 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Claribelli
Date: 2010-03-04 23:50
I am teaching an 11 year old boy in his school band program who has progressed from his Bb clarinet to play the school's Yamaha bass clarinet in the concert band. He is getting a fine sound and enjoying every minute of it, but we have trouble getting the instrument to a height that will allow him to both have the instrument in his mouth comfortably and reach the low E, F etc keys. If we elevate him up on a cushion we can adjust the spike so that he can reach the lower keys a bit better but he still has to contort himself somewhat to do so. Having taken up bass clarinet in high school myself I didn't run into any of these problems! Would having a harness rather than a spike help the situation?
Many thanks
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2010-03-04 23:54
My 8 year old daughter plays my Low C Selmer Privilege bass. I put her on a bar stool with a spike and it works fine. I have a harness, but neither of us like it. Jeff Anderle of Sqwonk makes a different, more flexible spike that might work better for you than the rigid ones. His website address for the gear is:
http://www.jeffanderle.com/Gear.html
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2010-03-05 00:08
Tilting the instrument forward will help getting the lower keys into reach. This means that a harness might be necessary, as a precaution, so that the instrument cannot fall forward.
If the player's body's distance between mouth and stretched hand is too small to reach down the clarinet, there's little you can do short of changing the angle of the instrument body vs the player's body.
--
Ben
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2010-03-05 05:25
Try to work on this problem very very slowly and you will eventually manage to improve
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-03-05 13:51
I'm adult (amateur) but a bit too short to play contra-alto clarinet comfortably from a normal chair. Also, I have very small hands. I've found that a drummer's throne with adjustable height makes a good practice chair. This backless stool lets me play in a somewhat crooked position without the back of a chair getting in the way of my elbow. I do use a chest harness on contra, because I don't want all that weight on my neck when I practice standing up (I alternate standing and sitting so as not to get stuck being able to play only one way), but I don't think the harness has really helped much with the issue of reaching the mouthpiece and the keys at the same time.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-03-05 16:29
Try having them tilt the bass so the peg is more of an angle under the chair. That should bring the lower keys closer to their right hand. If the bass is straight up and down, or worse, the bell is further from the chair than the neck, it makes that part of the bass further away from their right hand. Have them angle it to fit their hand as best it can be. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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