Klarinet Archive - Posting 000257.txt from 1996/08

From: Roger Shilcock
Subj: Bass clarinet neck strap
Date: Fri, 9 Aug 1996 10:11:33 -0400

I found it quite intolerable attempting to play the bass with a neckstrap
- I was nearly asphyxiated. Now I use a device which clips onto my
trousers (or belt) at the back
, like old-fashioned trouser braces (U.S. suspenders) and hooks onto the
bass utilizing a partly elasticated cord. This is fairly widely available
over here. It's nasty to put on without removing the trousers - not
really socially acceptable even in the orchestras I play in - but I find
it much more comfortable than a neck strap, and more reliable than my
spike, which slipped and was very choosy about chair heights. My bass
goes down to E flat - I suspect basses to low C are slightly less of a
problem because you *know* you can't get them balanced on the thumb ... ;
also (at least sometimes) they can just put be placed on the floor.
Roger Shilcock