Talk:Contrabass clarinet

Machine for Contacting the Dead
Can anyone substantiate that the composition "Machine for Contacting the Dead" is appropriate for the list of notable uses of the contrabass clarinet? From this page I see the contrabass is indeed one of the 27 instruments used, and it apparently is somewhat prominent in the final moments of the piece. But is this really a significant piece in the contrabass repertoire? -- Rsholmes 02:12, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
 * A week later, no response; deleted. -- Rsholmes 01:43, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

i just recently started to play the contra from the bass calrinet i am an experenced bass clarinetest and if any one has any hints they would be appriciated

Miniwheats1 00:50, 26 May 2007 (UTC)miniwheats1


 * (comments given at User_talk:Miniwheats1) -- Myke Cuthbert (talk) 01:12, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Dave Matthews' use
Upon hearing the noted track "So Right," the instrument called a contrabass clarinet in this article is in fact a Bass Saxophone. Unfortunately, I have no citation but its tone alone tells me its a sax not a clarinet. Saxes have wide, reedy tones while the CB clarinet, also reedy, has much more tone albeit slightly more muffled. It's hard for me to put in words but I am extremely sure it's a sax. Arc88 (talk) 05:26, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Written, Sounding Range
Could some one please post an image of Written and Sounding Range (Bass/Treble Clef respectively) for the BB♭ Contrabass Clarinet? The Bass Clarinet, Basoon, and Contrabasoon pages have that. And why can we not get a proper image of a modern-used Contrabass clarinet, one in paperclip design (Leblanc 340) and one in the bass clarinet design (Leblanc 342)? Just a question for you Wikipedians.

(Oliverkahnnr1 (talk) 01:24, 22 January 2008 (UTC))

Photo of "paperclip" version
I don't know which version is more common, but on the few occasions I have seen one in concert, it was always the "paperclip" version. So, if someone could provide a photo of that instrument (like this one), I think the article would benefit from it... -- megA (talk) 11:51, 8 September 2014 (UTC)
 * I just did a quick search on Flickr and came up with this one. The picture isn't the best but it has the right permissions to use it on WP. Yes? No? Ayzmo (talk) 18:10, 11 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Well, I like it, and since Anthony Braxton is mentioned in the article – be bold... -- megA (talk) 10:34, 26 September 2014 (UTC)

Rename
Since this article is about the contrabass clarinet and the contra-alto clarinet it should be renamed such (or the two instruments split and given the separate WikiData links as in other languages.) ~🐈🐈~ ♪ ~何? 18:27, 12 December 2018 (UTC)

That can be problematic, as Selmer called their EEb contra a “contrabass” from 1932 until at least the 1990s Nerokerr (talk) 10:05, 17 February 2019 (UTC)

Compositions
This is quite a mess. Some standards need to be decided as to what should or should not be included. The Solo pieces are largely ok, but are we really just going to allow any Ensemble piece that uses a contrabass clarinet to be listed? The could include far too much band repertoire where the contrabass clarinet has a part, but it is not necessarily meaningful. I recommend we draw the line at chamber music, orchestral pieces (as the contrabass clarinet is a much rarer occurrence in that setting), and particularly notable band pieces where there is a contrabass clarinet solo or otherwise significant part. I also recommend discluding clarinet choir pieces. Popular music which uses the instrument can be a separate category. Nerokerr (talk) 23:00, 17 February 2019 (UTC) —

How many octocontra-altos?
The claim that there is only one octocontra-alto clarinet contradicts many websites and forums that say three were made, though few I am aware of supply any evidence of that. However, at https://www.clarinette.net/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=71682, Annelies Pocovi wrote

--

"Eh, oui, ces clarinettes existent vraiment. En tant qu'ancienne directrice de la sociét LEBLANC, je viens de récupérer une octocontralto et j'ai le privilège de bientôt pouvoir l'offrir de la part de Leon Pascucci, le filleul de Monsieur Leon LEBLANC et ancien propriétaire (américain) de la société LEBLANC, au musée de l'instrument à vent à La Couture Boussey (27)."

--

"une octocontralto" would seem to imply the existence of more than one. Further down in the discussion, claribole59 wrote:

--

"Vous pouvez voir ces instruments sur mon blog consacré au clinches / clariboles en tous genres. A priori, il y a du y avoir 3 ou 4 clarinettes octocontraltos et une seule clarinette octocontrebasse en prototype. ... J'avais essayé une des octocontraltos il y a une vingtaine d'années..."

--

While I don't know claribole59's background, their website and their having played an octocontra-alto 30 or so years ago, together with former director Pocovi's implication of multiple octocontra-altos, suggests their knowledge about these instruments is likely to be accurate, or at least not to be dismissed out of hand. - Doctroid (talk) 13:26, 4 October 2022 (UTC)


 * The idea that there are three built instruments might have come from Bret Newton's Band Orchestration book, where he admits in a YouTube video that he had his facts a bit wrong and explains the history of the instrument in some detail. In sum, renowned instrument builder Charles Houvenaghel at Leblanc, who also invented the "paperclip" shape used for contrabass clarinets, built a prototype B♭ octocontrabass in 1935 which was then exhibited at the World's Fair that year. Its lowest note is C$0$ (written D). Leblanc also built two "octocontralto" clarinets in E♭ in the 1930s, but only one was ever finished with key work, in 1971 to low C (sounding E♭$0$) according to Cyrille Mercadier who recently restored it. Both of these instruments are on permanent exhibit in Le Musée des instruments à vent in La Couture-Boussey, France, and are unfortunately not available for performance loan. So, that's interesting. Cyrille Mercadier has published a YouTube video of Humerous Scherzo (Op. 12, No. 9) by Prokofiev performed on Leblanc B♭ contrabass and E♭ octocontralto clarinets. In the comments he mentions the museum and the fact that the B♭ octocontrabass is not in playable condition. Photographs of the two instruments are viewable in the museum's collections via Google Arts & Culture. There are contemporary attempts to (re)create octocontralto and octocontrabass clarinets using plastics and 3D printing technology, most notably by Reddit user JAbassplayer who regularly posts updates.
 * Jon (talk) 11:16, 11 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Jon (talk) 11:16, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

Construction
I think we should re-arrange some of the material into a construction section, use main to refer to the Clarinet article's Construction section, and if nothing else, some mention of Houvenaghel's pioneering work in bass and contrabass clarinet development at Leblanc, and especially his invention of the "paperclip" layout, which he loosely based on the contrabass sarrusophone. — Jon (talk) 03:13, 18 November 2022 (UTC)

Foag Klarinetten Octocontrabass
I'm following Foag Klarinetten's all-metal Octocontrabass project with much interest! — Jon (talk) 15:52, 20 September 2023 (UTC)