 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mark Fleming
Date: 2006-11-03 19:59
I just bought a paperclip off of Ebay. After I won, somebody was posting phone "second chance offers" to other bidders. I contacted one of the bidders who told me that he has been having all kinds of trouble with contras on Ebay. He'd win an auction, the seller would want a money order, and the same instrument would come up for auction again by a different seller. Beware.
Anyway, I got mine and it's in fine shape. I'm a hobby player, having gained all of my training in grade school 40 years ago.
I see that there are two styles of Bb paperclips. One has the bell below the top bend and the other has the bell even with the top bend. This web site shows the two forms. http://hem.passagen.se/eriahl/ctrbass.htm
The one used in the Stockholm Clarinet Choir has the low bell, like mine. The other picture (of a recent LeBlanc) shows the high bell. What's the difference, if any?
Is there a fingering chart available? I can toot through most notes, but I'd really like a fingering chart.
Mark
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2006-11-03 21:01
The one with the shorter bell is an earlier model with range to low D; the taller-belled model is a more recent version with range to low C. Fingerings are the same as any other Boehm clarinet.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2006-11-03 21:24
Mark -
Leblanc's original BBb paperclip contra was the "low bell" model, with a range to written low D. They later switched to the "high bell" model, which goes to low C.
The section holding the low Db and C keys is removable, and many players take it off, finding that the instrument plays better that way. Many players also leave off the bell, for the same reason. I've tried that on my high bell instrument and haven't found any difference.
Almost all the metal Leblanc contras come out of schools and are in bad condition. Any jostling will throw the long rods out of adjustment. Also, most instruments leak badly, not only around the pads but also through soldered joints that have developed pinholes. These instruments can play very well if they're set up properly. but it's rare to find one that is.
If you're serious about playing contra in a group, you should take it to a repair shop that specializes in large metal instruments, such as saxophone restoration.
It used to be almost impossible to get new pads from Leblanc, but I'm told they're now available. I think standard sax leather pads would fit. Another problem is that the pads are held in not by shellac but by screws. They need to be seated flute-style, with semicircles of paper beneath the pads.
It's important for the repair shop to get the tonehole rims level and to check every possible metal joint for leaks. Equally important is to regulate the extremely complex double register key mechanism.
The next problem is the mouthpiece. School mouthpieces take a terrible beating and are usually almost unplayable. Clark Fobes makes an excellent student BBb contra mouthpiece for under $100. A step up is a Selmer, but 99% of them are crooked and need extensive refacing.
Leblanc originally made a wide mouthpiece (which takes Vandoren BBb contra reeds) and then switched to a narrower design, the same width of their Eb contra mouthpiece. (For me, Vandoren bass sax reeds work best on these.) The narrow mouthpiece loses resonance and pitch definition on the lowest notes.
Contra reeds almost all warp down the middle on the bottom, causing leaks and killing the response. I buy contra reeds as hard as I can find and sand down the bottoms on 400 grit waterproof sandpaper until the cane is shiny all over.
The reed has to bend over a very long lay. Therefore, you should set the tip of the reed slightly above the tip of the mouthpiece (maybe 1/2 mm).
If you have trouble in the clarion register, it helps to bunch up your chin and drop your jaw down and back, in a bassoonist's "Andy Gump" embouchure. To keep your brains from getting scrambled, you should try to play double-lip.
A bass clarinet fingering chart will work for contra in the chalumeau and clarion registers. Unfortunately, Leblanc didn't put on the vent for the left index finger key that bass clarinets have, so the altissimo notes are difficult. Terje Lerstad has a chart of altissimo fingerings that work for him. See http://kunst.no/lerstad/altissimo.html and http://kunst.no/lerstad/contrabass.html.
Good luck. Contra is loads of fun.
Ken Shaw
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2006-11-04 02:31
Rather than switch to double-lip to avoid low-frequency brain-scrambling, the simpler expedient of affixing a mouthpiece patch to the beak works for me. You might try that first.
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2006-11-04 13:57
When reading the http://kunst.no/lerstad/altissimo.html , keep in mind that C1=BBoard C4, not to get confused which octave they're talking about.
Ken Shaw wrote:
"If you have trouble in the clarion register, it helps to bunch up your chin and drop your jaw down and back, in a bassoonist's "Andy Gump" embouchure. To keep your brains from getting scrambled, you should try to play double-lip."
My experience is that all involvement with teeth at all is problematic especially jumping between registers. Yesterday we played the first performance of a commissioned work by Henrik Strindberg with quick passages over the brakes, reaching from altissimo C# and down about two octaves, up and down over the brakes. Three weeks ago in Hans Werner Henze’s 7th symphony I had a similar experience.
The easiest way to play this in the given tempo was opening up the cavity with no resistance in the cheeks at all but allowing them to puff, playing with an embouchure similar to when kissing (if you’re lucky enough to have that experience). Like this the reed is free to shape the way it wants in all registers. I didn’t even have to “re-start” the reed in the chalumeau. The slightest tremble with the jaw creates problems when playing over the brakes. Just let it flow and go with the instrument.
To quickly get to know how to play the BBb contra: Forget all you’ve learned about clarinet embouchure for a start and start experimenting yourself using only your ears, keeping in mind that the instrument needs a lot of air and a maximum of space from the diaphragm to the bell. Relaxation is the key word to get away from the thin metal-like noise that comes out the first time you try a BBb contra. What you want is a full, dark, rich bass sound that favors the low harmonics. They don’t come out when using anything near a regular clarinet embouchure.
Alphie
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Author: LCL
Date: 2006-11-04 17:01
John Butler in Sugarland, TX did a fantastic overhaul on mine in 2001 and it has played very well since. I believe he's a sponser and you may wish to get in touch with him if your's needs work too. He is extremely competent and very successfully added resonators to my Selmer Eb Rosewood contra-alto. I recommend him highly!
LCL
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Author: CJB
Date: 2006-11-04 23:14
From my VERY limited contra playing experience I haven't found a mouthpiece patch enough to reduce the vibration in head to the point where I can still focus on the music on the very low notes. Instead I've had to either double lip, or at least remove my upper teeth from the mouthpiece. Sadly the contra I've had access to is in poor condition (the owner though it was a contra alto!) and well beyond my limited repair skills. All the time I played with it was a standoff between woman and instrument as to who was going to get the sound it wanted (low growl from me, piccolo threatening squeeeeeeeeeeeek from it).
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2006-11-04 23:54
Interesting, CJB! I've played a lot of EEb contra-alto and a fairly limited amount of BBb contrabass over the last few decades, always with mouthpiece patches and single-lip embouchure, generally on well-adjusted instruments, and never had any vibration problems. Maybe because I'm 'thick-headed' (as everyone tells me...........)
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2006-11-05 01:49
Same-same here, and I've never felt that the tone on either metal or wood/Resonite instruments was anything other than full and "reedy". Perhaps David and I are just not resonant enough...
Regarding the altissimo register on the "big" clarinets, I recall that the first finger left hand does not always lay over a tone hole, hence the omission of the "half hole" vent found on the bass and alto clarinet. From my experience, each instrument responds differently to that register; i.e., what works on one Bundy will not necessarily work on a Selmer contra-alto.
If I had to choose between the paperclips and a wood bodied instrument, I'd go for the Leblanc metal horns every time. Lighter weight, more compact to hold, and superior response. That rosewood Selmer horn looks good as hell, but I'll take performance over appearance every time. (After all, I do play a classic Conn alto sax.)
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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Author: Mark Fleming
Date: 2006-11-05 22:04
Thanks for all the responses. I had already searched the web for comments about reeds for the contrabass, and I have a Legere #2.5, a Legere #3.5, and a box of Vandoren #2s on order. I wait for the postman every day. The old reed that came with it was mangled. I've jerry rigged it to honk out a few notes, but I can't wait to see what new reeds can do.
I was surprised at the good condition of the pads and most corks. I've bought a couple of metal clarinets off Ebay over the last couple of years and have completely stripped them down and repadded and corked then for fun. So I'm not too intimidated by the contrabass.
When I got back into playing clarinet, I took in my first clarinet for repair and watched the initial checkup. The technician took off the bell and the barrel, put a cork in the end and alternately sucked and blew into the clarinet. Maybe this is common. He could then see which pads sealed, didn't seal, didn't seal as well, etc. I've used the same trick when rebuilding my "Ebay special" metal clarinents.
Turns out a #6 1/2 cork fits the contrabass with the bell off. By closing every pad and sucking/blowing, I found one pad that didn't seal right. But I know from past experience to wait before making any adjustments. Despite the pads looking great, the clarinet looked like it was last played by a greasy auto mechanic. Only after cleaning/polishing it does it make sense to adjust anything. While cleaning, I knocked springs off, lost a few corks that weren't attached good enough, and changed some of the mechanics. I'm just now getting back to the final adjustments. I'll have to figure out how to get to the upper notes to be able to see if those mechanics are okay. And I'll have to learn what the "clarion register" is. What I need is a "Clarinet for Dummies" book so that I can at least learn the lingo. Thanks again.
Mark
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2006-11-05 23:17
Mark -
The low register (lowest note up through middle line Bb) is called the "chalmeau."
The second register (middle line B natural through C on the second ledger line) is called the "clarion."
The third register (second ledger line C# and above) is called the "altissimo."
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