 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Aussiegirl
Date: 2004-12-23 02:14
Hi! I'm playing in the pit for a community production of "the music man" in january and having a ball with it! But im doubling on clarinet and bari sax and finding that i have only a few beats to change instruments and my embouchere isnt adjusting that fast. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to change quicker? Clarinet to bari isnt too bad, but the other way round is pretty terrible, esp low register bari to upper clarinet. Thanks!
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Author: Burt
Date: 2004-12-23 02:32
I play bari and clarinet in a dance band. Generally, when I'm playing clarinet, I'm playing a solo. So near the end of the previous piece, I switch to clarinet and transpose. Sometimes I'm an octave too high, but that can't be helped. I also blow air through the clarinet before I start playing it.
When I double on bari, I use a slightly softer reed on clarinet than I otherwise use.
When I played "The Music Man", I was reading the oboe / English horn part transposing to clarinet (I don't play oboe or English horn), so I didn't have to deal with the switching.
South of the equator, does the bari play the top part in the ensemble???
Good luck and have fun.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2004-12-23 04:55
Have you tried using a plastic clarinet reed?
- r![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) n b -
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Author: allencole
Date: 2004-12-23 05:04
Plastic reeds are good for a quick startup, but I don't think they're going to help much with pitch/embouchure.
I generally shorten my click barrel by about 2mm when doubling tenor or bari sax.
To me, the best solution is to practice going back and forth between the different instruments.
Allen Cole
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Author: Dan1937
Date: 2004-12-23 12:20
I agree with Allen; you can't switch "cold." You have to spend time practicing any doubles you are required to play. A tip: always start your practice sessions on the smaller instrument; this seems to help your embouchure ajust more easily.
Dan
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-12-23 14:11
Yeah, playing big instruments messes up your embouchure for the higher ones for a few minutes.
I've played several shows where I had to switch between bari and clarinet and found two solutions.
First, the problem is about 50% that your lower lip gets numb from the vibration of the larger reed. Just ignore it, tighten your embouchure, support well and play. Also, play a little softer on the bari.
Second, take the instruments into a practice room and practice shifting between them. Play a line of an etude on one, then the next line on the other, and so on. At least for me, the adaptation from one to the other got easier and quicker when I did this.
I love playing bari. That sucker can really honk.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2004-12-23 15:29
I've been a baritone/clarinet/bass clarinet/flute doubler for just under a zillion years now (well, twenty-five at least), and the only way to make the adjustment is like was pointed out in the earlier posts -- practice with both horns while watching what's happening with intonation with a tuner.
Never mind that the part you're playing from is pitched for the Bb instrument and it "sounds wrong" when you play it on an Eb horn -- just make the switch and try to change the embouchure "on the go". You'll have problems at first (and when you return after a long absence, as well), but sooner or later you'll get "in the groove".
I have also never utilized mouthpiece covers on my horns. Taking the extra five seconds to cap things up when they are on the stand before picking up the next one, uncapping it (another five seconds) and then getting the horn into the mouth makes the transitions all the rougher. Plus, there's always the dropped mouthpiece cap in the orchestra pit problem.
(In my musical group, we always celebrate the "First Dropping Of The Trombone Mutes" following each performance. The four of them just can't seem to get through two sets without dropping at least one, usually the big, noisy copper one.)
Another hint is to periodically "rewet" the reeds on the horns on the stand that you haven't used for a while. I have found that a "cat-like" lick of the exposed back of the reed every ten minutes or so is enough to keep things moist and ready for instant use.
I've bought and used plastic reeds, but I can't say that I am as happy with them as I have been with the old purple Van Dornes. The greatest benefit of the plastic reeds is that they are ALWAYS ready to go.
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Author: Aussiegirl
Date: 2004-12-24 05:25
Burt. i'm also attempting to transpose english horn parts from reed 2! Bari parts still play bottom parts south of the equator, i even get the melody in 76 trombones!
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2004-12-25 20:18
One other thing:
I recall The Music Man as being one of the few appearances of the bass saxophone in the musical mix. If it is what I recall, you have a shot at a nifty piece of the melody in the Ecentric Couple Dance (the second half of the Shipoopee song towards the end). It should pretty well lay in the range of the baritone sax once you transpose it out. So, see if your director will let you play it on the baritone for the proper effect. Don't let some dumb Dora play it on the soprano clarinet...
True orchestra pit story:
I once did a college production of West Side Story in a pit that was divided into two halves by a thrust built down the middle. We were split up during the performance portion of our work. With my bari, tenor, clarinet and bass clarinet, I sat on one side with the brass and most of the percussion, while the rest of the winds and the strings occupied the other.
During the opening dance sequence, there was this one bit of clarinet player that I just couldn't place. As I was pretty busy on the baritone and tenor throughout, I never gave it much mind during the performance, but it just never seemed right. I just figured something had been changed in the rehearsals (I was only there for the performances, primarily to play the fancy sax stuff in the tenor/bari book), so I didn't pay it much mind.
One evening, when I got there early enough to hump all of my stuff down the ladder (no stairs in that pit, since the thrust in the middle kept the hydraulics from functioning) and then to hang around for a while. That's when I discovered the little college gal on the other side, practicing her book like mad, playing not only the bass clarinet part (there is more than one in WSS) but also the bass SAX part on her R13.
What was supposed to be a rumbling bass line part was being played a full two octaves above the intended pitch. But, what are you going to do??? And, she was quite attractive, in a Southern Illinois sort of way...
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Author: Aussiegirl
Date: 2004-12-26 06:07
The bass sax parts are all writted out for bari in the book that im using, the shipoopi dance is definately a highlight, as well as the "double bell euphoniums and big bassoons" bit in 76 troms! This is the first time ive seen bass sax written in a musical score, let alone tried to play the parts, id love to have a go at playing the actual instrument tho!
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