Here is an explanation of each practice and the different ways composers may use the treble and bass clefs when writing for the bass clarinet. There are four notational practices used when composing for bass clarinet ‑ French, German, Russian (Mixed), and Italian. Bass Clarinet range, transposed to B♭, in sounding octave.

This means that the treble clef should be played an octave higher than where it is read, but that is not always the case, and this is where the confusion begins.įigure1. In the transposed sounding octave, a low-C bass clarinet spans from two ledger lines below the bass clef staff up to at least the C two ledger lines above the treble clef staff (and my own fingering chart goes an octave above that!) So rather than using up to eight or eleven ledger lines above the bass clef or an ottava ( 8va)marking, composers will switch to treble clef for the upper range. Due to the huge range of the bass clarinet, however, one clef is not enough. The logic is that some composers want to notate in the octave in which the instrument sounds. Meaning, it is written in treble clef but sounds an octave lower than B♭ soprano clarinet (a major ninth lower than concert pitch).īass clarinet music does, however, also get written in bass clef, particularly in older orchestral music.

The majority of bass clarinet music is written so that the notes the clarinet player sees correspond to the same fingerings they would use on any other clarinet. Trending Questions What happened on the moon in 1969? What is the last stage of nuclear fusion? Which physical property of a star does the spectral type measure? Is the Aurora Borealis found in the mesosphere? The parallax of a star is observed because? What did brahe accomplish? What are the standard units for apparent brightness? Can you flash a light into a black hole? Day and night are equal at? How do you observe the universe? What happens on the side of the earth opposite of the moon? What is the name of the moons changing shapes? The nearest star to Earth is Proxima Centauri which is 4.A question that comes up regularly is regarding clef usage with the bass clarinet.

B flat clarinet major full range scale