 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Low_Reed
Date: 2011-02-01 11:55
Hi, folks,
I'm a big fan of harmony clarinets -- I have a Yamaha YCL-221 bass, a Selmer 1440 contra-alto, and a Leblanc 340 paperclip contrabass. I recently let go of my Forte student Bb soprano clarinet, because I just never played it. My personal sympathetic vibrations seem to be lower than that.
I'm considering an Eb alto, but am beginning to suspect that the relaxed embouchure that works so well on all three of my lower horns just won't cut it on the alto.
Can any of you other harmony clarinetists speak to that (so to speak)?
Thanks,
Bruce
**Music is the river of the world!**
-- inspired by Tom Waits and a world full of music makers
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-02-01 14:24
Bruce -
The alto clarinet blows and speaks more like a soprano than a bass. The soprano and alto embouchures are similar. It's more a process of getting used to the pitch that comes out and voicing it properly.
Almost all alto clarinets come from schools, where they get beaten to death. The mouthpieces are even worse.
For any alto, you must have it overhauled to make certain the there are no leaks. Then you need to get a good mouthpiece, such as a Grabner http://www.clarinetxpress.com/altoclar.html or Fobes http://www.clarkwfobes.com/clarinets_low.html.
The Selmer Series 9 was the best alto made (I don't think they made a 9*). There's usually one on the auction sites. However, even a Bundy can be made playable.
I've tried a new Buffet Prestige alto, which was amazing, but if you need to ask the price, you can't afford it.
Legere reeds work very well on low clarinets. I don't think they make an alto clarinet model, but the alto sax model should fit.
Good luck.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2011-02-01 15:29
I'm an amateur with the nerd credential: I not only own my own alto clarinet (1979 Selmer Paris), I enjoy playing it! I use pretty much the same embouchure on alto that I do for sopranos in Bb and A. (I tighten on the throat tones a bit on alto, to keep the tone quality consistent and prevent those notes from being flat, but I also do that on nearly all soprano clarinets.) I use a Selmer HS* mouthpiece and prefer an alto sax reed on it.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Simon Aldrich
Date: 2011-02-01 16:07
"Legere reeds work very well on low clarinets."
This is very true. Not only do they work well, they actually *sound better* than cane reeds for those low instruments. And with Legere reeds you don't have the spectre of warping always hanging over your head, which is such a huge issue with low clarinet cane reeds.
"I don't think they make an alto clarinet model, but the alto sax model should fit."
On modern basset horn I use a Vandoren 5RV alto clarinet mouthpiece. This mpc (and other alto clarinet mpcs like some Leblancs and Selmers) has a window width that is a bit narrower than the width of a Legere alto sax reed. I simply sand down the sides of the Legere alto sax reed until it is narrowed enough to not overhang the side rails of the 5RV alto clarinet mpc. I use a Legere on basset horn because it sounds better and is more reliable than an alto sax cane reed.
The last time I played modern basset horn was in a concert of vocal arias. The piece with basset was at the end of the program. You don't want to be worried for an hour and a half that your basset reed is going to be warped like the blade of a hockey stick when you go to play it and nothing comes out.
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Simon Aldrich
Clarinet Faculty - McGill University
Principal Clarinet - Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal
Principal Clarinet - Orchestre de l'Opera de Montreal
Artistic Director - Jeffery Summer Concerts
Clarinet - Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
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Author: Clarimeister
Date: 2011-02-02 01:10
Slightly off topic, but another +1 for Legere reeds for low reeds, specially bass and lower. Even better is a Legere Signature Tenor Sax reed for bass clarinet, since they haven't released the bass clarinet version yet. But works just as well!
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