Low-range instruments > contralto clarinet in E-flat
Range of the most common contralto clarinets made by Leblanc “straight”, Selmer, Buffet and Vito to low Eb [ eb / Eb3 ] sounding [ F#, / F#1 ]. Some instruments — eg. Leblanc “paperclip” — have a range down to low C [ c / C3 ] sounding [ Eb, / Eb1 ].
General
The contralto clarinet is pitched one octave below the alto clarinet and is a mystery for many low clarinet players. One could say that the sound is more similar to the contrabass clarinet than the bass clarinet, in part because most contralto clarinets are constructed in a similar way to contrabass clarinets and are played with similar if not identical material (mouthpiece & reeds). Passages that might be very difficult on bass or contrabass clarinets due to being too low or too high, are very likely much easier on a contralto clarinet. As there is very little research on this instrument, there is much to discover. Please also refer to my article on the nomenclature of this instrument.
Nearby range and tone colour pairings: bass oboe, baritone saxophone, bassoon, contrabassoon, horn, trombone, bass trombone, percussion, cello, double bass
Distant range and tone colour pairings: high woodwinds, high brass, high/small percussion, high strings
—Video example in preparation—
Notable repertoire:
Chris Dench — Funk (1989) for contralto clarinet and percussion
Oren Boneh — Municipal Shuffle (2022) epilogue for contralto clarinet and ensemble
Transposition hacks
sounding > written: think a minor third lower then two octaves higher [ - m3 + 2Œ ] • if the sounding notation is in bass clef, read as treble clef
written > sounding: think a minor third higher then two octaves lower [ + m3 - 2Π]
