Klarinet Archive - Posting 000438.txt from 1994/11

From: Lee Callet <LCallet@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Bill Helmers comments on ...
Date: Thu, 1 Dec 1994 00:38:18 -0500

About a month ago I commented about bass clarinet angle, so II guess I will
repeat myself. I don't agree with Bill Helmers. Like Dan Leeson, I am also
short (5'9"), and play a low C bass clar. I find that by angling the
instrument back so that the mouthpiece enters more like a soprano clarinet I
get a much more free response from the instrument, and my tongueing gets
cleaner and faster. I think there is less lip-reed contact, and it feels less
fuzzy and unfocused. I don't have a throat problem; it seems about the same
with either angle. I will look for a higher chair, or bring a pillow, in
order to get the soprano angle. Problems arise when I have to angle my head
up unnaturally, so maybe I should try a Charles Bay neck. On the other hand,
the tenor sax seems to work better straight out. Some classical saxophonists
I know play with the tenor pulled back and to the side, in order that they
get the soprano clarinet angle, but most of the jazz guys play straight out.
I think there is no one correct way. Lee Callet