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24 Varied Scales & Exercises for the Clarinet

edited by John Anderson

Composer: Jean-Baptiste Albert

Publisher: Jeanné Inc.

$12.50

Instrumentation:
Movement/Section Duration: N/A
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    Jean-Baptiste Albert (1845–1899) was a Belgian clarinettist and craftsman, one of three sons of Eugène Albert; Eugène was chiefly known for his mechanism refinements to the Müller clarinet design.  Ironically, while the "Albert/simple system" clarinet has been largely replaced by the Boehm and Oehler systems, J. B. Albert's Scales and Exercises book remains an extremely popular resource for establishing fundamental clarinet technique.

    All major and minor keys (up to 5 sharps and 6 flats) are included.  Each key contains a single page of the same 12 exercises; each exercise is 1–2 lines long:

    (1, 2) Scale: in sixteenth notes with eighth-note interruptions, and septuplets
    (3, 4) Broken scale, in groups of 3 and 4
    (5) Scale in thirds
    (6) Triad arpeggio
    (7, 8, 9) Broken triad arpeggio, in groups of 4, 3, and 2
    (10, 11) Triad arpeggio with lower chromatic neighbors, in sixteenth notes and sextuplets
    (12) Chromatic scale

    Each exercise essentially stays within a two-octave range; therefore, there is regular use of the altissimo register, although the writing never goes above a written F♯6.  
    The keys are ordered in pairs of major and relative minor.  It starts at C Major, adds flats up to six, switches to five sharps, and progressively removes sharps.  This creates a "hill-shaped" difficulty curve, and some clarinettists may prefer to program the book by alternating 1 sharp/1 flat, 2 sharps/2 flats, etc.

    Quick facts
    Length: average exercise length = 1–2 lines
    Range: highest pitch = written F♯6
    Key signature: no ♯/♭, 1♯, 2♯, 3♯, 4♯, 5♯, 1♭, 2♭, 3♭, 4♭, 5♭, 6♭
    Time signature: 3/4, 4/4

    Albert's book accomplishes a good spread of basic technical demands in a very concise format.  By completing all 24 keys, clarinettists will encounter a rich mixture of basic fingering patterns which form the foundation of technical ability.

    While the minor scales are written in melodic minor form, editor John Anderson additionally puts accidental symbols above relevant pitches to indicate the harmonic minor form (on the first two exercises of each minor-key page).  He also includes a single page of practice suggestions, which briefly advises which aspect of technique to focus on for each exercise, and also offers rhythmic grouping variations.  

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  • Pages: 24

    Pages (score):


    Publisher Code: JP7047

    UPC: 061963370470

    ISBN:

    ISMN: 9790301901106


    Length: 30.5 cm

    Width: 23 cm

    Thickness: 0.284 cm


    Weight: 126 g