Klarinet Archive - Posting 001384.txt from 2000/06

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Bass clarinet... I hate you!
Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 11:08:33 -0400

Andrea Bergamin wrote,
>I've to play the bass-clarinet in Dovrak's Requiem.
>I've accepted but... ohps... I've never played bass in my life!
[snip]
>I've 1 month to became a "professional" bass player.
>Professional... it will be enough to be able to take an
>octave jump without a squeak!

When I bought my alto clarinet (having not played that instrument since
intermediate school in 1962), I also bought a method book by H. Voxman,
_Introducing the Alto or Bass Clarinet_, published by Rubank and currently in
print. This is "a transfer method for intermediate instruction," for
students moving from Bb soprano clarinet to larger ones, but I recommend it
even though it's written for kids. The exercises and especially the
fingering chart helped me adjust, since several of the best-sounding
fingerings on alto are not the same as on soprano. I like those large (easy
to read!) pull-out fingering charts in the Rubank books. My brother also
found the Voxman book helpful for switching to bass clarinet.

You mentioned that all reeds feel too soft. I think that's because you're
not used to how much a bass-pitched instrument vibrates. Voxman suggests
using a *softer* reed on bass and alto than on soprano clarinet. Remember
that since you're playing lower notes, that reed is actually vibrating more
slowly and over a wider arc than a soprano clarinet reed. Using a very hard
reed can constrict those vibrations too much for good quality tone in the
lower part of the range, I think, and can actually promote "unintentional
altissimo" -- squeaks! -- instead of curing them. I'm an amateur, so
consider the source, but FWIW, I've found that the bigger the instrument, the
softer the reed I prefer.

You wrote,
>I hate the fact that:
[snip]
>4. it seems to have a carrot in the mouth.

Try a bass sax sometime. That's like biting a potato! ;-)

>7. it makes me feel like a saxophonist.
Watch out -- that feeling is addictive!

Best of luck with the bass and the Dvorak!
Lelia
~~~~~~~~~~
Q: Why does a bass clarinet have a metal bell?
A: To hold the ashes from the rest of the instrument.
~~~~~~~~~~

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