Modern Etudes for Low Clarinets

Book excerpt: These etudes were written at the request of students and colleagues to create music specific to the low clarinets for use in study and competitions. Due to their tessitura, etudes for soprano clarinet are often frustrating to play on low clarinets. By contrast, this completely new group of studies utilizes modern motifs, meters, and rhythms in idiomatic settings for low instruments. Nine of the 13 etudes are original pieces, and four are homage etudes honoring twentieth-century composers—Bartok, Hindemith, Debussy, and Stravinsky. The contemporary nature of these etudes also makes them appealing to play on soprano clarinets in the chalumeau to moderate clarion registers.