How should I write music for bass clarinet in B flat?

April 06, 2009 at 11:58 PM by Deep | Posted in Other - Music

Q: The bass clarinet plays an octave lower than the soprano clarinet..So, to play the instrument at concert pitch, should i transpose the music one octave higher?

April 07, 2009 at 11:56 PM by Lady Prism

A: Well, really you are asking two different questions.

Concert pitch refers to the transposition of the instrument. Both the soprano and the bass clarinet are in Bb... so if they play their C, and a piano plays a C, the clarinet SOUNDS as a Bb. So for the clarinet to SOUND the same note as a piano, it needs to be written one WHOLE STEP higher. (So the clarinet plays a D, and the piano plays a C... and it SOUNDS the same note.)

Now, as far as the octaves go:
If you want the soprano and bass clarinet to play in UNISON, then yes, you write the bass clarinet an octave higher. For example, if the soprano is playing the C 1 ledger line below the staff, the bass clarinet must play the C in the 3rd space on the staff.

If both instruments play the C in the 3rd space, they will both be playing the same note, but with a 1 octave difference in SOUNDING pitch. Make sense?

Hope this helped! :)

1 Comments

  • jane. says:
    April 07, 2009 at 12:00 AM
    well the soprano clarinet isn't in concert pitch...

    this helps.

    http://www.margrietverbeek.nl/transpose.html#transponeren

    after you transpose the soprano part, you can just drop it down an octave to play on bass clarinet

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