Klarinet Archive - Posting 000659.txt from 1998/02

From: "James Foley" <jafoley@-----.com>
Subj: Alto Clarinets
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 10:41:47 -0500

Thanks to all who replied to my post. I'm starting to get the hang of
the tone quality, and I think with a little more reed work, I'll get the
registers evened out a bit more. It's a matter of compensating in
different places than I would for soprano clarinet. All of a sudden,
it's my throat tones which sound really nice and my D-G clarion which
needs extra support. Not that throat G still doesn't need some tuning
attention. . .

To pick up on one previous thread,
>
>>think that's an embouchure thing.

>It is less of an embouchure thing than a reed and mouthpiece thing

I'm starting to notice that too, in that my softer reeds seem to
accomodate the lower notes better. Changing mouthpieces probably won't
be an option, but I can do a fair bit to my reeds. Would I need a
softer or harder reed? Right now my best set up is a #4 reed which I
ended up sanding down to a #2.5 or so.

but you should go out and purchase
>either the recordings of the Chicago Symphony Clarinet Section playing
>Mozart Basset Horn Divertimenti or the really delicious recordings of
the
>husband

Thanks for the tip; I'll look them up. Right now, I'm trying to play
Schubert's Arpeggione on both soprano and alto, and it's quite
remarkable what a difference the alto's deeper tone quality makes in
bringing out the musical ideas of the piece. Now, if I could only hit
some of those basset horn low D's and C's!

James

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