On 14 Apr 2014, at 1:00 PM, Darcy Argue wrote: > Right. To be clear, these players are only talking about C clefs in new > music. And I actually think most of this is actually a proxy complaint for > "too many ill-considered clef changes."
This is the crux, as Robert Patterson noted. And "ill-considered" means understanding what each player is accustomed to seeing. It isn't just clefs, but also when to use ledger lines and when to use 8va/vb. And when/where to change clefs. Cellists, for example, will not want tenor clef much below the staff midline A, and especially not lots of ledger lines above the staff in tenor clef. But for passages that lie between that midline A and a tenth above, tenor is what they want, especially if the passage leans towards the top of that range (towards the bottom of that range, and bass clef is better). I am also talking about NYC new music players here. And treble clef for cello really shouldn't happen below midline B. When I see "middle" C in treble clef for cello, I know there will be complaints. Likewise, rapid back and forth among clefs. As for ledger lines versus 8va/vb, again, that's instrument by instrument. Flutists are very happy with five or six ledger lines above the staff, but for extended passages in and above that range, violinists and pianists tell me they'd rather see 8va. For very low notes, tuba players are happy with five or six ledger lines, but pianists want 8vb, even for single notes. But, generally, 8va/vb rapidly changing back and forth to loco, or used for passages that go much into the "normal" reading range, are clumsy. As long as I've been doing this, when I have even the slightest doubt about a particular instrument's preference for clefs or 8va/vb, I still ask an experienced player. There is a norm for each instrument, but no universal all-instruments rule except "avoid ill-considered" choices. What I see as a teacher is students assuming their own instrument's expectations will apply, and that's where ill-considered choices happen. This whole thing is part of the craft of composing. The score and parts that give people well-considered choices in this regard will earn the composer respect right away, and result in a better performance, happier experience. Even one or two poor choices will create, for the players, a seed of doubt about all the other choices. The performance will suffer, and so will the composer's reputation. This applies also to ill-considered choices in use of accidentals, bad page turns, poor spacing choices, bad decisions about meters or score layout, and many, many other things that an audience will never see. But those are whole other discussions. David Froom _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] https://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale To unsubscribe from finale send a message to: [email protected]
