Musicians please help!! People who play clarinet!!! I need help with this scale!

Question:We're supposed to memorise the Concert B Major Scale. I play clarinet. It starts on a C and goes to a higher C. (I'm talking in the key of B flat, becuase thats what clarinets in) Every note is a sharp. I can't figure out how to finger E sharp and B sharp. (I know that E sharp is the same as F flat, and B sharp is the same as C flat, but I don't know those either.)
I looked on my fingering chart, but those notes aren't on there. So does anyone know how to finger those notes???

Thanks in advance!!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: We're supposed to memorise the Concert B Major Scale. I play clarinet. It starts on a C and goes to a higher C. (I'm talking in the key of B flat, becuase thats what clarinets in) Every note is a sharp. I can't figure out how to finger E sharp and B sharp. (I know that E sharp is the same as F flat, and B sharp is the same as C flat, but I don't know those either.)
I looked on my fingering chart, but those notes aren't on there. So does anyone know how to finger those notes???

Thanks in advance!!

Major scales all go Tone, Tone, Semi-Tone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semi-Tone.
E sharp is the same as F, because there's only a semi-tone between the two, instead of a whole tone like other notes. It's the first of the semi-tones you run into in your scale. So to play E sharp, play F natural (thumb, no fingers).
The same goes for B sharp. It's the second of the semi-tones in the scale you're playing. B sharp is the same as C natural, so when you get to B sharp, play C natural (thumb and register key, fingers one, two, three; one, two, three, and bottom right cluster key).
Good luck!

umm i am not totally sure on this one but i am pretty sure im right u see u know how a piano(keyboard or watever) there is 2 black notes then where there is supposed to b another black one there isnt? well that is like where the E# (or B#)...and well there isnt a E# or B# u just "skip it" and keep going...
and its like the sam ething for a clarinet (i have played it.)

yea hpe this helps...it took me forever to write..=)

Actually, you are sending out some mixed messages here. If you are truly playing the B major scale, it would be in the concert key of A major. (One whole step lower) and the notes would be:

B - C# - D# - E - F# - G# - A# - B

this is a nasty little scale, but every one of those notes are on a standard fingering chart and should give you no trouble.

If however, you want to play a scale in Concert B Natural (along with everybody else) you would actually play a C# major scale or it's enharmonic equivalent, D flat major

C# - D# - E# (same as F natural) F# - G# - A# - B# (same as C natural) C#

Db - Eb - F - Gb - Ab - Bb - C - Db

You probably already know how to play a D flat major scale, and all you really have to do is play that scale and rename the notes. I know it sounds goofy, but that's the wonderful thing about enharmonic scales. Since the note has two different names, the whole thing works out fine!

To clear up a couple of your other misconceptions:

E sharp is F natural, not F Flat

F flat is E natural

The only reason to use these esoteric notations is to avoid putting a chromatic sign (a sharp or a flat) on a not, twice in any given measure.

B sharp is C natural and C flat is B natural. Same reason.

I stuck a few links below which should help you out. Let me know if you need something more.

In music theory, the pattern for a major scale is
W W H W W W H (W = whole step, H = half step - same as whole tones [W]and semi-tones [H]).
The notes for a B Maj. scale would be:
B Db/C# Eb/D# E Gb/F# Ab/G# Bb/A# B
I II III IV V VI VII octave
These are the notes you would play for a B Maj. scale.
And yes E# is an F and B# is a C.

Uhm, if you're talking about B-flat concert scale (major), it's no sharps, no flats. Just C to C. If every note was sharp, it'd be your F# scale.

And for future note, E # is the same as F. There is no such thing as F flat. And B# is same as C. There is no such thing as C flat.

Yep, that question's a bit hard to work out.

If you want to play Concert B Major, then you're right in playing C sharp Major on the clarinet, with all seven sharps. But you're confusing me when you say "It starts on C and goes to a higher C"? That would be the key of C Major, which is Concert B flat Major.

What others have said about E sharp = F fingering and B sharp = C fingering is true.

Getting to the heart of the matter, the notes you are speaking about E# and Fb are really just enharmonic tones. In other words, they are like synonyms for other notes. Further, there are two pitches in the ABCDEFGA... schemata that only have half-steps between them -- E/F and B/C so unlike the other combos that have a whole step between them these two combinations, when raised or lowered a half step, such as B# actually only equals C.

B# = C and E# = F
Cb=B and Fb = E

Concert B puts the clarinet in C# which as cconsaul pointed out sounds exactly the same as Db. In short, however you want to play it, the scale is C# D# E# (same as F) F# G# A# B# (same as C) C#

Simply take a look at a piano. You'll notice the pattern of groups of 3 black keys and then two. Each time you find two white keys adjacent with no black key between, they will be E/F and/or B/C. Thus, raising them a hlaf steps brings you to the next white key, not the next black. Hope that makes some sense.

cconsaul is correct in his assessment and I will add something further. Ed Lisk has a method using a system of 4ths to learn major scales, by using it, you know exactly what key signature goes with each key. Using that system, my bands could play in any key, even the nasty Gb/F# and miss few notes.