 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ski
Date: 2007-09-15 06:45
Bass Clarinet (and perhaps other Bb clarinets)... are there fingerings which enable fluid performance of the following trills?
• throat A to B?
• throat Bb to B?
I tried using the A key + register key + third trill key to produce a B natural on my bass but it's very flat sounding.
Or are composers supposed to know better than to write these trills? ![[grin]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie5.gif)
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-09-15 07:58
for my Bb/A clarinets-
A-B is normal A plus trill 4 (highest one)
Bb-B is normal Bb plus trill 3
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Author: Molloy
Date: 2007-09-15 14:49
On my full-boehm soprano, I play Bb - B in the clarion using 'low Eb' + register for Bb. Does this not work on a bass clarinet?
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Author: William
Date: 2007-09-15 14:55
Try this:
A/B--trill with the top side key while holding the A
Bb/B--play low Eb key with register and trill to normal l-h B
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Author: Ski
Date: 2007-09-15 15:06
Thank you for your replies so far!
Bb/B--play low Eb key with register and trill to normal LH B
This works like a charm. Would never have thought to do that. So that works great, thank you!
A/B--trill with the top side key while holding the A
Trill 4 produces a tremolo between A and C, but the C is flat.
If I use the trill 3, I produce an A - Bb trill, but the Bb is terribly flat
Does any of that sound right?
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-09-15 15:23
here's a trick for A-B that works on soprano.
1. Play a normal middle B.
2. Push the front A key while playing the middle B(keep your finger on the normal plateau key while you do this)- for me the tone/pitch only change a little.
3. Lift your LH middle or ring finger- this should yeild something very close to an A.
Now you can trill... maybe.
Post Edited (2007-09-16 14:19)
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Author: William
Date: 2007-09-15 15:38
My "top" side trill key is the highest one on the clarinet and that's the one you are trying, right? I don't have my bass out yet this am, so perhaps the best key to use is the third side key, even if terribly flat. Really, there isn't a perfect solution for the Bb/B trill, sl just use the the side key that gives the best result for you. In any case, if the composer/arranger is "dumb" emough to write something like that for any clarinet, then it reall isn't your fault anyhow--right!!! LOL Glad the other trill worked well for you--I've used that many times myself on bass. Often wished I had full-Boehm soprano clarinets like Molloy above. Good trilling--ain't bass clarinet FUN!
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2007-09-15 15:43
> Bb - B in the clarion using 'low Eb' + register for Bb.
> Does this not work on a bass clarinet?
On my bass clarinet (Buffet, maybe different on other basses) I use this fingering a lot but not to play a good Bb since it is not good intonation.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-09-15 15:45
Bb-C trill - play throat Bb as normal (Sp+A) and use BOTH trill keys for the C. Not so good on Uebel basset horns as the C is flat (the upper trill tonehole is placed too far down the joint).
It's best to experiment with the side keys to find what trills and tremolos they offer, rather than making life difficult and sticking to basic fingering charts. Only the other week I heard someone moaning that a phrase went across the break for a C. It doesn't need to - know your instrument, how it works and what it can do, and take advantage of that as well as incorporating it into your everyday playing. Next time you see a piece with a fast running passage that goes over the break for a B or C, you'll know before you even play it what you can do to get around it without having to go over the break, or breaking into a sweat over it.
Make up your own rules - part of being a clarinet player (and this applies to any instrument) is finding the easiest way around things, even if it happens to contradict with what you've read in books.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ski
Date: 2007-09-15 17:31
William wrote: "My "top" side trill key is the highest one on the clarinet and that's the one you are trying, right?"
Yup, that's the one.
Couple of things... a) I don't want to be the foolhardy composer who ever writes such trills and, b) one of the reasons I've taken up clarinet is to become more intimately familiar with the instrument so that I can write more effectively for it. There are other reasons for my taking up clarinets again at 45...
I love the sound and I find the bass particularly relaxing to play and improvise on (even though my tone needs a lot of work, and thoughts of Grabner endorsements ping in my brain constantly ). But another driving force is my orchestration and scoring work; I want to incorporate a certain degree of live instrument recordings when I do my (otherwise entirely) sample/MIDI-based orchestral realizations. I can, if you'll pardon the pun, squeak by with my soprano playing, and on my last film score I recorded a few fairly easy parts using the real thing instead of samples. It helps to breathe life into my realizations.
Now I want to add bass clarinet to the roster of instruments I can play well enough to record live parts in lieu of samples.
And if I can eventually find a cheap bassoon, that's next on the list, maybe with one of those mouthpiece retrofits...
In any event, thanks for all of the advice and information.
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