Klarinet Archive - Posting 001282.txt from 1998/10

From: Patticlar@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Big clarinet
Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 12:34:44 -0500

Barb Levy barb073@-----.com wrote:

>>One of my clarinet students brought what appeared to be a late-model Vito
bass cl. to her lesson today. She could play from the lowest E to throat Bb
with no problems, but the minute she crossed the break, nothing but squeaks
and
squawks. Could this be caused by a leak in the pad right above the register
key? Or is it something she is/is not doing? She was having similar problems
with another, older BC with a straighter neck that she could barely handle
without contorting herself. The subject student, BTW, is a 7th grader who has
played clarinet for just over a year. She can handle up to C3 on soprano
clarinet.>>

Bass clarinets have much more opportunities for leaks because of the
mechanism. Also, to me, and I play bass professionally, there is another
register from g2 to c3. I am speaking written pitch not as sounded.

My teacher, Don Carroll, who is still bass clarinet with the San Francisco
Symphony, advocates playing a great deal of twelfths. Thus: play low E, then
B, then try to start on the B, etc. One really has to get the feel of bass
voicing.

Also, may clarinetists tend to pinch the embouchure, which is fatal on bass.
Don Carroll and I both use double lip on bass. That makes it impossible to
pinch. If one uses double lip, however, one must also use both a peg and a
bass clarinet neck strap for stability.

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