Klarinet Archive - Posting 000354.txt from 1994/10

From: Claudia Zornow <claudia@-----.COM>
Subj: Contrabass clarinet
Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 12:09:24 -0400

(Warning: This is a long whine with a short request for
information buried in it.)

So I get a call from the conductor of the community orchestra
where I play when they need an extra woodwind. He asks if I
want to play on an arrangement from Elfman's "Nightmare Before
Christmas" score. The part is for clarinet, bass clarinet,
and contrabass clarinet. I say I've never played a contrabass
before, but if he has one I'm willing to try. He says the
instrument will be there. I say I'll be there and hang up
hoping that he was wrong about the instrumentation on my part.

So I get to rehearsal last night. He wasn't wrong--the part is
for all three sizes of clarinet. The contrabass clarinet is
there for me to use. There are no reeds in the case. The part
is for Eb contraalto and the instrument is a Bb contrabass.
When I inform the conductor that the instrument is the wrong
one for the part, he says, "Oh, I knew that. Just play it
up a fourth." Sometimes I hate conductors.

So now I have to buy some reeds for this contraption. I looked
in my catalogs (Weiner, etc.) and found the prices appalling--
$3.70 to $7.50 per reed, minimum 5 in a box (usually 10). Since
I don't know what strength to buy, this looks like an expensive
proposition. Andrea and other contrabass players, can you give
me any guidance here? The contrabass and its mouthpiece are both
made by LeBlanc; no other indication on the mouthpiece. I'll try
calling a couple of the music stores around here about CB reeds,
but I suspect I'd have to drive at least an hour to get to a store
that stocks these puppies. Maybe I'll order some from Discount
Reed. Any suggestions on what to buy would be appreciated.

And, to add yet another chapter to the by-now-tedious discussion
about what clarinets to play and whether we're following the
composer's intentions--in this case I think I'm going to make
some changes and run roughshod over the intentions of Elfman
and/or his arranger. I don't even have an instrument stand
for the contrabass; how am I supposed to get from contrabass
to bass in 2 or 3 measures? The part is mostly for contrabass
(well, really contraalto) and I can't believe that the arranger
couldn't have worked things out more intelligently. I just
have these nightmarish (:-)) visions of knocking over two
instruments as I try to get to a third. Not to mention the
joys of carting and setting up all the hardware. I'm used to
that from shows, but in shows I can hear how the different
instruments really make a difference. Here, I don't think
even the conductor would notice if I left out the 8 bars of
Bb clarinet.

Can you all tell I'm frustrated? I have to remind myself that
this is community orchestra and I do it because I love it.
Right? Right? Sigh.

Thanks for any advice on contrabass reeds.

Claudia