Raymond Horton wrote: >I do recall a small publishing company (name forgotten) in the 1980's that >put out some SATB church anthems printed with Treb,Treb,Bs,Bs clefs, and it >WAS particularly easy to play those on piano (these particular anthems had >conservative ranges, so the leger lines were not excessive) but those >publications would be considered an aberration in any case.
As a frequent rehearsal accompanist, I've had the opposite experience. SATB on four staves with the tenor on treble-8vb is so standard that I'm used to it and playing the four parts is second nature. Every now and then I'll stumble upon a solo ensemble with two basses and two women, and when I try to play those I'm constantly screwing up because my brain wants the upper bass clef to be a treble-8vb clef. >I think the main reason I was sympathizing with the original poster is that >I remember reading some late letters of Arnold Schoenberg written during the >time he was composing his final (and unfinished) opera "Moses und Aron." He >complained about the (new) 8ba treble clef, said that he found it >distracting to try to write in it and said he would have to write the tenor >part initially in the traditional tenor clef and change it later. (I am >paraphrasing after reading this in 1975, but I think I have it for the most >part). Well, I suppose it depends on what you're used to. My experience is overwhelmingly choral/vocal, and I only occasionally dabble in orchestra. Perhaps I shouldn't admit it on this list, but when I write for a string quartet, I always put the viola on a treble-8vb clef while I'm working on it and then move it afterward. mdl _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
