 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Library Geek
Date: 2009-07-03 14:24
Hello. I got a used Bundy Resonite Bass Clarinet back in January. After a few appointments with my local tech, its playing well and I'm having great fun playing it on some pieces in my local community church orchestra.
I do have trouble consistently playing the low E, F, F#, and G. They often come out sounding "higher." They sound correctly when I drop my jaw, tighten up, and take more mouthpiece into my mouth. Did I just describe the correct way to play the bass clarinet? The tech person also recommended pressing the keys harder than I would on the soprano clarinet. I find that the notes come out wrong mostly after I've been playing for awhile--getting tired.
I think its just going to take some practice to consistently hold my embouchure in the correct way. My question is, are there any particular exercises I should be doing (scales, long notes, fast notes, arpeggios)?
Maybe I've answered my own question, and I just needed to talk about it out loud. Any other advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ann
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Author: aero145
Date: 2009-07-03 14:31
I at least put quite much of mouthpiece in the mouth when I play the bass, for all notes, be it extremely high or the low notes.
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Author: Library Geek
Date: 2009-07-03 14:32
For what its worth, my set up is:
-George M. Bundy Mouthpiece
-Rovner Dark Ligature
-Fibracell Med. Soft reed (both tenor and bass clarinet reed--no difference in performance between the two)
I also try to lean the bell of the bass clarient toward my feet and under the chair, so the mouthpiece comes into my mouth more like the soprano clarinet.
Ann
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Author: William
Date: 2009-07-03 14:57
You should be able to play those low notes with relative ease on your Bundy bass. I would suspect that there are still leaks somewhere that your tech could correct. It should not be necessary to "push down harder" on the keys to close the pads if they are adjusted properly. As for "angle", our local university professor of saxophone, who used to actually sub on bass clarinet with the NY Philharmonic during his days at Eastman, advocates using a more "straight out" angle when playing the bass clarinet. He likens the angle of the embouchure more to that of the sax than to the soprano clarinet. Although my Buffet 1193-2 bass has an "angled" neck, I actually place the bell a bit farther away to lessen it's effect and that seems to help, especially in the upper clarion register.
BTW, I would recommend that you upgrade your mouthpiece. I have a Walter Grabner bass mpc that plays wonderfully, but many on this board have liked Clark Fobes product. Either, IMHO, would play much better than your "beginner" G. Bundy mpc. A pro bass mouthpiece is worth every extra penny no matter what bass clarinet you play in terms of sound and response. My Grabner CX_BS makes bass clarinetting the most fun, ever!!
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2009-07-03 15:17
I have a Selmer USA which is a very similar instrument. Spend some time going over it working out the mechanism and making sure all the pads do what they're supposed to. The keywork is soft and easily goes out of adjustment. I found a new mouthpiece (a B40 for me) gave an instant and recognizable improvement.
Bass takes more air, more mouthpiece, and above all more support. Blow from your middle, or your feet if you are able.
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Author: DougR
Date: 2009-07-03 15:23
Since you asked, my suggestion for technical enhancements is, a good bunch of lessons with a local bass clarinetist who is PRIMARILY a bass clarinetist, and/or with regular symphonic playing experience, optimally a full-fledged pro.
Unless and until you have the physical technique (embouchure, breathing, posture, horn height and positioning etc.) under control, everything else is spinach. Sure, be certain that the horn is covering correctly. But if you're asking the kinds of questions you are (about mouthpiece, how much of it to take in, etc.)--which, by the way, are pertinent & pressing questions--in a forum like this, it tells me you could use someone at your elbow, demonstrating, correcting, adjusting, etc.
I speak as someone who bought my first bass some years ago, poodled along on it for a while having a certain amount of "fun" at it, and then signed up for lessons with a local symphony pro. He blew me RIGHT out of the water, in that my playing & sense of the instrument were completely transformed. You really need to hear someone like this play next to you.
It's a commitment to study the horn with someone, of course, but MY experience is that the rewards vastly outweigh the burden of the commitment. (Bass is now my favorite instrument, by the way.)
good luck!
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2009-07-03 16:21
As said above, have a skilled BASS CL repairer "drop a light" in your horn to find the pad which require too much "seating pressure", and make the adjustments , and also coordinate the long keys for G# and lower. Almost any bass should play the lower notes very easily, IMHO, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2009-07-03 17:18
Your TECH told you to push the keys harder than a regular clarinet?? Find yourself a new tech!
The only reason you'd need to push the keys harder is if the pads aren't sealing properly, which your technician should be able to fix!
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Library Geek
Date: 2009-07-03 17:35
Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll take it in to be looked at next week--and look into a better mouthpiece and work on my embouchure. And yes, now that I think about it--I probably shouldn't have to press down harder on the keys.
Just one more quick question: tuning. I know I can pull the neck out a bit to tune, but is it also ok to pull out the mouthpiece (sort of like a sax player would do)?
Thanks again,
Ann
Post Edited (2009-07-03 17:37)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-07-03 17:36
It sounds like you're voicing to high, to much like a clarinet. You have to voice lower in the back of your throat and don't let your tongue go to high. Begin the notes as if you're playing flat but without actually playing flat. Check my website for more detailed info on playing the bass clarinet in the bass clarinet pages. ESP
http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2009-07-06 08:58
> I know I can pull the neck out a bit to tune, but is it also ok to pull out the mouthpiece
I don't pull the mpc cos it tends to slip back (cork's a bit loose on mine). But I have noticed I have to pull the neck a looong way on my plastic bass to reach A=440.
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Author: lrooff
Date: 2009-07-07 04:51
Try to avoid using the mouthpiece for tuning. When you pull out the neck, the resulting space is a gap that isn't much different in diameter than the bore of the instrument. On the other hand, pulling the mouthpiece out creates a much deeper channel in the gap that can't be good for the dynamics of the sound. Think of it in terms of creating turbulance that affects the flow of air and sound.
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