h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

<-- also likes Russian composers, and hence wrote article on Borodin.

I suppose I'd better introduce my musical side...

I play Clarinet (of varying different sorts)... Bb, Eb, Bass, etc. I also play Albert-System clarinets (I have a 150-year-old rosewood albert-system clarinet, which I adore). I play in two symphony orchestras, and a wind band or two.. I'm reasonably good.

I'm also rather obsessive about Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, which I adore.

Well, it is one of his better solo pieces. And from me that's saying a lot, as I tend to find Mozart's style too "cool" for my tastes. You must be rather good indeed, Njan.

*nods*

Actually, some of his other pieces I don't like as much. But his clarinet concerto is fantastic. Recently I've been listening to more Mahler, beethoven, Sibelius, and Shostakovich than Mozart.

Why must I be rather good?

It's very difficult to play in two symphony orchestras, and become obsessive about Mozart's Clarinet Concerto without being any good.

Well, they're not professional symphony orchestras.

And I know plenty of people who like Mozart's clarinet concerto who don't play any instrument, let alone clarinet.

Like it? Sure. Obsessive about it? Hmm. I'm not so certain there.

Hmm. Well, ok, I concede that point. But not the other one.

Njan: How close is your old clarinet to the type of clarinet that Mozart would have known? He was writing for "early prototype" clarinets, wasn't he?

Mozart wrote his clarinet concerto for the basset clarinet, and more specifically for Anton Stadler, a friend of Mozart's. The Basset clarinet went deeper than the modern boehm system clarinet, or my 1860 clarinet, which explains the way in which the music leaps around a bit in the second movement (parts suddenly jump an octave to enable modern clarinettists to play it).

My clarinet, although it has a similar note range to a modern clarinet (in fact, the same note range as a C clarinet) very probably sounds much more like the sort of clarinet which Mozart would have written for: slightly reedier, less harsh and piercing (not that the modern clarinet is particularly harsh and piercing) more mellow, and slightly quieter, since concert venues back then were a lot smaller. Unfortunately, at the moment, the clarinet has a modern mouthpiece (and several pads are out of alignment, so it won't hit some notes). But once I have the pads fixed and a new mouthpiece made (which will probably happen mid-october) it'll be a lot more like the sort of isntrument which Mozart would have composed for.

- Njan

Just FYI, I have added a thread called "Guild Business" to discuss miscellaneous things about the Guild. I didn't want to clutter up the thread for new members too much, since I am hoping we will see a steady stream of them here. Right now, the thread includes a listing of the newest related entries I have found or been alerted to. Of course, feel free to discuss anything else appropriate too.

What instrument(s) do you play, or want to play?

Triangle, bagpipes

Do you have a favorite composer, musical artist, or band?

Sam Cooke. Most of the Pommie bands of the 60s.

Is there anything in particular you would like from the Musicians Guild, or anything special you want to contribute?

The Guild has already linked my reggae yarn. (Thanks). I have written a couple of others that have not been submitted as Edited Guide entries. One is about Air Guitar and the other is about Jimi Hendrix. Let me know if you want to link to them.

Loony

So......you're the beginner of "Air Guitar"!!!!

I haven't had the courage to go back and look!!!LOL

I should have known!!!

NM

G'day Fairly Strange. My yarn about Air Guitar lives at http://www.h2g2.com/A428500

You may get a giggle out of it.

Well, Loonytunes, I've got some good news and some bad news. I guess I'll start with the bad news.

The bad news is that there are already approved entries in the Guide for both Jimi Hendrix (written by Dan) and the Air Guitar (by Mark Moxon). To visit these and other existing music-related entries, go to http://www.h2g2.com/A425161

The good news is that I looked through all your entries, since you seem to have a history of interest in music, and found several other entries I can add instead. They are:

The History of Yes
http://www.h2g2.com/A419267

REM
http://www.h2g2.com/A345025

The Best of the Worst Country-Western Song Titles
http://www.h2g2.com/A156142

That last one was very funny, and I enjoyed it a great deal. The yellow text at the top is hard to read in Alabaster skin, though.

YESSSSSCHHH... I would like to join your lovely guild, and open my doors to my Musehome http://www.h2g2.com/A420661... Soon I will have a theatre, stage, and woodwind concert hall in service there(still in blueprint for the moment), and offer them as venues for any concerts or performances you may wish to hold in the future. I would love to play hostess.

Also, please put a link to my userpage on this one when you get the chance, as I am putting a predominant link to the Musician's Guild as soon as I get a moment...

THANK YOU!!!
~Dragonfly

Mr/Master/Miss/Mrs/Ms Musicians Guild,

I realise the guide has got edited entries on Hendrix and Air Guitar. It is one of the reasons my ones, which look at the topics from an entirely different perspective, have not ben submitted for inclusion.

IMHO they compliment the edited entries.

I will change the yellow intro on the song title entry. I only subbed the entries on Yes and REM. Other researchers wrote them.

Loony

Awesome, Dragonfly. I do believe our two groups can be mutually beneficial to one another.

I'm adding yourself and Loonytunes to the membership list now. and I'll add a nice link to the Muses momentarily.

I'd be very interested in any facilities you may have for concerts. We may perhaps have to open some adjoining practice rooms for our members as well.

Sorry about the confusion, Looneytunes. I am learning this stuff the hard way.

This is actually Fragilis the Melodical speaking. I've found it is too tough to switch back to my regular persona when speaking to Guild members, especially when I am updating pages at the same time. It may perhaps be best to adjust my username to make all this more clear.

I will take a closer look at your entries on Jimi Hendrix and the Air Guitar shortly. If they are indeed complimentary (as I expect they are), I will add them to the directory tomorrow. It's about time for me to wrap up for tonight, or I would do it now.

OOOO!!! I am ecstatic!!! YAY!!! I will have to see if my muses mind you "mortals" of the Musicians Guild dropping by to practice... hermm... but I adore the idea.... allow me to throw it out to them, give it a bit of time, and we shall see!!!

::putting a link to the Musician's Guild on her Musehomepage...::

Oh, by the way, any musician's guild members who wish to be a member of the h2g2 symphony orchestra, the link's at the bottom of my user page, or (if you don't want to go that far) at http://www.h2g2.com/A426908... we already have a few players, and we need more. Provisos for joining are that you play the instrument in question reasonably well (unless you want to be conductor / untuned percussion, in which case you need to read music and have a reasonable sense of rhythmn)

- Njan.