Use the Heckelphone please

There was a time when instruments like English horn or Contrabassoon were unusual due to their recent invention. Composers started to use them on their orchestral works and now every orchestra owns at least one of them.

It has been not like that with the Heckelphone, many years have passed and still remains like an unusual, uncommon instrument in the Orchestra.

U.S and Europe have the privilege of having this instrument, but outside these countries, asking for a Heckelphone in the score, is making it almost impossible to perform.

You don

Umm, okay. You know there are only about 400 of these in existence, right (and I'm not saying all of those are even functional)? As much as I love the sound of the Heckelphone, I won't write for one simply because 1) I don't own one, and 2) I don't know a single oboist that owns one.

Holst wrote for the bass oboe, not the Heckelphone, for The Planets, as far as I recall.

The instrument is basically and practically only used by enthusiast players, or by a (very) small group of professionals in the recording industry, typically for movie soundtracks.

Yes, it's sad that the instrument is not available. That's what happens when only ONE firm produces the instrument. My advice: don't write for it.

Yes, that could be the main reason, only "Heckel" builds Heckelphones, and they're very expensive by the way.

But I insist, use it, someday it could become like the English horn don't you think ?

Not likely to happen. Why? If you write a piece for heckelphone, who'll play it?

Plus, I'm perfectly content with an orchestra that doesn't contain every single instrument known to man.

Yes, a very few people owns a Heckelphone, that's what I'm saying... that we can change that some day.

You're going to convince the Heckel company to produce more Heckelphones? I can guarantee they won't, considering demand is pretty much zero.

Yes, a very few people owns a Heckelphone, that's what I'm saying... that we can change that some day.

But only one source makes them! Anyone writing for it may create SOME interest but because there's a limited number, there won't be performances and therefore there won't be demand because people haven't heard it!

I think there must be some way to break that circle, nobody writes for it because there are no heckelphones available, they are not because Heckel builds a very few of them, Heckel builds a few ones becuase nobody buys them, nobody buys them because they're really expensive, they are too expensive because heckel must wait until someone says "I'll buy on".... I just ask you to have a little more vision... If you write for the Heckelphone, you must have the parallel idea of writing a kork for the future, not for nomorrow...

Anyway....I'm just saying that I don't want to think the Heckelphone is condemn to remain like an unusable instrument for ever.

There are a host of unusual instruments that have lost the good fight. If you're so interested in such instruments, why not make your own? Mahogany isn't that expensive, and really few raw woods are for blanks, you could use a drill press and lathe to shape it, and spare parts for the mechanics.

All these things are relatively inexpensive, especially if your school has a wood shop... DIY or die, man...

..... I just ask you to have a little more vision... If you write for the Heckelphone, you must have the parallel idea of writing a kork [work?] for the future, not for nomorrow [tomorrow?]...

For the future? Why? What's the point in writing something which will likely never be performed?

Just because the Fluba exists (and I'm sure it's a lovely sound) doesn't make it worth writing for. If I KNEW someone who owned and could play some obscure instrument, I'd use it...but I'm not going to incorporate some extremely rare instrument on the off-chance I might, someday come across someone who could play it.

Write for today...you don't get paid for stuff that sits in a box in your basement.

FLUBA!!!

Ok Ferkungamabooboo....I'll se what I can doo

robinjessome: Write for today...you don't get paid for stuff that sits in a box in your basement

Yes, money matter may not be fair with a composer, ... well you decide.... I was just saying that we could use it more....

well, if we're going to change the orchestra, then I demand we include the Tubax!

I think there's nothing wrong with writing for Heckelphone, or other rare instruments, as long as you're realistic about it. Basically there are three options:

- You don't care whether it will be played during your lifetime. That's perfectly fine. Nobody can forbid you to just write for the drawer, as long as you're ok with it. Just don't complain that your pieces aren't played then.

- You write specifically for a performer who plays this instrument and who's ready to play your piece. Great! That's the easiest way to both get played and to help a rare instrument come to new life. I'm currently writing a piece for a contrabass Paetzold recorder and electronics, which the performer has specifically asked me for, and it's a great opportunity.

- You actively go out looking for performers for your pieces. I know professional performers of quartertone-accordeons, quartertone-clavichords, "touch-sensitive" experimental organs, shakuhachi, alphorn, 13-string guitar, contrabass flute with quarter-tone enhancements, and so on, and I know that they like performing new pieces. But if one just sits at home composing and then wondering why nobody takes any interest in what you wrote, one might have to realize that if you want to get performed, just composing may not be enough. You have to meet people, talk with people, get out, go to concerts, and not just be focused on "doing your own weird thing without looking left or right". Sure, there are composers who did just that, and some of them I admire a lot for their work. But it's not what I'd want for myself. If getting played is one of your goals, this probably isn't how you should go about it.

So, to reiterate: Do whatever you want, but be realistic in your expectations.

I Agree with Gardener in all,

...and if someone knows a performer that owns a Heckelphone, I could say that must write something... you have no excuse.

COME ON PEOPLE, you could always write soli for rare instruments and indicate an acceptable replacement. Heckelphone could be replaced with bassoon or cor anglais, depending on the range. The idea here, is that the performer isn't getting the sound the composer wanted, so it generates demand for the instrument, while it still doesn't render the piece entirely impossible to perform. Who's going to make a Heckelphone if there is no demand for it? CREATE DEMAND. If you allow for substitution instruments, what have you got to lose? Go contact people who PLAY the thing. Same goes for instruments like the cimbasso, bass trumpet, and Wagner tuba. Why do people make and play Wagner tuben? To play Wagner. So why not use it yourself and create more demand? DEMAND they use a Wagner tuba, but ALLOW for them to use a French horn under extenuating circumstances. There are great instruments out there that don't get use simply because composers fear them. Take a chance, people.

...and if someone knows a performer that owns a Heckelphone, I could say that must write something... you have no excuse.

So, do you know any heckelphone players? I don't, so I won't use the heckelphone. (I really don't think it's that useful anyway, at least not for me...)

Basically, you go and write for these instruments if you want, but I have no reason to.

You don't know any? Then where are all the heckelphone players? Oh that's right... there's no DEMAND for them... :dry:

Remember, there are no heckelphone players, it's more like... there are heckelphone doublers. Doesn't take much for somebody to pick up the hecklephone if they have experience in oboe and cor anglais. So it's more a lack of physical instruments rather than people who can play them, and this lack is why there is a shortage in people who are interested in getting one.

Y'know the whole production thing definitely sounds like the root of it....does Heckel hold some kind of stranglehold on the design, refuse to let others produce it, etc? Or is there another issue at work here...

Seems there are a few unusual instruments who experienced a resurgence mainly thanks to a few die-hard enthusiast performers/fans. Take the theremin, for example. It has undeniable historical significance in the development of electronic music, sure, but it's also a very worthy instrument in its own right....It probably wouldn't be considered that if it weren't for a few factors....The dogged persistence of Lev Termin himself, of his students, attempts at mass-production - then much later, the ease of building it oneself from a handful of components and a little electrical know-how...and finally its role in the pioneering efforts of Bob Moog....

Point I'm making here is, there are quite a lot of factors that go into building the popularity of an instrument.

It would be nice to see a bit more of the heckelphone now and again, but I wouldn't put money on it - unless its apologists become a LOT more vocal, and a lot more persistent....Having more of them around would help, too - that alone would make me, for one, more prone to writing for it.

(In the meantime, I will be posting my theremin sonata on here pretty soon if anyone's interested in taking a look...cough..shameless plug lol)

Best of luck with your mission, though, SY656. :)

Enigmus makes a good point about allowing replacements. If you as a composer really want something, don't be afraid to show it. But at the same time be ready to make a compromise in some areas, where you can accept it. Do talk with the musicians, do take the properties and needs of orchestras and musicians seriously, but also show what you want as a composer. It is supposed to be a dialogue between composers and performers, and neither just stubborn, unrealistic demands, nor just doing the easiest thing that will get your work performed most.

well, if we're going to change the orchestra, then I demand we include the Tubax!

I've actually written for Tubax before. It was a Saxophone Choir, but still!

Hello!

I am very much supportive of writing for unusual instruments. The instruments are part of the composer's "palette" and if we want to see any advancement there we ought to use new instruments, no matter if no one plays them. I've written something for the hechelphone and have uploaded it here.

Alexandros

Hi Grant, I had a sneaking suspicion you might post here. ;)

Hi Grant, I had a sneaking suspicion you might post here. ;)

It just sounds like a cor anglais... Is it really worth being in the orchestra?