 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jean
Date: 2003-01-20 03:38
Sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? I just wanted to share this because I couldn't believe I could do it. I was practicing bass clarinet this afternoon and was trying to get my basset hound to howl. He asked to go out instead. I played an extreme altissimo C on my Buffet bass. And when I say play I mean I held it for a very long time and could control both pitch and volume. I can't do that on soprano...the highest I have hit with any consistency is a Bb. Anyone else have any luck with the really high notes on bass, or did I just get an unusually flexible horn? Now, to find something to play. The third movement (the lento) of the Saint Saens I like better on bass than soprano....try it.
Jean
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2003-01-20 04:12
Altissimo on my Selmer 37 is pretty easy. I can get up to C but the intonation starts to get a little dicey around A.
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Author: bob49t
Date: 2003-01-20 07:05
Ditto my Buffet -
Please clarify are you playing it to sound in the same range as soprano or do you like it lower?
BTW A few pieces arr for sop which don't need any alteration to piano part to cope with lower range of bass:-
3 Songs by William Grant Still (arranged Alexa Still)- first is esp sweet on Bass.
Sicilienne - Paradies
Six Studies in English Folk Song - V-Williams (Orig cello piece)
Obvious I suppose, but anything written for bassoon/cello comes into this category - so there's a vast range of stuff out there.
I've recently been playing cello duets transcr for cello/bass clt.
Romberg, De Fesch, Reinagle, Bartok. Find a good cellist and give this idea a whirl !
BobT
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Author: kenabbott
Date: 2003-01-20 10:44
Ditto my LeBlanc. The tuning isn't too bad (although I have to help the "e" a bit) and the notes pop out reliably. NOT so on the Eb and Bb contra. There are alternate fingerings there (that people on this NG told be about).
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-01-20 12:07
And I thought we bought a Bass for low notes...
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2003-01-20 13:16
I can player higher chromatically (in 'real' pitch) on my bass clarinet than on Bb soprano clarinet. This in not so unusual -- generally altissimo is easier on bigger horns compared to their smaller siblings, e.g. altissimo is easier on tenor sax than on alto sax. And much of the ease of altisssimo playing is determined by the mouthpiece curve --- a properly-made curve can allow the player to progressively 'squeeze' along the reed towards the tip while going up the scale, without closing off the tip from embouchure pressure.
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Author: William
Date: 2003-01-20 14:42
I find those altissimo notes relatively easy on my Buffet bass clarinet as well. However, it's the ones just above high C that are a little dicey: C#, D, D#, E & F. But I would suggest reading "Approaching the Bass Clarinet", by Dennis Smylie, in the September issue of THE CLARINET. He gives some alternate fingerings that make those notes really sing. So now, my only question is, what to do about A & Ab?????
And to David, forwhatitisworth, the altissimo range on my Selmer (in line) BA alto is much easier than on my Selmer VI tenor. (could just be the player, however)
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Author: Robert Hoit
Date: 2003-01-20 16:12
ANy student of modern techniques to the bass clarinet should check out Henri Bok's New Techniques for bass clarinet. He has fingering charts up to C above super C. And they work on most honrs. I could do it on my Buffet, but they do seem to work better on my Selmer 37.(he also plays a selmer.) Not only does his book detail the extreme altimiso it gives tons of very useful multi-phonic fingers as well as micro-tonal interverls.
There is large repertoire of music for the bass clarinet that utilizes some or all of these techniques. But that is another topic entirely.
The bass clarinet is the most flexible memember of the clarient family. Enjoy learning this fun range of the instrument. And remember that is should never be nenessary to bite or put extra pressure on the reed to get these notes. If you do so, you lose the singing quality. Also a good practice for these is doing the harmonic series fromthe low notes. When I first started seriosuly exploring this range, I would start on a low Eb and hit the harmonic series as high as i could up and down, then move to E, and repeat this up through a C below staff.
The most important part I feel of really controlling these notes is knowing where they are. I think it is very akin to playing a trumpet or something that requires you to know what partial you are aiming at. Also long tones up there do help and don't forget to check this with your tuner. You have considerable control over the intonation with the notes up there. SO the most important thing for me in this is to really know the sound and feel of playing the note in tune up there. well that's just my 2 cents.
cheers
bob
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Author: Robert Hoit
Date: 2003-01-20 16:18
As for the A and the Ab...
two good fingerings for A are as fallows... 1.) just like you finger the open C#(so just the first finger and nothing else) this one tends to have some slight intonation difficulties and I reserve it for fast passages only.
2.) This is my favorite A fingersing middle finger of the left hand and bottom trill key. this produces a wonderfully sounding A and it is usually spot on in tune.
G#/Ab
there are several methods for this. If one is not overly concerned about intonation the G # may be fingered like a C a tritone below. this one again sounds nice enough but generally has intonation issues... I reserve it for fast pasaages or places I know i can lip it down sufficiently.
My favorite fingering for G# is the long fingering... which I believe is fingers 2 and 3 of the left hand and 1 and 3 + Eb of the right hand.. I am a goodly distance away from my bass right now, but I am 99.9% sure this is what i do. I use this for any sustained high G#.. like in the David Loeb second concerto, or the Slukka Sonata.
have fun.
cheers bob
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Author: Mike_M
Date: 2003-01-20 18:10
What’s the saying about “you can choose your friends and your neighbors, but not your relatives…”?
At any rate, anyone who can play “extreme altissimo C on a bass and hold it for a very long time” I would certainly welcome as a friend, and thankfully not have for a neighbor.
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Author: Jean
Date: 2003-01-20 22:01
Someone asked what range I was playing. The high C I am referring to is the super high c which I play as thumb, register, 1, and 1. When I play soprano solos on bass I play the notes as written, which means they are sounding an octave lower. That makes that 5 octaves of c's that can be played on this particular instrument. I haven't tried any higher than that, YET.
I have a good friend who waits until his wife leaves the house to practice high notes. He has cats, but no dogs.
To SB, I love the low notes, but why not utilize the entire range of the horn? I have played some bassoon and appreciate the huge range that instrument has, but on bass clarinet I don't need to read so many clefs.
:)
Thanks to all for the advice.
Jean
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Author: Robert Hoit
Date: 2003-01-21 14:00
The best fingering for high C is just like an "A" on staff. It is of course also the same for the E above staff, and a slightly flat super F.
B is like the G#. Also the High E above super C.
Bb is open(but has intonation issues), I prefer the regular fingering which is 123+C#. This also gives a real fine high D.
C# is the A key plus the first trill key.
There are many fingerings up there, but this will get anyone who hasnt' experimented up there some good ideas.
And remember never bite and keep the mouth cavity as open as possible.
Also it is a good idea to alternate between these fingerings and the "regualr" clarinet fingerings when first learning them.
Happy practice.
bob
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Author: Ken Rasmussen
Date: 2003-01-30 07:42
I'm learning my way up the horn, and so far I'm up to the 4th D, 2nd above the staff. It still sounds OK, and I think I'll go a bit higher. However this isn't pole vaulting, and I'm not going to win a shiny prize for getting the highest squeak, though I might lose a wife. How high does the horn stay musical and easy to play? What is a good practical range for the instrument?
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