 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Speculator Sam
Date: 2018-04-01 05:15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQzYzzxPrTs&feature=youtu.be
So, I mustered some guts and showed off my barely intermediate self for the world to see. What do y'all think? I have my opinion on this performance, but before you reed that (reed pun), it'd be less biased to form an opinion of your own.
Watched or skimmed through? Cool, my opinion. My low B key has a mechanical issue so notes in the lower clarion are a little iffy, but that's not an excuse to not try. Intonation's s'alright, the rhythm's a bit off, the lyricism is lacking, as is my experience. I think this video serves as only two things. 1.) reference for when I might take this piece on sometime in the future when I get chops. 2.) proof to absolute beginners that with practice clarion notes can be achieved on bass clarinet.
Thanks for reeding.
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Author: GenEric
Date: 2018-04-01 08:29
Nice! When I played bass clarinet in middle school, I couldn't even get past a clarion F and had to slowly scale up to a high C.
I think the most important thing you should practice is to blow a more faster focused air. Don't be timid with your air because the instrument can handle it. You know you're doing it right when you can feel the instrument vibrating when you play a low Eb. Blowing more air will also help with the large intervals and give you that meaty sound that the bass clarinet is known for.
I would recommend the Baermann Scale book. It really helped me increase the range I could play and play smoother as well. Also, I would recommend just using the peg instead of the neck strap.
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Author: Speculator Sam
Date: 2018-04-02 07:11
Thanks a bunch. Right now, I have the Accent on Achievement series and book 3 is a Scale and rhythms book. That said, I've ordered Rubank intermediate method and I'll definitely see to getting Baermann. As for the peg... I used brass cleaner to degrease the "doohickey" inside the bell that the peg'd press against and now that peg doesn't fit snuggly. I really wish I could've given a more enthusiastic performance, but this bass clarinet, due to it's leaking low B key, is being shipped and replaced with a new bass clarinet.
I'll definitely want to have another go at this piece when the new instrument comes in and I practice more. Gymopedie 1 is mostly piano except for the return to the motif 'round the halfway point when a forte is marked. In the meantime, there's a Gavotte by Rameau that needs practicing, and a sonata I'm composing currently.
Thanks for responding GenEric.
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2018-04-02 07:30
I would echo all of what GenEric said. You may want to start with the Albert Scales book before Baermann. Baermann can be frustrating even with lots of experience going into it. Albert Scales will get some of those basic patterns into your fingers at an intermediate level so that you'll be ready for more meaty stuff like the Baermann.
Accent on Achievement is a good series. I use it with my own students and it's fun to play with the recorded accompaniments, also good for developing solid intonation. You can get more mileage out of the rhythms in Book 3 by playing them up and down various single octave scales, especially ones that go back and forth over the break. Great for developing your sight-reading skills.
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-04-02 17:46
It appears that you are learning the bass clarinet alone. It is inspiring that you want to play bass clarinet that badly and are willing to work at it. If you don't have a teacher, you may become a really fine player in three to four hundred years! But someone who already plays the bass clarinet well can show you shortcuts that will help you race forward and accomplish much more, much faster. There must be a professional orchestra or music school close enough to find a good teacher.
I am working on a clarinet quartet arrangement of the Gymnopédie for you to hear and aim for. I do not have a bass clarinet now but did play it professionally in the 1970's and 80's.
Keep Tuned, I may have it done later today.
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Author: Speculator Sam
Date: 2018-04-03 02:58
@nellsonic thanks for the book recommendation. Seems there's quite a bevy of a literature for clarinet study. I wonder how many bookshelves will take to contain all those acclaimed clarinet "Bibles"?
At Ken thank you. I realize that a teacher would definitely be the best route. It seems every teacher in this town though prefers doing Skype and online lessons which makes no gosh darn sense to me. I'll definitely keep looking, but in the meantime I have my mother, who has played B flat and bass clarinet for 10-15 years throughout grade school, and she's teaching me the basics for now.
Looking forward to that Arrangement Ken, speaking of Arrangements I'll definitely take another crack at this piece once I get the Selmer Bass repaired. Thanks for reading
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-04-03 03:53
I won't be getting the arrangement out today. The one found is pretty bad and am fixing it. Hope to complete it tomorrow.
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Author: Speculator Sam
Date: 2018-04-03 05:16
Take your time of course. Music that ought to be remembered for a lifetime shouldn't be rushed.
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-04-03 23:51
Here is a first pass recording - not perfect, but I hope you can learn from it.
There are a few things I noticed from your video. You don't connect notes well. Maybe your music doesn't have slurs but the melody really should sing and it wants to be a smooth singing. The 11th bar where the melody repeats, there is a gap between notes. Maybe you hold back because it may squeak? More side pressure may remove squeaks and just too much biting may cause squeaks. Also I see you may need to take more mouthpiece. There is a 'sweet spot' where your lower teeth is on the reed (with the lower lip cushioning the teeth of course). Experiment with the amount of lower lip, amount of mouthpiece and amount of side muscles pushing in (like whistling). The position of the tongue in the mouth also may help or be causing the squeak. Experiment, experiment, experiment! We all have a different makeup and have to find the way to get to the same goal, playing the instrument beautifully.
I recorded the melody in the same pitches as you are playing so you can compare how you and the recording sounds. And my part has more difficult connection notes because they are over the break.
After you have improved your smoothness and will show me in your next video, I will send you the recording without the melody so you can play along with some other clarinets (all of them are me!).
Attachments - next post.
Post Edited (2018-04-04 00:53)
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Author: Speculator Sam
Date: 2018-04-04 02:26
Thank you soo much Ken. However, the attachment doesn't appear to work. I need to connect notes better, that's true. As far as mouth placement goes, I went with Michelle Anderson's advice, which was to put as much mouthpiece into your mouthpiece as you can before going over the part where the reed and mouthpiece come together. Perhaps I didn't do that in the recording, and maybe I haven't really figured out the exact mouth placement for bass clarinet yet.
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2018-04-04 02:44
Since you are learning bass clarinet with the help of Youtube videos, you should be aware of Michael Lowenstern's channel there called Earspasm. My guess is that you already are, but if not - enjoy!
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-04-04 03:03
I have posted attachments and they are not showing up - trying again!
Maybe too large? There are two - I will post them separately.
Post Edited (2018-04-04 03:06)
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-04-04 03:31
Attachment: Gymnopedie #1 Shortened.mp3 (1899k)
I finally found the max size and trimmed the recording down to below maximum - then it said I have been uploading too many files - which were rejected, I rebooted and am trying again.
Post Edited (2018-04-04 03:32)
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Author: Speculator Sam
Date: 2018-04-04 04:01
Not on my end still. What came up was some html looking code that said "File not found in the directory..." Ken, maybe you could upload through another medium? YouTube, soundcloud, imslp.org, Newgrounds, maybe simply a fire share website like Google Drive or Dropbox? I'd love to hear the piece, but please don't change your whole life around and go crazy just share the piece with some dorky 21 year old who probably should grow up and find a less humbling hobby.
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-04-04 04:21
I would need your email address to use most of the above and if I had your email, I would send direct. I don't think there is a secure way on this site to solve this.
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2018-04-04 04:39
You might try posting again - without the spaces and the pound sign in the filenames...might work?
Fuzzy
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2018-04-04 04:49
Ken Lagace wrote:
> Trying again...
Won't work - I've set it up for pictures, but not performances. Youtube would be a better venue.
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Author: Speculator Sam
Date: 2018-04-04 10:15
That's bonkers Ken. It's lovely, it'd be so cool to gather a quartet and play that arrangement. Thanks for sharing.
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Author: Max S-D
Date: 2018-04-04 10:33
Ken, that mp3 attachment works for me. Sounds like a nice arrangement. I'd love to see the sheet music, if possible.
OP: It sounds like you have some clarity in your sound, which is cool!
I'm hearing a couple of things that might help:
1) Get that leak fixed! It's making your life very hard.
2) Keep your air solid, consistent and well-supported from your diaphragm. It sounds like you're afraid of squeaking or cracking on some notes (understandable, especially in light of the leaks), but backing off your air means that the notes will struggle to speak even more. No air, no sound!
I picked up a bass clarinet 15 years ago when I was in high school and fell in love with the instrument. I played it through college and still play it in my adult life. The sound and the physical sensation of playing the instrument are so satisfying that it's worth all of its weird idiosyncrasies.
Being a decent bass clarinet player has opened some fun and interesting musical doors over the years.
I'd also second the recommendation to check out Mike Lowenstern's Earspasm channel for lots of great lessons. He has some excellent ones about air support and voicing that are great fundamental lessons with ideas that all bass clarinetists (and clarinetists and saxophonists and wind players in general) can benefit from, even in review. His music has also been a great non-classical inspiration to me and I would definitely recommend checking out his recordings and the sheet music he's made available on his website.
That does sound odd about players in your area not wanting to give in-person lessons. What area are you in?
Overall, though, it seems like you have the confidence to share and the desire to improve, which is a big deal when you're starting out. Stick with it!
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Author: Speculator Sam
Date: 2018-05-05 05:11
I'm at it again. Took a crack at the first song I wrote for bass clarinet It's this song, along with YouTube bass clarinet greats Sebastian Tozzala and Michael Lownestern, that inspired me to take up the instrument. The song's also based off a personal story; a stranger that needed help. Oddly enough, never having experienced a clarinet before when I wrote this, I seem to have inadvertently written for the whole range of the instrument and every tricky note on this instrument too.
If you did listen then thank you. If not, then that's okay too. Here's my own critics that I'm aware of. The vibrato's sorta stiff/not exactly what I had in mind. The world-class lyricism's lacking the decade of practice that comes with it. There are a couple of mild squeaks at the end. All in all, it took me 52 takes over the course of two days to get it as good as I could record and I'm proud gosh darn it!
Thanks for reading.
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The Clarinet Pages
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