Klarinet Archive - Posting 000912.txt from 1995/10

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Many questions...
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 1995 02:00:23 -0400

Abby,

Bass clarinet is not necessarily a difficult instrument to play, but it
does demand different things from the player. The most striking
difference is the amount of air which is actually released into the
instrument. With the soprano clarinet or oboe, most of the air remains in
the lungs, supported under pressure from the diaphragm and directed into the
instrument as a rapid and highly focused stream. With the bass clarinet,
support and focus remain key, but more air is actually released from the
lungs in order to make the reed vibrate and create the gorgeous resonance
of which the instrument is capable. As far as the embouchure is
concerned, I've seen so many twisted and contorted bass clarinet
embouchures over the years (by some REALLY good players; well, except Clark,
whose bass embouchure is disgustingly picture-perfect, and I think I've
probably expressed my admiration of that a couple of times) that I think
maybe it isn't as much of an issue as it seems to be on soprano. My own
personal approach has been to translate the established _concept_ of
soprano playing and apply it to the bass (flat chin, pressure from the
sides, tongue high in the back, etc.), with some subtle adjustments to
accomodate the large mouthpiece and demand for greater air release. A
fringe benefit of playing bass clarinet is that it will make you
sensitive to just how great your air capacity truly is, and may also
reveal some undesired tension in your soprano embouchure, which you will
be able to alleviate by using the bass as a sort of guage.

I have to say how totally delighted I am to see multiple postings by
junior high and high school players since I signed back onto the list a
couple of days ago. At 25, I'm still relatively young compared to the
long-lived and highly-experienced professionals who comprise the bulk of
Klarinet's membership, but the genuine interest and intelligent
questions/comments coming from those even younger than I are, quite
frankly, very inspiring.

NBL

On Tue, 24 Oct 1995, Bob Kreisa wrote:

> Hi!! I just got back from 10 days of vacation to over 700 messages.
> Anyway, I've got a few questions and stuff to tell. First of all, I made
> it into St. Norbert's Jr. HighMiddle School band clinic for this
> November 4th. I'm so darn happy, I had to share with you all. Anyway,
> onto the questions:
> 1.) How difficult is bass clarinet? I'm in 9th grade and I might get to
> learn bass clarinet in addition to my regular clarinet in order to play
> it in clarinet choir for soloensemble. I can already read bass clef
> fairly decently. How hard a (momentary) switch is it?
>
> 2.) I'd appreciate info on summer band camps for this summer. I went to
> the UWSP high school band camp last summer, and I really learned a lot,
> and I'd like to go to more this summer. Maybe some more demanding ones?
>
> 3.) This is indirectly related to this mailing list: Does anyone have
> any ideas on how to deal with a mean stand partner in jazz band (hey,
> we're in JHS, so what if we aren't one on a part like normal jazz bands,
> the idea is to get more people involved)? I've done my darnedest to be
> nice to him, but he just can't be nice. You see, today, after he
> finished his solo, I told him he sounded good (he did, and I wanted to be
> nice) and his response was "No s**t." As in no kidding I'm infallible!
> Well, his best friend, the first tenor player said "You're supposed to
> say thank you, Ben. Abby, why are you nice to him even though he's
> always mean to you?" I don't think I'm capable of being not nice to
> anyone but my sister, so I responded "Because being mean is...well, mean."
> Any ideas on how to deal with my mean stand partner, though? If no one's
> got ideas, that's okay, just please don't yell at me for this post,
> because it does sort of relate to this list, and I needed sympathetic
> ears to vent some steam to, and you guys are cool :)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Abby Kreisa
> bkreisa@-----.edu
>