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Re: Universal Truths About Learning to Play Bass Clarinet

Author: Mojo
Date: 2017-07-19 19:03

I too have been focusing on bass clarinet for the past 2.5 years in a couple of college level Wind Ensembles. Here are some points off the top of my head:

1. I upgraded from a low Eb Normandy I used for decades to a low C Kessler 2 years ago. I have used the low D quite a bit and a few low Cs. I was surprised how much the left pinky Ab/Eb is useful. The double octave key mechanism helps a lot with playing high notes without cracking. And the neck with the slip joint length adjustment is really handy for tuning and swapping reeds/mouthpieces.

2. I needed to become a lot better than I was on using my left and right pinky keys in passages. Sliding pinkys a la sax just doesn't work on fast passages.

3. I started with very open mouthpiece tips that were great for big band Bari sax chair doubling (>2mm). But these along with soft reeds do not articulate fast and have a mushy tone in the clarion and altissimo.

4. I'm currently using medium open mouthpieces around 1.9mm=.075" with Legere Studio tenor sax reeds 2.5-2.75 strength. Still experimenting and changing every 6 months or so. Studying chamber and baffle shapes and doing my own facing variations. I may continue to work down in tip opening size. I need to balance the need for playing loud with articulation speed. You need to (try to) balance with louder brass instruments a lot in a wind ensemble.

5. Take in a lot of mouthpiece for a better tone. I try to make the clarion sound like a soprano clarinet. This same embouchure then makes the low notes sound good too.

6. I use a peg and a strap. I like the security of the strap coming from a sax background.

7. Be aware of which notes are best to tune to to center your intonation best. Then learn how to adjust for the remaining notes.

MojoMP.com
Mojo Mouthpiece Work LLC
MojoMouthpieceWork@yahoo.com

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