Klarinet Archive - Posting 000327.txt from 1997/11

From: dap@-----. Paprocki)
Subj: Re: Bass clarinets and The Short.
Date: Sat, 8 Nov 1997 10:42:41 -0500

Teri,
I have a friend who sits on a phone book when playing her bass.
She also had the angle changed on some of the little finger keys on her
bass by Tim Clark. It is a problem for small hands to play the extended
range. It's just reversed for me when I play Eb clarinet - I've had one
key removed and another thined and shorted in order to fit my hands onto
the Eb. The one thing is the extended range isn't used THAT much in
orchestra music and when it's used it's in slow tempos. The other thing
is (I'm assuming that you are small) bass clarinet takes an immense amount
of air. It really gets you in shape. I usually take an extra breath in a
phrase compared to the regular clarinets in the orchestra - and I have huge
lungs from according to my last chest x-ray.

Dan

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Daniel A. Paprocki

Instructor of Clarinet
Kent State University - Stark Campus
Malone College

dap@-----.net

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