Contrabass Digest

1999-10-27

From: "Tom Izzo" <jeanvaljean@ntsource.com>
Subject: Re: Pedal Notes
Date: Tue, 26 Oct 1999 18:46:02 -0500
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.com

> CONTRABASS@contrabass.com
> =========================
> *
>
> In England, I have never seen a bass trombone part written in exclusively
> Treble clef, save for music which has parts for both treble and bass (i.e.
> Philip Jones type stuff).

Those Salvation Army books are sometimes in Treble Clef (all three Trb parts).

  The percussion is of course written at concert
> pitch in a band score.

Not always in the score, but definately in their individual parts.

> Anyway, lots or orchestral stuff have tenor clef for the bass trombone, so
> you should be adept to reading Bb treble clef (Add 2 sharps etc.!!!)

hahahahahah You're lucky you've only seen Tenor. There are some Bass
Trombone parts in Alto & Treble (both C & Bb once even in F Treble). Strauss
also wrote Bb Bass Clef.
As Orch Bass Trombonists, we  need to be adept at playing just about any
Clef. Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass, Treble. Haven't needed
Baritone yet, but I'm ready.

Tom
 
 

---------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 11:58:55 +0100 (BST)
From: Dafydd y garreg wen <mavnw@csv.warwick.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Pedal Notes
Reply-To: contrabass@contrabass.com

On Tue, 26 Oct 1999, Tom Izzo wrote:

> > In England, I have never seen a bass trombone part written in exclusively
> > Treble clef, save for music which has parts for both treble and bass (i.e.
> > Philip Jones type stuff).
>
I'm with Colin on this. I've played extensively in Brass Bands (at all
levels), and have never seen a piece supplied without a bass clef bass
trombone part, and only a couple of times included with a treble clef part
at all. Certainly normal SA publications don't do this. Perhaps it's an
American thing. It doesn't make much sense - the parts are simply too low
for the clef.

> hahahahahah You're lucky you've only seen Tenor. There are some Bass
> Trombone parts in Alto & Treble (both C & Bb once even in F Treble). Strauss
> also wrote Bb Bass Clef.

Joseph Horovitz too (and Eb bass clef in the same piece!)

> As Orch Bass Trombonists, we  need to be adept at playing just about any
> Clef. Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass, Treble. Haven't needed
> Baritone yet, but I'm ready.

I don't know if you play keyboards Tom, but if you do, and you fancy a bit
of a mental challenge, try Bach's "Die Kunst die Fuge". There are several
editions published with the original manuscript layout (the one I had was
edited by Donald Tovey, but I can't remember further details), which
entails a separate line for each voice and the appropriate clef for that
voice. I.e. a four part contrapunctus with SATB would have four lines -
one in soprano clef, one in alto clef, one in tenor clef, one in bass
clef. You're supposed to play all of them together on the
harpsichord/piano/whatever. Two I could manage, three slowly, but four was
nigh on impossible in the week I had it for.

Dave Taylor

>
> Tom
>
>
>
> ----------------------
> end contrabass list

 
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