 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ContrabassLover
Date: 2010-10-23 23:31
I play both bass clarinet and bassoon and have the option of switching to either one of these for concert season. I'm sort of biased in favor of the clarinet family as I think clarinets are the best instruments ever created but I also love my double reed instruments.
Any suggestions or recommendations on which I should choose? Typically do they get the same music?
I'm leaning towards contrabass clarinet. We have a paperclip that goes to low c and plays well for the time I tried it one day. The contrabassoon hasn't been used in a while but I love the sound too.
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Author: concertmaster3
Date: 2010-10-24 06:44
If you're playing in band, I think the Contrabass Clarinet would be a better choice, but if you ever get a chance to play in orchestra, contrabassoon will be great.
Ron Ford
Woodwind Specialist
Performer/Teacher/Arranger
http://www.RonFordMusic.com
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2010-10-24 14:19
I am a bassoon fan (and a clarinetist of sorts). Every year, I spend a Saturday in Cheny, WA at the Univ of Eastern WA's BASSOONARAMA. The contrabassoon used in the Disney movie "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is now owned by the Spokane Symphony and makes frequent appearances at BASSOONARAMA.
The symphony players that are stuck with the Disney horn are very dissatisfied with it, as its intonation sucks --some notes being a full step out of tune.
Problem solved with Luke Bakken's purchase of a ContraForte that he plays instead of the contrabassoon. The CF has a bigger bore (about 2x as large) and is driven by a reed that seems to be as wide as a whisk broom, so it is much louder, if you want it to be than the contrabassoon.
It is also in tune.
The CF's mechanism is fascinating, even having sheathed cables like the shifter cables on a bicycle.
SO, I'd take a look at the contrabassoon you'll be confronted with and opt out if is a nasty horn and play the clarinet instead.
(Assuming that you don't have cello money for the ContaForte.)
Bob Phillips
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2010-10-25 02:56
Not to veer off on a tangent, but the Washington National Symphony's superb contrabassoonist, Lewis Lipnick, recently started playing the Eppelsheim/Wolf Contraforte -- there was actually an article in the Washington Post about his switch. Evidently a fine instrument.
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