Klarinet Archive - Posting 000204.txt from 2004/11

From: Adam Michlin <amichlin@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Clarinets
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2004 09:25:15 -0500

Kimi,

It sounds like your daughter really needs a private instructor. I would not
suggest you push for a third bass clarinet chair, bass clarinet music in
school band tends to be very boring. I suspect your daughter will be
challenged for about a week a then become extremely bored.

Ironically, in the professional world (especially in the orchestra), the
bass clarinet can be one of the most difficult and challenging instruments
to play. The great orchestral composers were rarely worried about a weak
tuba section and, as such, rarely chose to require the bass clarinet to
simply play along with the other low instruments to give some hope of a
distinguishable bass line.

There is also a tendency among band directors to put the weakest clarinet
players on bass clarinet. Which comes first? Weak bass clarinet players or
easy bass clarinet parts? It is difficult to say with certainly. The bass
clarinet is not as directly obnoxious when played badly, but intonation
problems in the lower instruments can wreak absolute havoc on the overall
intonation of a band (but it will *sound* like the higher instruments are
wrong).

Eb Clarinet would certainly be a challenge, but learning the Eb Clarinet
without the assistance of a private instructor is just asking for bad
habits. It can be done, it has been done, but I wouldn't recommend it.

-Adam

At 08:58 PM 11/4/2004 -0800, kimi wrote:
>Ok: Now what you said down below makes sense to me
>plus what has already been said. Thank you for making
>it more simple to understand. I am only trying to
>gain a little understanding on what does what and how
>so that if my daughter despites to expand her horizon
>I'll at least have a little bit of information that I
>can explain while we are looking around. It may be a
>long while before she does add another to her
>repetoir. She had told me the other day she wanted to
>learn to play the bass for band but a student told her
>that she doubted she could becuase they already had
>two and I told my daughter to go to the band director
>and ask that question because only he could answer
>whether or not he'd allow another bass clarinet player
>for symphonic band.
>
>Personally from my standpoint and knowing her liking
>for higher pitches, I'd love to get her a Eb or an A
>clarinet for her to tackle and learn. She'd probably
>enjoy the challenge.

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