No, I'm afraid this is just plain wrong. The bottom of the list should read: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
Bb bass
Eb contrabass or contra-alto
Bb contrabass
Eb octocontra or subcontrabass
The last of these, as others have pointed out, is excessively rare and not presently manufactured, so it may be effectively ignored.\
History: Circa 1960, when clarinets lower than the bass began to become common, all such instruments were called contrabasses, and there were arguments back and forth as to whether the Eb or Bb contrabass was more desirable (easy bass-clef transposition vs. deeper range). When scores began to include *both* instruments, it became increasingly clear that they should be considered as genuinely different instruments, and the term contra-alto was coined (I think by Leblanc). This awkward term was necessary because logically the bass clarinet should have been called a tenor. The term "Eb contrabass" persists, but is used mostly by those to whom the difference betw. the two insts. is of little musical interest.
FWIW, there have been and are clarinets above the Eb sopranino. Nowadays the only common one is the Ab clarinet (sounds a minor sixth above notated pitch), which is commonplace in southern and eastern Europe, but rare in North America. I wish it were more available here, as I have been able to squeeze an astounding f'''' out of it (written top A) without much difficulty. A piccolo clarinet indeed!
--
Andrew Stiller
Kallisti Music Press
http://www.kallistimusic.com
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