 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: SuzyQ
Date: 2004-05-21 15:57
Ok,~ I have a question for you all.
Is it silly or totally unreasonable to play bass clarinet with a peg and a neckstrap?.
My clarinet teacher showed me after giving me a one time lesson on my bass clarinet, that is helpful to tilt the bass clarinet so that the mouthpiece is more at the angle of the soprano clarinet. He said that I need to get a neckstrap, as it would make it considerbly easier to "hold" the bass clarinet.
Well, yesterday after band, I asked my mom if we could stop by the music store, so I could get a neckstrap to try. My band director overheard this and wonderd why in the world I would want a neckstrap! His reasonings where that there is no way your bass clarinet is going to fall over, and that I was just being silly. (Mind you, his main instrument is bass clarinet) I have seen him play bass clarinet, and he pretty much holds it just straight up and down. Could this be perhaps why he doesn't understand my neckstrap reasoning?
So, now, I want to know WHY some of you use both~ I need a logical explantion. I'm really confused. -and need something to tell my band director when I show up with a neckstrap. ![[huh]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie11.gif)
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2004-05-21 16:20
Gosh Sakes, NO, its totally Reasonable and "safety first". like "belt AND suspenders". I play with glass mps on both bass and alto cls, and havent dropped a horn, even when selecting and unfolding my music, etc. I keep the strap quite loose, just tight enough so my BC can stand on its peg, unsupported and not "flop", when I need 2 hands for music, and cant "lap it" . Take care, good mps are expensive! Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: woodwind650
Date: 2004-05-21 17:17
i would agree w/don. when i was younger i studied with Greg Dufford of the SF Opera before he retired. he's a revered bass clarinetist and once told me that you have to think of the bass clarinet as an extension of the clarinet. that being said, the mpc needs to be the same angle. now to do that, you have to angle the bass a little bit [depends on the curvature of the neck] and get the mpc in the right spot. if the mpc is straight in front of you, you're playing the instrument more like [dare i say!] a SAXOPHONE!!!!! and that's a completely different embouchure.
i use a buffet bass, and fortunately for me the neck already has a good curve to it so that i don't have to angle it too much, but i still have to a little bit AND i use the neckstrap so that the bass doesn't fall out of my hands. again, don's right, SAFTEY FIRST!!!!!!
-steve-
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2004-05-21 17:58
My bass has a loop for a strap on both the upper and lower joints. So I use two neckstraps (plus the floor-peg when sitting). I like to play while standing and two straps gives me a feeling of security. If one strap breaks the other should hold. I find it strange that your teacher considers it "silly" to use a strap.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2004-05-21 19:11
SuzyQ :
The reason they put rings on the back of bass clarinets is so you can use a neckstrap if you like, with or without the peg. Pretty obvious, isn't it?
I'm realy glad I don't know your band director ![[frown]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie2.gif)
- r![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) n b -
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Author: Tom A
Date: 2004-05-21 23:27
Hello Suzy, what make/model of bass do you play?
I ask for these reasons: Many newer bass clarinets have angled necks. Other older ones have a neck parallel to the ground. My old Noblet, which has no spike attachment at all, is in-between. If your bass is something like those older or in-between ones, then you need to tilt it for best results, as WW650 says.
Whatever your decision, your conductor is not the one holding the instrument. I hope he'll accept as a reason that you feel safer and more comfortable playing your (their?) EXPENSIVE instrument with a strap.
BTW, a saxophone stand happens to do the job just right for my spikeless bass (plus a strap, of course). Correct height, correct forward angle.
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Author: JamesE
Date: 2004-05-22 00:58
SuqyQ,
I too always use a neck strap and a peg. I find that my right thumb on the support is not providing enough pressure to stabilize the instrument when playing those "no hands" notes.
At any rate, using both provide me with a fairly stable and solid position for the horn.
Regards,
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Author: JamesE
Date: 2004-05-22 00:58
Sorry, got this on there twice.
Post Edited (2004-05-22 00:59)
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Author: SuzyQ
Date: 2004-05-22 01:00
Thanks ya'll~ I feel reassured, and plan on using (or at least trying) a neck strap as soon as I can get my mom to take me to the music store.
William the C, my bass clarinet is a student Bundy. I really have no idea what model or how old it is. However, I do know that the neck is only very slightly angled. ![[right]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie8.gif)
I have, as you all suggest, been holding my bass clarinet at a considerable angle. - and herein, I have trouble feeling secure on notes such as F4, or C6.
I really can't wait now to try out a neck strap!
Ron B, you made me laugh with "I'm really glad I don't know your band director," because, as it so happens, my band director is one of my most favorite persons.
Ah, how I love this board!
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Author: ron b
Date: 2004-05-22 02:44
"Ron B, you made me laugh"... is what it's all about, isn't it? Glad you got a chuckle. Actually, I'd probably like 'im too. But we also gotta have some fun
- ron b -
Post Edited (2004-05-22 04:19)
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Author: Bob A
Date: 2004-05-22 03:54
Hi Suzy Q,
I'll give you an answer that none of these "young whipper snappers" mentioned. Arthritics, in it's many forms, and firbromyalgia can weaken your right hand and thumb to the point where one minute you got "a holt" of it and the next minute you dont. I use both peg and strap and don't let your band director talk you into anything in which you feel uncomfortable.
Bob A
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