Klarinet Archive - Posting 000277.txt from 1996/08

From: thehat@-----.ORG
Subj: Re: Neckstraps
Date: Fri, 9 Aug 1996 19:17:58 -0400

In a message dated 08-09-96 INTERNET: back7219@-----.NET wrote to ** ALL **:
Ib> Using a true bass clarinet strap would be better as it will hold the
Ib> instrument at a more correct angle. I would still use peg for
Ib> stability. FYI the correct angle of the bass clarinet is seldom seen.
Ib> The clarinet should angle back under your chair so that the
Ib> mouthpiece of the bass clarinet is nearly the same as that of the
Ib> soprano clarinet, not straight in like a saxophone.

May I suggest that there is NOT an accepted "correct" angle at which to play
the bass clarinet. Many folks do advocate the above angle (including Dennis
Smylie) and, in fact, Bay designed a neck for the instrument (now copied by
Buffet) which facilitates this. I know players, virtuoso Michael Lowenstern
and myself among them, who do just the OPPOSITE. That means, sitting in the
back of the chair and leaning the bass clarinet toward yourself as you play.
The angle is not extreme by any means. It is closer to absolutely straight
than anything else. Mike has always played this way, and let me tell you, it
sure works for him!

As for a strap without a peg, I suggest getting a harness-style strap, also
used by Michael Lowenstern, as he plays standing up quite a bit. The harness
hooks on to one's beltloops or pants in the rear and comes over the shoulders.
No neck pain! These are becoming widely available and should not be hard to
find.

Play the way it's comfortable and the way YOU sound best. Nothing works for
everybody.

David Hattner
clarinetist-at-large, NYC
-> Alice4Mac 2.5d3 E QWK Eval:04Feb96
Origin: hat's nut house