 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mary
Date: 2001-01-28 08:09
Well, I'm under the gun to play the bass clarinet for a gig. Unfortunately, my experience on the bass instrument is nearly zero.
I am bumping up the twelfth when I try to play the lowest of the chalumeau notes, particularly a,b,g sometimes below g#, but less often.
I asked a bass clarinet friend of mine who only sniffed, "the bass clarinet and I are a natural fit together. I've never had that problem." or, "I don't know, put more mouthpiece in and loosen up your embouchure."
I figured that this topic would have come up already on Sneezy, but no luck. So, bass specialists and ametuers (or saxaphonists for that matter): suggestions are appreciated.
Is there a special way to focus my air? Where exactly should my tongue position be if I'm supposed to drop my jaw and keep it all loose? do I also lower the back of the tongue? How, if at all, does articulation differ from that of the soprano clarinet (tip of tongue lightly touching the reed)? Any practice suggestions?
On the inconsistent chance that I hit the low note, repeated tonguing may also bump it to the upper range.
I'd like to be able to articulate the note at the moment that the note is supposed to begin, it's usually delayed, as I'm never sure which note I'm actually going to play. I did discover that my left first finger isn't always over the half hole, which helped some of the problem. Normally, I'm all soprano Bb,A,Eb all the time, so, this is new.
My instrument of torment is a Vito with a Fobes mthpc.
thank you for your suggestions.
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Author: graham
Date: 2001-01-28 12:16
If it is overblowing to the 12th then perhaps there is a leak higher up the instrument which for some reason does not affect the notes below G. But if you are as often squeeking as getting the 12th then that sounds more as i would expect. Try to use less attack until you get the balance in your mind. Experiment with reed brands and strengths. Hard reeds can be unhelpful. Reeds that are not blown in may cause these difficulties. Finally (and controversially) if you are repeating these notes with gaps between (like pizz strings) try holding the note under your tongue in the gaps. You can sometimes create an echo like subtone if the tongue lays on the reed without damping it entirely. Keep the air pressure up through the "silent" gap, and only control the note with the tongue (i.e. by allowing the note to emerge when the tongue is released until it is applied again). If you can get the knack of this, the notes will bark out at you with graeter security and depth of sound
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2001-01-28 19:33
And as you mentioned, great care must be taken to keep the half-hole covered when not playing in the altissimo.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-01-28 19:44
It sure sounds to me like you have at least one high-on-the-upper-joint pad leak. Check for pad seating, and torn pads, on register key and the upper side [trill] keys. I use pieces of masking tape to seal off one or several of the suspect tone holes for evaluation-leak-location purposes. On all basses I have played, the chalameau is the best register and should speak both softly and loudly. I use soft reeds and wide tip mp's, Selmer C* and Bundy 3 in preference to more "exotic" mps, with a sax-like embouchure !! Like most clars, I find the mid-staff B to be the best test-note for a "tight" horn and mp-reed combo. You might pose your questions on the bass-clarinet site now via Yahoo-groups. Luck, Don
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Author: Mary
Date: 2001-01-29 08:01
Thank you for the excellent advice. I did a simple check for leaks by stopping the bottom and inhaling the top. It seems to be a decent seal, and I haven't squeaked on it (knock on wood). I will, however, try a more indepth trial with the masking tape over each tone hole.
I kept the tongue just slightly touching the reed while sounding the note. It seems to help. The dampening keeps it in more control, however, as I release, I still get an instant of it attempting to overblow the bottom -- every time. If I keep the tongue on the reed, it will eventually calm down and go into the proper register.
Sometimes if a let go just a teeny bit I can keep it from jumping. Does this sound familiar? It doesn't seem right that the tongue is always on the reed when your beginning notes are sounding. Could this be possible since it is also a method of repeated articulation? It's seems hard to believe, especially since the method still allows for the jump. I don't think I've found the specific problem, yet.
I'll continue trying the other suggestions and search for the bass clarinet site that Don mentioned and see what suggestions I might find there.
Thank you again for your advice. It is very helpful and I really do appreciate it.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-01-29 09:03
Some bass clarinets have a linkage operated by a G/C gey - or was that F/Bb - which swaps over register keys. Even though there are no apparent leaks in each body half there could be a leak from this mechanism not being properly adjusted.
Also check the bridge key from first finger right hand to the upper section. If it operates the upper section before the right hand keys close fully this could cause problems.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-01-29 17:41
Very true, Gordon, the coordination of the two register vent/pads [if your bass, Mary, has this "double-register-key-structure", which usually only the more costly woods do have!] is all important to playability. So also is the coordination of the throat A/G# keys, which I set up to have a bit of "knock" when barely pressing the A. Many students, having a screwdriver, turn in the set-screw, when they should leave it alone! , causing a slight leak and making playing difficult [or impossible] . In my experience, if those two situations are not problems , I examine the seating and coordination of the thumb "F" pad with the LF F# pads , which like the bridge key [useful for the "long" Eb/Bb by both index fingers] must be coordinated and not require too-great finger pressure to seat and speak, which may interfere when playing fast passages!!! Yes, these potential problems seem to recommend expert set-up "tweaking" , due to the greater complexity of the bass keying [beyond the usual Bb's] . Good luck, Don
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Author: C. Hogue
Date: 2001-01-30 20:30
Mary, I'm having a very similar problem with my Evette hard-rubber bass -- on low F and sometimes F# and G, I pop up to the clarion. Our colleagues here on Sneezy helped me ID this as a leak and not "operator error." I've had the horn to two different repair shops and they helped but did not solve the problem. After my next concert (in a week), I'm handing my bass over to a skilled fellow who specializes in bass repair. Found him through Sneezy.
I sympathize/empathize with you. I'm at my wit's end struggling with my equipment. At one point last week, I was ready to launch my bass out the window when I kept hitting clarion C when I was tounging three loud, short, accented low Fs -- regardless of what I did.
In the mean time, I've found that putting more mouthpiece into my mouth, tounging gently, and focusing on keeping my throat open when hitting those problem notes seems to help. So does changing reeds (so they don't get waterlogged) midway through a rehersal or concert. I also angle the thing forward on its peg. My bass' neck is of the old design from back when we just slung them to the side like a sax, which gave a fairly decent angle to blow into the mouthpiece. With the peg, this kind of straight-on neck is far less than optimal, at least for me.
At Don's suggestion, I tried the slightly green Geo. Bundy 3 mouthpiece that came with my bass instead of my C*. It also helped me get my problem notes better. I've done the 50/50 bleach/water soak and this mouthpiece now looks like new.
However, nothing short of repair jobs by technicans who know what they're doing on a bass will solve these problems.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-01-31 09:38
I recently serviced a base clarinet for which the user had bought 4 different mouthpieces in attempting to solve its problems before giving up an selling it. It was almost unplayable.
It is amazing how many times I see advice given, on this and the sax forum, that almost any problem can be sold with reed, ligature, or mouthpiece changes.
The fact is that a bass clarinet, as with a sax and soprano clarinet, the low notes speak really easily on ALL instruments, even for relative beginners, when they are correctly adjusted. There is actually surprisingly little difference between all but the very worst instruments when they are adjusted PROPERLY.
Some of the advice I read is on a par with suggesting painting a car to fix a gear box!!
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