The Washington times., 1935-11-16

&A4C PANSOASp OOSSNAASA "AOAA NAAS
flute which is an octave lower in
pitch, furnishes a delicate lace-like
establishment to the ensemble
effects Of the orchestra. They
are frequently called upon for
fast runs or trills that form q
delicate canopy of music over the
heavier tones of the other instru-
mentS.
The flute is often heard as
solo instrument with q light &C.
compartment. In full orchestra
effects, the flute and piccolo US
ually play the main melody, to-
gether with the oboe and clarinet.
Pure Tones
AS the piccolo is used so seldom,
one of the flute players doubles
on the piccolo when necessary.
The tones Of the flute and pic
colo are pure with hardly any
overtoneS entering into the sound.
They are more free from over
tones than any other instrument
in the orchestra.
This purity of tone is due to
the fact that the instrument has
q straight bore and the tone is
produced without the use Of any
reed. The player simply blows
across an open hole and the
pitch Is regulated by the opening
or stopping Of holes along the
length Of the instrument.
The flute is In the key Of c
and is a nontranSpoSing instru-
ment. The piccolo is usually built
in the key Of D flat and the tones
sound an octave higher than writ.
ten in the treble clef.
The flute has a practical range
Of three octaveS starting at c on
the first line below the treble clef.
The piccolo has no foot joint and
its range starts at D on the first
space below the treble clef; other.
wise the range is the same as that
Of the flute.
lingering
While other woodwind instru.
ments have larger families than
the flute family, there was q time
when instrument makers made
alto and bass flutes, but the vol
ume of breath required to pro-
duce an audible tone was such
that further efforts in this direc.
ton were discouraged.
All the woodwind instruments
have q common basis for finger.
ing. The flute and piccolo have
registers in octaveS; that Is, II the
first and second fingers Of the
left-hand depress the two upper
keys, together with the thumb key,
the tone Of A will be produced
and to sound high A the player
simply blows harder.
The basic octave scale is in
the key Of D which is produced
with six fingers down. The
Boehm system, which is in gen.
eral use today, makes use Of
more holes than the fingers could
possibly cover, so various keys
are interconnected to simplify
the lingering and make rapid
execution possible.
The Clarinet
Unlike the flute family, the
clarinet family consists of q
number of different size inStru-
ments. There are the E flat so.
prano, B flat soprano, E flat alto,
B flat bass and E flat contra bass
clarinetS.
The alto and bass instruments
are so long that curved metal
tubes connect the mouthpiece TO
the body and the bell is likewise
curved upward in the familiar
form Of the saxophone.
The B flat soprano, E flat alto
and B flat bass clarinets are in
common use in the modern SYM
phony orchestra. The tone is
produced by a single beating reed
attached by a clamp to the hol-
low mouthpiece. The lower lip is
placed firmly against this reed
providing a soft cushion for the
vibration Of the reed.
The tone has a twang that Is
somewhat nasal in quality. This
nasal quality vanisheS as the in
strument is played in the upper
registers. The tones Of the lower
register are heavy and full.
The soprano clarinet is given
nartS similar to those Of the flute,
sometimes playing melody, some
times embellishing passages and
trillS, and frequently it is silent
altogether. The alto and bass
clarinets are used only occasion.
ally. Usually one of the soprano
clarinet players doubles on one OF
the larger instruments.
Practical Range
The true clarinet was developed
with a. single reed in Nuremberg
j in 1890 by Johann Christopher
Denner. Previous to this time all
reed instruments had double
reeds. The clarinet was intro
duced ~into the orchestra by
Mozart in ITO in his Paris
symphony" Meyerbeer intro
duced the bass clarinet into the
: orchestra in his LES HugenotS." !"
= The practical range Of the
clarinet Is from low e below the
y treble clef to high G or A (fourth
line and fifth space) above the
treble clef. For some solo colora-
turA effects the instrument may
be given a high C, an octave
above c on the second line above
the treble clef