The Notation of Brass Instruments

Author(s): C. J. Cornfield
Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 74, No. 1085 (Jul., 1933), pp. 653-654
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/918839
Accessed: 10-05-2018 02:59 UTC

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
http://about.jstor.org/terms

Musical Times Publications Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend
access to The Musical Times

This content downloaded from 216.87.207.12 on Thu, 10 May 2018 02:59:35 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
July, 1933 THE MUSICAL TIMES 653

will
willbebe
found
found
that the
that
motion
theof motion
the clappers
of will in chromatic
chromatic
thebeclappers
at willscales,
scales,
be at obviously
obviouslyoctaves
octavesmay
maybebepicked
picked
right-angles
right-angles to each
toother.
eachTheother.
two straps
The should
two straps
be
out in should
in any
any key
key by be
by anyone
anyonewho
whoknows
knowsthe
thetonic
tonicsol-fa
sol-fa
firmly
firmly grasped
grasped
at the at
topthe
of each
top bell.
ofAeach
downward
bell.
withAits downward
tones and semitones.
movement
movement should
should
ring the
ring
one bell
the alone,
oneandbell
a side-
alone, and what
1. Note a side-key the music is in.
ways motion should ring the other alone. This 2. Ascertain the lowest note. This must be the
accomplishment enables two ringers to manipulate bottom bell.
eight bells and play simple tunes on them. 3. Discover what the relationship of this bottom
The next thing the ringer should learn is to ring by note is to the key-note.
picking up, that is, to ring his bell as he picks it up The following formula is useful, based on the
from the table. By this method a ringer is able to play thirteen chromatic notes:
a solo, and it gives a band of ringers command over
If bottom note is doh, doh is bell No. 1
a larger range of bells. te ... 2
Another method of extracting melody from the bells lah , ,, 4
is by tapping. The bells are strung on a pole and then soh ,, ,, 6
tapped with hammers. This method is adapted to a
more limited number of ringers; one ringer can have fa ,, ,, 8
me ... 9
charge of quite a large range of bells, and the effect is
,, ,, ray , ,, 11
very satisfactory. If there is a large band of ringers, doh , ,, 13 or 1
the method called'lapping' yields a pleasant diversion.
When the ringers have been through a tune, each one 4. Ascertain what is the top no
passes his bell to his neighbour, so that each takes the will be the top bell or ' treb
next note in the tune, and so on till every ringer at last its relationship to the key-no
has tried every note. If any of the band are church- 5. Add up the notes in the rang
bell ringers and are well up in the methods of change range of the bells will of co
thereto.
ringing, touches and peals may be rung, which has a
very pretty effect. 6. Examine the music again for all accidental notes,
The following is useful to a conductor in setting out and select the bells to correspond thereto.
the bells for a band of ringers. We will assume In conclusion, I would add that there is no need to be
the set is a three-octave one, and it is required to setheld up for lack of hand-bell music. There are heaps
them out to any piece of music. The bottom bell orof anthems, glees, part-songs, &c., to be had from any
music seller, which can be played straight away by a
the tenor is usually the key-note, and all the bells are,
as a rule, marked on the strap. Assuming the set is band of ringers who know music.

The Notation of Brass Instruments

By C. J. CORNFIELD
IN these days of change and discarding of old it C sharp
sharp because
becausethey
theyare
areininthe
thetreble
trebleclef;
clef;
but
but
BBflat,
flat,
shibboleths, it is an appropriate time to modify Emany
flat, and F instruments in the bass clef all call it
of the old ideas connected with wind instruments, B flat.
to scrap the inaccurate system of notation now in This method of writing for cornets, clarinets, and
use, and insist upon writing the actual notes required trombones in the treble clef has brought about the
at their actual pitch for all instruments. idea amongst some players that the treble clef is one
At present few wind instrumentalists are taught to tone different from the bass clef.
call the name of the note produced by its actual sound, The difficulties connected with this system make
the reason being that years ago a theory existed that writing for wind instruments almost impossible
the open harmonic series of all brass instruments had for any person who has not had the advantage of
to be called C, no matter what its actual pitch mightactually playing them. Few of our leading musicians
be. Also the lowest note of all clarinets had to be really understand wind instruments thoroughly, but
called E, although it was actually D, C sharp,ifor all G,
players
andwere taught to call the note produced by
all flutes and piccolos with six holes coveredits hadactual
to sound,
be one could write for all instruments
D, although the note produced might be either as easily as for strings.
E flat,
D, or D flat. We do not say that the violin is in G because its
This has necessitated the writing of all band music lowest note is G; therefore there is no reason why the
in extreme flat keys in order that a simple key could be lowest note of the B flat clarinet should be called E
used for the wind instruments in the treble clef, which when it is actually D, and consequently the instrument
were treated as transposing their parts. This in- treated as if it transposed a tonedown. If the correct
accurate method of reasoning and notation is not used notation was taught from the beginning, the necessity
for instruments in the bass clef, but in accordance with for different pitches of flutes, clarinets, cornets,
old custom all treble clef instruments are treated as if and horns, would not exist, as all instruments
they actually transposed their part. would be in the same key as the strings (as they
The B flat bass, F, and G trombones, bass actually are).
clarinet in bass clef, bassoon, E flat tuba and At present a great deal of orchestral music played
baritone in bass clef, or euphonium, are all by treated
bands is as
written a semitone up or down to allow for
concert pitch instruments in both band and the (to me) ridiculous misnaming of the actual sounds
orchestra;
yet the B flat cornet, trumpet, clarinet, E flat required from the treble clef instruments. The' William
and F horns, and the bass clarinet in treble clef, are Tell' Overture, for instance, has to be put up half a
written for as transposing instruments simply because tone to allow the alleged E flat or D flat flute to play
the treble clef is used. This is entirely unnecessary. the obbligato in the original key, but wrong pitch.
Were the players taught to call the sounds produced The oboe has to play the melody, written by the
by their actual pitch names, no such complicated composer in G, in the key of A flat, which does not
writing would be required. improve it from any point of view, particularly from
A band, or the wind section of an orchestra, if tuning the view of the orchestral player who does his summer
on B flat for instance, all sound B flat, yet some call itwork with bands and finds all his sharps turned to
C, others call it A, others call it G, and yet others callflats.

This content downloaded from 216.87.207.12 on Thu, 10 May 2018 02:59:35 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
654 THE MUSICAL TIMES Juily, 1933

had called
There is no real necessity for any transposition at aall,
note by its proper name when produced
as the concert flute could always be used, byand
a wind
alsoinstrument
the instead of insisting on calling
B flat clarinet, as the mechanism of the wind instru- all open harmonics as being generated from C. But is
ments is now so perfected that the necessity to change that any reason why we should continue to do so ?
the pitch of these instruments so as to play in certain The following examples illustrate the present system
keys no longer exists. of complicated transposition necessitated by the
One of the most glaring instances of nonsensical inaccurate notation used by wind instrumentalists:
notation is the case of the baritone and euphonium.
Here we have two instruments of exactly the same
pitch, capable of changing parts, yet the one written El & D Flutes # # Ifr | r r
for as being a whole-tone different from the other.
They both play the scale of B flat,the one in the bass clef
calls it B flat, the other in the treble clef calls it C. E6 Clar.
There is an idea that to change this would be ex-
pensive. On the contrary it would save the flute,
clarinet, cornet, trumpet, and horn players the
expense of maintaining more than one instrument.
The actual fingering of all these instruments would Bl Clar. X #& g t I f f
remain the same, but the notes produced would be A ClaCornI et '
called by their pitch names, and be written for as
concert-pitch instruments. All wind instrumentalists
would be able to play direct from the pianoforte or
string parts (a very great convenience in small com-
binations), and to write for wind instruments would
require a knowledge of their compass and tone-colour
8'"for unison
only, and not their imaginary transposing effect. I
have often discussed this question, but find that few Bass Clar. D
musicians are really familiar with wind instruments, inTreble clef v i' 11 ff I '
and few wind players know more about their instru-
ment than how to play it. E$t& Be Basses
Suppose we adopted this reasoning for voices. In BL & G Trombones . J J I J
writing for four-part harmony we usually teach that Euph.& Bassoons
the treble voice is from

Bass
in Clar
Bass clef fI J
i I -J J- |II
the alto from

Ei Horns j 1 j I 1H
the tenor
?/ , Baritone # i J I j. |J

and the bass

F Horns ) I

All the instruments sound

of C.
Treating each voice as a wind instrument, which Yearsit ago we called the b
actually is, we should say trebles in C, altosB flat instruments, but h
in G,
tenors in E, and basses in F, these being their just as we are now dropping
respective fundamental tones. Consequently an trombones B flat and G, na
ordinary unison passage for voices would look likealso the E flat and B flat tubas are all called basses,
this: the difference in pitch being looked after by the system
of fingering, not by notation. If an E flat and B flat
Treble in C
a 'Rrt-rC r bass can play together in the bass clef, surely an E flat
and B flat instrument can, or should, be able to play
together in the treble clef.
Why not drop the present system and write for all
-IJ J4. >J
Alto in G
instruments properly, by insisting that a musical sound
retains its actual pitch name, no matter what instru-
ment produces it?
'Tenor in E ho. f rr rpt [Mr. Cornfield is director of the Vancouver Civic
Orchestra. His former posts have included a band-
mastership in the British Army (7th Princess Royal's
Dragoon Guards) which he held for thirteen years;
Basies in F
and for eight years he was director of the Governor of
Bengal's State Orchestra. He passed his Kneller Hall
which would be enough to break the hearts of any
Bandmaster's Course with a hundred per cent. marks
choral society ! for instrumentation. A long list of successes in band
After some forty years of playing, conducting, and in Canada testifies to his ability as trainer and
contests
teaching all branches of bands and orchestras and conductor. We give these particulars in order that
instruments, my experience is that we are loaded up readers may see that Mr. Cornfield-whose name may
with a maze of difficulties connected with wind instru- be unfamiliar to them-is neither a' faddist nor
ments which would never have existed if our forefathers an iconoclast, but a practical man.-EDITOR.]

This content downloaded from 216.87.207.12 on Thu, 10 May 2018 02:59:35 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms