 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinetjoel
Date: 2010-02-04 19:22
Unfortunately my experiences with orchestral playing are fairly limited...I've only just started playing regularly in a youth orchestra and as a result my experience with the A clarinet is limited.
Any tips? I'm having a hard time with clarity and hitting the right partials accurately. Also much resistance in the clarion registar.
Can't say I can blame it on the horn...I'm simply not used to the instrument. Tips?
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Author: Paul Miller
Date: 2010-02-04 19:34
A clarinets tend to be naturally more resistant, so you might want to do a couple of things. First, try using a reed a half strength lower than what you're used to. If you have a habit of biting, the A clarinet won't want to play very well. Second, look into getting a different barrel for the instrument. Clark Fobes makes excellent barrels and if you get in contact with him and describe your problem he can probably find some gear that helps alleviate the problem.
Ideally, the A clarinet should respond just about the same way as your Bb.
I would also suggest doing all of your warmup and technical exercises on the A for a few weeks. This will help you get used to the increased resistance and learn how your instrument plays.
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Author: TPeterson
Date: 2010-02-04 19:34
Is the A clarinet yours or borrowed? It can be a challenge to find an instrument/barrel combination that offers similar resistance and response between your Bb and A clarinets. I recommend going through your regular practice routine at home on your A for a while to help you get used to how the instrument feels and responds. You're absolutely right, the instruments feel very different, but it shouldn't really be night and day. I am very blessed to have a well-matched pair and always felt badly for my friends whose horns were completely different for it made quick changes rather difficult. Have fun! A good, sweet, mellow A clarinet can be a real joy to play!
Tim Peterson
Band Director & Clarinetist
Ionia, MI
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Author: clarinetjoel
Date: 2010-02-04 20:30
It's not my own...borrowed.
For one it has a 67 or 68 mm barrel and is still pretty sharp.
I'm looking into finding my own...I prefer to play on buffets and depending on the situation I enjoy leblancs. This one is a selmer.
So far I have been doing my warm-ups on it. The most agonizing of these with my A are my tonguing exercises...is this usual?
I've been searching for a good deal but of course this is no easy task. (One of my peers in the orchestra with me got her Buffet Prestige RC in A for around $1300...plays great...where was i??)
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2010-02-04 21:40
Look at Tom Ridenour's Lyrique A clarinet. A very nice instrument for the price he charges! I have the Bb version, and my standmate bought one of the A clarinets for her orchestral playing.
http://www.ridenourclarinetproducts.com/Apage.html
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
Post Edited (2010-02-04 21:41)
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Author: kdk
Date: 2010-02-04 22:09
An A clarinet is longer and has a slightly different bore shape from a B-flat clarinet, so there may be small differences in response, although probably not much more than you might find between two B-flat instruments of different brands or models (or even different specimens of the same product). I sometimes find that reeds that feel good on my A clarinet seem a little light on my B-flat, but they're still within the normal range of the same strength. If a piece uses both instruments, I use the same reed for both without a problem.
Are you borrowing it at no charge? If so, I've always felt that it was money well spent, and a way to thank the lender of an instrument, to have a borrowed instrument brought up to good playing condition by a good technician even if I needed to pay for it out of pocket. If you aren't paying rental or the price of buying an instrument, the cost of having any needed repairs done would be minimal by comparison.
I would strongly suspect that if your borrowed A clarinet plays with so much more difficulty, there may well be something mechanically wrong with it that you should have fixed before you begin searching around for different reeds, mouthpieces or barrels, which can end up costing much more that a tech's shop time if all that's wrong is a couple of leaky pads or damaged tone holes.
Karl
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2010-02-04 22:19
Tip for A clarinet?
Blow it like you would any other clarinet. If it doesn't work then it more than likely needs a little maintenance.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2010-02-04 23:27
I'm not sure what you mean by "hitting the right partials accurately." If the tone won't "hold" in the clarion, but tries to drop back into the chalumeau, you need to check the register vent to clean out any crud, and make sure the register key opens the proper distance. (You should just be able to slip a nickel under it.) On the other hand, if the clarion notes tend to jump up into the altissimo, it's extremely likely that one of the pads near the top of the instrument is leaking.
High resistance also means there are leaks. In this case, I almost certainly *would* blame it on the horn.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2010-02-04 23:41
Study the altissimo range because most A clarinets need different fingerings for those notes than the Bb.
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2010-02-05 00:38
If you're playing a 440 mouthpiece (of the 13 series variety by vandoren, or most custom mouthpieces) and it needs a 67 or 68 mm barrel to play close to intune (and still sharp as you say) there is SOMETHING WRONG.
Possibilities are:
1) It's a 442 instrument intended for the European market
2) Excessive jaw pressure is being used which can raise pitch significantly.
3) The bore and\or tone holes are not at original factory specs.
4) Some other mechanical issues (leaking pads, etc.).
It may be a combination of these issues as well as others I can't think of at the moment. Generally the A clarinet should require a 1mm SHORTER barrel than the Bb to play in tune. I do know many players who play the same length on both Bb and A though.
Good luck!
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Author: clarinetjoel
Date: 2010-02-05 01:08
Its not a 13 series. The couple of people that I have talked to about it have found it odd.
I'll definately look into getting it checked out though...that seems to be the general consensus. Thanks!
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-02-05 02:03
There have been many good suggestions. The A clarinet might have a leak making it more resistant or it just might have too much to begin with. It probably won't work since your Bb is a Buffet, I assume, but try using the same barrel on your A clarinet that you use for your Bb, you never know, it might help equalize the resistance. A clarinets have a smaller bore and a different size register key vent tube and the Selmers are different bores than the Buffets. I play a Selmer Bb Signature and a Buffet A and sometimes I have to look to make sure I pick up the right clarinet because I'm so used to both of them I can't always tell which one I'm playing when I switch back and forth in the orchestra. If all else fails, try some other barrels as suggested and try to pick one the has as equal resistance as you can find to your Bb. You should try several in that case. Backun makes great barrels for both Buffets and Selmers. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: grifffinity
Date: 2010-02-05 02:22
The resistance can be a horn issue. Although I have a fantastic, there are subtle difference in resistance in the upper clarion between that and my Bb. Both are buffets, although the A is from 1955 and the Bb is from 1968.
If you have a teacher, have them play the A. If they say its fine my suggestion is to play your warm ups and etudes on A clarinet every practice session. You have to become accustom to the natural resistance. Also, make sure if you adjust your reeds for the A, they are not too soft when you switch to Bb. Play the reeds on both horns - if the resistance is that great you will have to compromise on both sides.
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Author: clarinetjoel
Date: 2010-02-05 02:32
My teacher suggested the same thing...he had no major issues with it. I've only been warming up on it for the past 4 days or so. We'll see what happens within a couple weeks.
It may be an empty request considering that there seems to be a high demand for good deals on A's among young players but does anyone know of any deals in the Chicago area?
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2010-02-05 03:43
Iceland_clarinet wrote
>>
Study the altissimo range because most A clarinets need different fingerings for those notes than the Bb.
<<
Really? That has never been my experience. Some may speak a bit better or worse at the very top of the range, but the difference for me is about as significant as a different reed or a different model of Bb.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2010-02-05 06:41
Sorry I should have been more clear. A clarinets don't need in general to use different fingerings except that the use of the Eb key(little finger) to bring the pitch up is not necessary on most A clarinets. That being said I don't know of any two clarinets that you can use the same fingerings on for the altissimo range so when you get the A clarinet you should study the altissimo range and pick up some orchestral excerpts.
I've been practicing the Nielsen concerto and one of the most difficult thing for me at least is to find good and secure fingerings in the altissimo range and to remember them as sometimes I mix them up with fingerings I need to use on the Bb. Example is high F# on the A I need to use 1,2,4,5,6 holes covered plus Eb key but on the Bb I really need to use 1,2,3,4,5 holes covered plus C#/G# key down.
I really should put down some chart of this for myself so I can learn them and make sure that I don't mix together fingerings for Bb and A.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2010-02-05 08:45
Iceland,
Why use such a complicated fingering? How about overblown Bb for F#?
Peter Cigleris
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Author: DezzaG
Date: 2010-02-05 11:20
Overblown Bb to high F# is usually 15-20 cents sharp I suggest to my students not to use this unless in a pinch. Those 2 long fingerings Iceland are using are pretty good, also experiment with A(2 fingers) plus either the top 1 or 2 trill keys. A very open fingering with less shrillness.
D
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2010-02-05 12:14
A very open fingering creates less resistance which makes the altissimo on my A clarinet not to be even with the rest of the horn.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2010-02-05 12:23
DezzaG,
Overblown Bb for F# is not sharp on my instruments and wasn't on my old 1010s perhaps it's because they are wide bore. Though having said that I've never found that fingering to be sharp in any of the French instruments I've played in the past
Peter Cigleris
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