 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: gsurosey
Date: 2010-12-02 15:44
At rehearsal last night, I accidentally discovered that if I prop my bass on my eefer case (and sit forward in the chair and tip the bass forward/bring the bell back towards me), it's right where I need it to be height-wise and I don't have to deal with the strap. Sweet! I also noticed that with this setup, in order to get the best response, I'm pushing up into the reed with my lower lip to the point where I can feel it in my jaw (not sure about what my top lip was doing; I don't remember!). Is that normal on bass? I know embouchure-wise, bass and soprano are different. I've found that my bass playing is better if I move farther down the mpc toward the neck.
I wasn't sure if the pushing from the bottom thing was because that's normal on bass or because of a neck connection problem I have. The neck wiggles even if I have the screw as tight as I can hand tighten it (and then I get laughed at because more often than not I have to loosen the screw with a pair of pliers; I'm careful not to snap it).
Anyway, I was thinking that my pushing up on the neck held it in a stable position and was helping out that issue (man, I need money for instrument adjustments!!). Any suggestions on this? I've tried shimming the neck with teflon tape, but that came off (thought it's a great shim on my Bb to make the RH E/B meet the crows foot at the same point the RH F#/C# key does.
Thanks!
Rachel
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2010-12-02 15:54
>>The neck wiggles even if I have the screw as tight as I can hand tighten it <<
I assume you have a metal tenon there and sounds lke you need to have the neck fitted. If you are in Rochester I think I remember a reputable place in that area called Thomas Music.
>> it's a great shim on my Bb to make the RH E/B meet the crows foot at the same point the RH F#/C# key does <<
If you put something on the E/B key in that way then it will change the adjustment of F/C and E/B closing. Depending on the adjustment on your insrument, could be better or worse. If the crow's foot is hitting F#/C# first, then you have a problem of double action which is minor in comparison to either the F/C key or E/B key not closing.
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Author: LCL
Date: 2010-12-02 16:17
I would recommend that you have a floor peg soldered to the bell to take care of what you are doing via the prop on the eefer case. I also use a neck strap too, but some don't! You seem to have the right idea in the description of how you are moving the bell back and inclining the bc forward. A re-angled neck would help that. And taking more mpc. into the mouth is also the right approach, at least for me, but I'm not a pro. I've only played bc since 1958. The neck wiggle does need to be fixed. I play a Leblanc low C with a metal tenon and don't have to use a pair of pliers to take the neck off and neither should you!
Good luck,
LCL
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Author: claritoot26
Date: 2010-12-02 16:42
Good comments above. Yes, the bell should be moved toward you, to get a better mouthpiece angle. There are re-angled necks you can buy, but they are quite expensive. I think Charles Bay makes one, but I haven't tried it...I liked the angled neck on my Buffet bass. You may need to get the neck cork replaced to fix that wiggle...take it to a technician, that is a quick and cheap fix, usually. A floor peg is pretty much a necessity for bass clar., since you might rehearse in different chairs of different heights, so the instrument position would need to be adjusted each time you change chairs. That's easy to do with an adjustable floor peg. And correct, you need to take in more mouthpiece on bass than on soprano, just because the facing is longer, so the part of the reed that vibrates most is larger. I don't think you need to push up into the reed with the lower lip, though (if I'm envisioning that correctly!). If anything, the lower jaw needs to be more open than on soprano, to let the reed vibrate well, especially for those low notes. Also, if you bite too hard on the upper register notes, you can easily get squeaks or higher notes than you aim for. I try to sit with my head and neck up straight, and make sure my top teeth really stay connected to the mouthpiece. In other words, I think I put more pressure on the top of the mouthpiece than on the reed, for bass clarinet. And this can only be done if the height of the instrument is in the right position and stable, i.e. with a good peg. good luck
Lori
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Author: kdk
Date: 2010-12-02 17:00
Decreasing the angle down from 90 degrees (straight in) is the reason why many players use more angled necks. Lori mentioned angled necks that are commercially available, but I had my regular repair tech re-angle the original neck of my Leblanc bass and am much more comfortable. The problem with leaning a bass with a standard straight-in neck forward is that the instrument then wants to fall forward, causing stability problems, especially in the throat notes and over the break, that you have to solve one way or another with your hands, legs or embouchure. With more upward angle in the neck you can stand the instrument up straighter and have less of that forward pull to deal with.
I agree, too, with LCL that having a floor peg installed would be better than using the instrument case. I find a peg to be inherently more stable than a neck strap, although YMMD. For another thing, different chairs sometimes have different seat heights and you need to be able to adjust the instrument higher or lower to compensate.
Karl
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-12-02 17:13
Check out my article, "bass clarinet for dummies, 101, on my website in the bass clarinet section . I think it will help you understand a lot about how to play the bass correctly. You might get some helpful hints. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: gsurosey
Date: 2010-12-02 21:09
Thanks for the replies everybody. I'm going to talk to my teacher tomorrow since he plays bass, too (RPO). In response to a post above, the tenon socket is metal as it the neck tenon (Bundy bass, 9,xxx so an oldie). This is the first bass I have had to take the pliers approach to; not something I'd like to continue.
Rachel
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2010-12-02 21:21
For the wobbly neck, you can buy (very thin) sheet teflon with adhesive on the back. That might work. Or, since money is an issue, you could also try (shiny) electrician's tape. Once upon a time, to fix a wobbly saxophone neck, I simply used printer paper. I had to change it every time I played but it worked.
Best regards,
jnk
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