At 12:59 PM 10/14/02 EDT, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >I know the two instruments (possibly erroneously) as a >contrabass in Eb and contrabass in Bb.
Here are the spoken names for the Eb/Bb clarinets as I learned them in the US: Eb Bb Eb alto Bb bass Eb bass Bb contrabass Eb contrabass To me, anything else is 'unusual' and needs some sort of clearer description. For example, the extended Bb bass is colloquially a "C bass" but still normally reads transposed treble clef (except for those soloists who ask for untransposed bass clef). But the "C clarinet" is one of those largely obsolete beasties (doesn't Woody Allen play on, in an Albert system fingering as well?). I've never heard "Bb soprano" in conversational speech, just something like "grab the Bb, will ya?" Contra-alto isn't in my vocabulary because it's counterintuitive based on alto/contralto in voices being nearly the same. If this instrument is not the one colloquially called the "Eb bass" then I'm really bewildered. My instrumental usage is probably more limited than conductors of earlier music because as a composer I rarely call for instruments that are difficult to find (or find players for) outside a major city -- say, a basset horn ('zat in F or G? I forget.). If I really desperately need a certain color I can't otherwise get, I will call for it, but it's rare. Part of wider marketing, I suppose, which with my stuff I sorely need. :) Dennis _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale