[Dixielandjazz] Clarinet Question

[philwilking]

>From what I can see in old pictures, those instruments were not built with 
some idea of musical virtue, but rather as a practical solution to a 
problem.
If you want a band to play marches for the troops, and you have a lot of 
horses and mules in the parade (officers, wagons, and artillery), then you 
need to put the band in front to let them concentrate on the music instead 
of the footing. But if the instruments project forward, the men will not 
hear them, therefore the "over-the-shoulder" horns. I know this is 
plausible, but is it the truth?

PHIL WILKING

Those who would exchange freedom for
security deserve neither freedom nor security.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Richoux" <tubaman at tubatoast.com>
>
> Having owned and played some of those "over-the-shoulder" style  horns, I 
> know why they were obsolete and out of general use long  before the 
> pre-jazz era.
>