 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Gouffre
Date: 2016-08-06 23:02
I've been practicing the bass clarinet since March/April this year, after some lessons on soprano late last year. My instrument is a Selmer Bundy off "that auction site"; it plays well aside from two things, and I'd like to ask for your input on these possibly related things.
First, the throat Bb, A and G# (even the G to some extent) are harsh and kazooish and stick out nastily. I've experimented with resonance fingerings and hold down RH 123 whenever possible and it's not of significant help. I haven't been able to fix it with breath support (I'm a singer and quite familiar with the basics of breathing from a vocal viewpoint). I also don't have this problem on soprano.
Second, the standard clarion high C fingering is nigh impossible; I rarely get anything but an undertone, and I've resorted to playing the note as a long altissimo fingering.
I use a 2.5 Legere and Yamaha 4C mouthpiece. I also have a Clark Fobes Debut but have the same problem with it (and despite recorking it's loose in the neck socket).
I have a few theories:
1. Bass throat notes require a more advanced level of breath control/support than soprano ones
2. It's something inherent to single register vent basses, so deal with it!
3. Something's wrong with my instrument
What do you think?
Post Edited (2016-08-06 23:03)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-08-06 23:51
It could be out of adjustment so both the speaker vents are open at the same time (the upper vent may be only just opening by a crack).
The upper vent should only open when the speaker key and left thumb are both held down.
The lower vent should only open when the speaker keys is held down but the left thumb is off the thumbplate (ie. when playing throat Bb).
You can check them by wedging down or completely removing the speaker key (the thumb key) and testing the closure of both vent key pads along with the left thumbplate pad.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-08-07 00:25
Does your bass have a single register key opening two automatically shifting register vents, or is it one vent (as you suggested in theory #2)?
Karl
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Author: pewd
Date: 2016-08-07 00:56
Possible problems: leak , torn pad, pad height issue, regulation problem in the upper joint, problem with spring tension, popped spring, register mechanism out of adjustment.
If you so much as think about a bass clarinet, it goes out of adjustment. They are very finicky.
Take it to a good repair technician, experienced in large woodwind instruments, and I'd imagine it will play much better after being worked on.
Good luck.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Max S-D
Date: 2016-08-07 23:16
I have that same instrument (I suspect) and that upper clarion register is just not as stable or predictable as on the very nice older Selmer that I got to play in college and neither of those comes close to the newer Buffets and Selmers that I have been lucky enough to test out over the years.
But the Bundy is all I've got now and I've learned to make it work. First off, as has been pointed out above, get it to a good technician who knows bass clarinets well. A small leak can cause all manner of headaches and performance anxiety.
Once everything is functional, you'll really need to think about voicing. Learning to voice properly on bass clarinet takes some getting used to coming from soprano clarinet, where the machine is more willing to just do it, but getting good at voicing on the bass clarinet has improved my soprano clarinet playing immensely. Basically, it forced me to think about something I should already have been more conscious of in the first place!
Voicing isn't just for the altissimo, either. It's how you will shape your sound throughout the range of the instrument.
I know that Mike Lowenstern did a great video on voicing recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVH4Omq87gA
He gets through the basics of that better than I could do in a forum post!
Notice how most of his video on improving your upper clarion and altissimo is focused on the throat tones? The same techniques that will get that high C to pop out clearly and beautifully will also make your throat tones sound more solid.
I know that you and me playing our Bundies aren't going to sound as good as Mike Lowenstern on his Selmer (gotta be the horn, right?), but, barring horrendous adjustment issues, the limiting factor is in between the chair and the mouthpiece.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2016-08-08 08:54
A leak at the top area (e.g. throat or register keys) would affect the upper clarion first. It would start at upper clarion and gradually go lower the larger the leak is.
A leak from the register key (or throat Bb key) could cause something similar and might cause the throat Bb to sound weird, and possibly but not so likely the throat A. Unless it leaks all the time, it can't affect G# (unless you have an extremely unlikely combination of very specific problems that are too long to explain) but definitely not G.
I'm not sure what your experience is but it's not uncommon for some players, especially beginners but not only, to struggle with top clarion C. Usually caused by the lack of support from the top of the hand against the thumb and mouth.
Your best bet is to first have the instrument checked by a good repairer and possibly a good player too. Though an excellent player whoc is used to a very good instrument might take some time to really get used to the way this kind of model plays.
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