Klarinet Archive - Posting 000323.txt from 1999/02

From: Ken Wolman <Ken.Wolman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Getting used to a bass clarinet
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 1999 12:38:23 -0500

thielm@-----.com wrote:

> The low end notes of the bass shouldn't really be hard to get.
> You need to check for leaks very carefully, and on a one-pice
> instrument this means sticking a cork in the bottom and getting a
> helper to feel and listen while you hold all the keys down.

Perry Ritter did this before he turned the horn over to me; I think he
also dropped some kind of light down the body to make sure nothing was
wrong with the thing. I'm pretty sure it's me rather than the
instrument. When I started playing the Bb again 13 months ago after a
200-year layoff, I had trouble starting on the low end there too. It
meant retraining my mouth.

> But also, don't assume you need to use the hardest reed you can
> blow. Even if you're among those who think it's macho to strap an
> unbending piece of lumber to the mouthpiece of your soprano, there
> is no reason to get carried away with reed strength on the bass.
> You said it's like "learning to play the clarinet all over again"
> --
> did you start with 3's on the soprano?

I see your point. No, everyone when I was a kid started on #2's,
usually the "standard" Rico in the orange box, I suppose because band
directors and school music teachers got them for cheap and in quantity.
I gather this is still the case among kid musicians: which, as far as
the bass clarinet goes, is exactly what I am. A box of good #2 or even
1.5 reeds might not be a bad idea until I build up my mouth. Someone I
spoke to once, a prospective teacher, said that when it starts to HURT
to play, then put the thing back in the case for awhile. "Doctor, it
hurts when I do this." "So don't do that." I suppose there is some
sort of "macho" thing that could be involved, i.e., playing through
pain. But when you get to the point where you can't even feel the
mouthpiece anymore, maybe it IS time to give it a rest. This isn't the
NY Marathon....

There IS a sports analogy that occurred to me over the weekend vis-a-vis
the bass and the soprano clarinets. The bass reminds me of those
practice bats guys swing in the on-deck circle: weighted with lead
donuts. After swinging that thing a few times, the regular bat feels
like a pencil.

Maybe...music as a health benefit...learning to play this monster will
finally get me off cigarettes once and for all: it requires noticeably
more breath control, at least for an inexperienced player. Stopping in
the first year will earn me back the money I laid out for the horn and
mouthpiece.

And finally, a repertoire question. For inspiration's sake, I'd like to
listen to some lead playing on the bass, but (my own lack of knowledge),
I know of very few soloists who use or used the bass extensively as a
lead instrument. Giora Feidman has recorded some pieces on it ("Old Man
River" is something else!), and it was one of Eric Dolphy's primary
instruments. Who else has used it that way?

Ken
--
Ken Wolman dbtrader Deutsche Bank, N.A.
1251 Sixth Avenue New York, NY 10019 212-469-6494

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