandenburg concerto. The D, D# just would not speak even with max air support. The fingers were there but there was no response. The instrument's tone quality is good and so is its intonation. I was so angry with the instrument, I put it up for sale but I am having second thoughts about this as I would need to replace it - with what?!! Again, $18,000 for a new Buffet is out of the question. The Yamaha has its problems also. As you demonstrated, the Selmer alto also has major concerns. A plastic LeBlanc has major concerns also. Would you recommend I stay with the Buffet alto in spite of its problems as there does not seem to be a viable alternative? Do you think that maybe I need to work more with this instrument instead of seeking something that I cannot find? I purchased this for $4,000. By the way, Russell Howland transcribed hundreds of concert works for the Clarinet choir and most of his arrangements are now in the Library of Congress. I studied under him and I find it a privilege and pleasure to perform his arrangements now. I could play my soprano Bb but there are many than can do this. The alto parts are demanding. So, if you are looking for music written for the Alto Clarinet and clarinet choir, check out his arrangements at the Library of Congress. There are still some works of his kept here in Fresno CA at CSU Fresno and Lorence Honda the director of the Howland Clarinet choir. Thank you, Michael Krikorian PS: a floor peg would be wonderful as this instrument does not have one and the total weight of the instrument has to be on my neck and it needs to be tight. Do you know of somewhere I may be able to find a peg adapter? For Mr. Héctor García Mayén: Can I get the missing medallion for this Buffet alto? Also, I would be willing to review your alto clarinet. I am an MA in Music with emphasis on contemporary clarinet performance techniques.
Haha I’m a Selmer player and have this exact Alto Clarinet! I agree with you on some of the criticisms! However, I bought mine in 2006 and have since had my woodwind repairer adjust pads, widen the octave vent, lengthen the left hand C# and just tweak keys. Now I love playing it with a super free blowing Vandoren BD5 mouthpiece and Rovner ligature. I played on a Vandoren 5RV for years and it was a real struggle. Now the sound is beautiful and soft, but and am used to it! Played film music and marches on it, which compliments the powerful sound that emerges from the small bell! Sorry to see your experience of it was not so great! 🙈
That's the thing about alto clarinets... $12,000 just doesn't buy as much as it used to! I mean, sure, you can buy an brand new top of the line alto clarinet off the shelf for a mere $12,000... but then you have to take it to an expert woodwind repairman and have MAJOR SURGERY done on it if you want it to play decently! 😂 But what did you expect for that price?
@@mdickinson they’ve certainly shot up in value since 2006! I payed just under £4000 for mine brand new!!! It was even imported from a music shop in the Czech Republic and shipped in the original wrapping! One Service and all adjustments over all these years was less than £300! It’s actually (once used to it) a marvellous instrument and makes light work of solos and blending within a concert band or clarinet choir 🙂 The Vandoren BD5 with a Rico 2.5 Reed makes it an absolute pleasure to play.
I have a late 40's Leblanc wood alto clarinet that was put back into playing condition after a great deal of work. I had to work hard to find a mouthpiece/reed combination that really worked decently with it. I ended up with a Hite mouthpiece and Van Doren reeds. The reeds were soft at strength 2 (of course Van Dorens are hard compared to other companies' reeds). Only about every 4th one would work well. I don't think they put much effort into alto clarinet reeds. With the right mouthpiece and reed the alto really wakes up though. I added a floor peg to it which makes it much easier to handle.
Personally I like the nasal sound of it lol, I main on Bb Clarinet and Alto Sax, I picked up a Alto clarinet from my school to try it and personally I rlly love it, I’m also a huge Vocaloid fan and the nasal sound of the Alto clarinet gives it its unique sound, like Miku NT being nasal but has so much potential in life, if used and played correctly its a beautiful instrument
I like the clarinet, and the alto is new to me, but I like it. When I think "nasal", I think oboe and variants. But if you want a redesign, you should ask someone who doesn't have a standard design they already use and are happy with. It's not customers who drive design change, it's competition.
As always sensational playing and review. I agree a nasty bit of kit by Selmer. Sadly I do own an alto clarinet. An old Leblanc from the mid 70s. Like a lot of Leblanc kit the design of the keys fits really well and the hand positions in the mid 70s are vastly superior to the current Selmer horn you played sensationally (as usual). I do a bit of repairing, tuning and voicing and spent a lot of time tuning the Leblanc horn, which is now the most in tune of any I own. Plus it does not sound like a strangled kazzoo. The old Leblanc's had a larger bore and honked out really well. As a qualified and certified ergonomist the term "ergonomics" the term is often misused. The design may be poor but that has little to do with me and/or ergonomics. If they applied quality ergonomic techniques we would not be whinging about this poor underfed alto clarinet. Try out a "tweaked" Leblanc. Sensational review as always. How about getting an old Leblanc and shaming Selmer and Buffet in to getting their act together.
I bought a beat up Selmer alto clarinet on ebay and I agree 100% with everything you said. Her name is Bertha, and she's seen a lot of crap in her day, but I still love her
@@nillejoslin Around town, everyone just calls her "Beat-up Bertha." (Note, beat-up is used as an adjective here, not a verb. No one (at least no one in this youtube comments section) is condoning mistreatment of alto clarinets.)
I loved playing alto clarinet the few times I could. Movement six of Lincolnshire Posy was a fun part for it, I wish there were more great pieces like that where I could pull it out. Unfortunately my school had two awful altos so the horns themselves sounded bad.
Everyone here should check out Steve Fox's GORGEOUS Alto Clarinets! They seem to be the next logical step in the evolution of the instrument. Bell facing the floor. Extended range options. I have yet to play one but I cant wait for the opportunity to do so! I currently own a wooden Noblet with a wider-than-normal Bb bell. I lose the lowest Eb but barely miss it.
I have an old selmer. And I have small hands. So sometimes I have pain. But I like playing it in the choir. I totally agree that they should redesign it!!! Thank you ,maybe they will do it now? (it looks very similar to mine, which must be 50 years old). (I have a bassethorn of Selmer as well)
Thanks for the video, Michael. The first question RE: redesign has hit it on the nail (as is the next one, about the new repertoire development). Same holds true for the Selmer basset horn, which is desperately begging for more venting, which I am hearing is being worked on in the Selmer labs to make a new appearance, for the first time in about 50 years. With all my love for Selmer sopranos, Eb, and bass, I got the newest revision of Buffet basset horn, it's just such a better instrument. Selmer, are you possibly redoing the alto? Then add the low D at least, if not all the way to low C / B. This instrument as it is-is really not enough of an instrument in 2021.
I really like your floor peg. I have been trying to find an Alto Clarinet with one of those that doesn't cost a small fortune, but haven't been able to as of yet.
Definitely agree that the price is ridiculous and the right hand position is terrible on this instrument; I too have to place the right thumb over the thumb-rest but it's an unhappy compromise which creates more problems than it solves. So I am resigned to relearning the keywork. Mine ( from 2002 ) sounds better I think but then it got a make-over at the factory, mostly to improve lower range tuning, at the request of it's first owner. I way prefer my older G.Leblanc but it has its own problems that mean I can't use it as a primary instrument for ensemble playing. Still I love the instrument in general and enjoy playing a wide variety of music on it and find it quite versatile. That band directors are willing to let this important 'blend' element disappear from their groups is unfortunate and says as much about music fashion as the instrument itself. I think the alto has great promise at least in the small jazz ensemble setting and fully agree that more music needs to be arranged and written to take advantage of its qualities.
PS there is a huge difference in resistance depending on the mouthpiece used on the same instrument and with the same reed, 'tho each mp will need to be tried with several types of reeds. Finding the right combination makes a huge in resistance and sound quality ! I am currently using a Vandoren B40 with a Legere reed.
I have a LeBlanc alto clarinet and have played it for many years. I don’t like playing alto sax parts with it though. It just doesn’t sound right. So I either sit out the tune or switch to bass clarinet.
<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="461">7:41</a> "Orchestrators of band pieces... are writing the alto clarinet out of those parts." Sort of... but not really. New band pieces still contain alto clarinet parts... but they're just duplicates of the alto saxophone and/or bass clarinet parts. Aside from a bit of Russian Christmas Music, the only time I can recall an _important_ part written for alto clarinet was in 1937, when Percy Grainger gave the instrument a solo in the "Rufford Park Poachers" ("version B") movement in his suite "Lincolnshire Posy." SEE ALSO two articles written in the magazine "The Instrumentalist" in 1948 (yes, 1948!). Sawhill, Clarence E. "The Problem of the Alto Clarinet" and Rohner, Traugott. "Shall We Eliminate the Alto Clarinet?". In Woodwind Anthology. Evanston, IL: The Instrumentalist. pp. 208-12. ISBN 0-686-15891-1. (Both reprinted from The Instrumentalist, 1948.)
I used to have not one, but two altos -- a wooden Noblet and a plastic Bundy that was actually much more free-blowing (thanks to open holes, but not only that). But the intonation was a nightmare, so I kept the Noblet, and the sound is not that bad -- but you have to work on it, really. It's a weird instrument, which can really do the work of both a Bb and bass, or neither. According to most people in the world, neither... but in capable hands...
I have a Bundy alto that I paid $85 for, and the guy who had it before me opened up the bore a bit so it blows a lot better than most altos. As for cool pieces written for alto, how about CLARINET CHOIR? That's where I've mostly played it, but there is also classic band literature that has not only good parts but crucial parts for alto, for instance, anything by Grainger. Just because it doesn't have solo rep doesn't mean it is not useful. In the hands of a good player - such as Michael - you can hear how great it can sound. I've played cl choir pieces that feature alto, and it is really rewarding. And it can play solo repertoire; since it has the same range as alto sax (a lot more, actually, as we know), it can play that repertoire without the need to arrange or transpose it. Creston Sonata, anyone?
I own an old Bundy Selmer alto clarinet. It definitely didn't cost $12k, but it's actually a fun instrument to play. The main problem with alto clarinet in bands is that there is just one of them and like a dozen B♭ clarinets. The bass clarinet is far enough away to have its own identity, but the alto gets lost between the bass and the whole row of 3rd clarinets. If just one of those 3rd clarinets played a second alto clarinet, we'd stand a chance of hearing it and people (other than Grainger) might actually write for it. As for redesign, Selmer should seriously consider adding one more note to the bottom. It doesn't need to go to low C, just adding a low D means it could play the full range of a basset horn. That would also give it some relief from the shortage of repertoire.
My school has an alto clarinet that even the director and assistant director mentioned despising so now one of the two are literally sitting under my bed
Same only when I found my schools it was burried under a bunch of stuff in the very back storage room, so I put it in the front cabinets with it s own label.
You should probably tell him (whichever it is, the director or the assistant director) to get out from under your bed and go find someplace else to sit.
I removed the thumbrest from my soprano Bb clarinet, because it hurts my arthritus, and developed different ways of holding the clarinet for each note, where necesary.
I wonder if I could ask for some advise? (By the way, as a great fan of your channel I would like to thank you for all of the informative and enjoyable videos that you produce!) I've recently acquired a lovely Selmer-Bundy Alto Clarinet and I am using a Precision- 2220 mouthpiece. I don't have alto clarinet reeds so I just used my alto saxophone reed - this proved very difficult to play. I then tried my Bb soprano clarinet reed and it works a lot better and produces a good tone. I read on the internet that alto clarinet and saxophone reeds are basically the same - so how come it plays and plays well with the Bb reed? Is there any real difference between the alto saxophone and clarinet reed? Best wishes, Jack
Yea but proper intonation demands that the tone holes be in specific locations and open hole clarinets dont allow that since your fingers need to be able to reach and cover the holes. Buffet Prestige is the only alto clarinet worth playing unfortunately
Some random comments, Michael. (1) I came across a concert video of Gianluigi Trovesi here on RU-vid awhile ago. Alto appears to be his instrument of choice. Some awesome jazz alto clarinet playing there. (Also some pretty good Eb piccolo clarinet playing.) From the neck and keys, it looks like he might be playing a Selmer alto but I could be wrong. (2) I have to disagree with your comment that one can play anything written for alto clarinet on alto sax. While one should be able to play any music written for alto sax on an alto clarinet, the reverse is not true (at least without cheating). An alto clarinet (to low written Eb) has a range that extends 7 semitones below an alto sax (to low written Bb), no? (3) I have a King/Marigaux alto clarinet. I've owned it for around 25 years, in that time, I think I've performed in public on it once. It is a beautifully made instrument with a very nice sound and not hard to blow (did you try a Hite mouthpiece, BTW), but it has miserable ergonomics. The keys are rounded and feel like buttons (not a problem for me) but It has a short neck with a long upper body rather than a long neck so I have to extend my arms almost straight down to reach the keys. Very uncomfortable for my aged wrists and hard to reach the right hand cluster keys. With a longer neck, like the Selmer has, I wonder why they didn't curve it more (like the Leblanc) so that the player could hold it higher and have arm/hand position more similar to a bass clarinet. (4) A friend of mine has (or had) a Selmer Series 9 alto. As I recall, his had a sterling silver neck, bell and keys. It only extended to low E so the low Eb is more recent (but that could still make it 50 years ago).
"Dubious" is something you attribute to a thing that is suspicious, not to the person who is doing the suspecting. XD This man is a treasure trove of linguistic anomalies.
