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Small person, big bass clarinet!

Author: kawallace91
Date: 2012-01-26 00:04

This semester, a nightmare has come true: my professor decided it's my turn to play bass clarinet in our wind symphony. I would probably be excited if it weren't such a problem physically. I'm under 5 feet tall, and with that comes short arms, small hands, small mouth, etc. The biggest problem seems to be reaching the right pinky keys. Doing that is a big stretch, and after having our first rehearsal this morning, I'm feeling pain in my neck and back on my right side.

I know to some extent, there isn't much I can do about this, but I'm wondering if anyone has encountered this kind of situation before and found ways to compensate for it. I toyed briefly with holding it to the side instead of between my legs, more like a bassoon (which I played last year without issue!) or saxophone, and that lessened the reach a bit. My professor and my conductor are aware of my issues, and if it gets to be too much of a problem, they can have someone else play it. I know the experience will definitely be valuable though, so I hope it doesn't come down to that. It's been a stressful start though!

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Small person, big bass clarinet! new

kawallace91

2012-01-26 00:04