Klarinet Archive - Posting 000618.txt from 1997/08

From: SCM9348@-----.com
Subj: Re: Playing Bass clarinet AND clarinet
Date: Sat, 16 Aug 1997 00:01:48 -0400

This subject got brought up the last time I (under a different email name)
asked for opinions on clarinets. First of all, I have been playing bass
clarinet almost exclusively an d taking lessons for 8 years, and have been
playing in school since the 6th grade. I took up clarinet about a year ago
first as a hobby and now to march in the NMSU Pride band, and as I look at
everything now, I think that starting out on the bass WAS harder, but it
helped me overall. Everyone is saying that the "serious musician" is going
to start on clarinet first and then add bass to your bag of tricks later on.
Well, I think that if the student is serious, that they shouldn't just be
relying on school to give them all the skills they need. They have to take
an interest in what they play for their own personal satisfaction -- I really
did. When I'd see the clarinets playing all the 32nd notes while I was just
keeping the beat, I'd go home and do something like that.. I've played a
bunch of popular clarinet solos on bass (Mozart, Weber, Hindemith, Poulenc,
et al) with great comments from everyone, and not until I started reading
this did I come to find out that it was not the right thing to do. Anyway,
now that I'm playing clarinet at school, I found out that all that extra work
I did to keep up paid off, it didn't take long at all for me to make some
minor adjustments and hold my own in anything thrown at me. I still like to
be associated primarily with the bass and will play the part anytime they ask
me! My point before I put eveyrone to sleep is that not all bass
clarinetists are going to be musically deficient and that if they don't care
enough personally to better themselves then they probably shouldn't go pro.

--Stephen C. Moore / scm9348@-----.com