 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: hjang
Date: 2018-11-05 06:45
Hi, I'm in a band for my school, and I'm wondering, is there a way for the clarinets to sound more prominent and stand out more in the band than the other instruments? Like having a bigger presence in it.
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2018-11-05 06:52
Yes: if they all play with a focused, resonant sound (which is a function of good embouchure + voicing) and if they play well in-tune.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: kdk
Date: 2018-11-05 07:36
hjang wrote:
> ...is there a
> way for the clarinets to sound more prominent and stand out
> more in the band than the other instruments? Like having a
> bigger presence in it.
>
Yes - what Tobin said. <<<If>>> in the context of the music the clarinets are meant to sound prominent. If the clarinets have background notes, being less prominent isn't a bad thing.
Karl
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2018-11-05 09:49
I can make a special baffle to insert into the mouthpiece and it will be very bright sounding and you WILL be heard. It won't sound pretty like a normal clarinet. It will project like a sax. Send me an email if you wish.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2018-11-05 16:19
"Back in the day" saxophonists used to use a special baffle insert called a small wad of gum
; -)
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2018-11-08 01:49
The clarinet section is the biggest in most bands, similar to the violins in an orchestra. Not sure what you mean by more prominent. Unlike the brass instruments, the sound only comes out the bell alone if all the holes are covered. Some jazz players affix an electronic "pick-up", possibly near the bell, but that's a different situation. When we do the "Dixieland Band fronts the band" tunes I usually play an octave higher than what's written to be on equal footing with the brass/drums--unless there is a mic. available. Playing a solo with a conventional microphone can be challenging, as you have to move around a bit to get the place where the sound exits near it. Again, different situation. Usually the first clarinets are heard more due to playing in the high register. Saxophones are a different story. Though the sound also doesn't usually come out only from the bell, their curved construction somehow makes them louder. That's why you ideally have very few saxes in a concert band.
A concert band of 70 players should have in the area of 20 clarinets.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2018-11-08 01:59
Bob Bernardo wrote:
> I can make a special baffle to insert into the mouthpiece and
> it will be very bright sounding and you WILL be heard. It won't
> sound pretty like a normal clarinet. It will project like a
> sax. Send me an email if you wish.
>
What a weird disservice that would be in a school band environment. Please don't take this seriously. Might be fun for half a minute as a joke but that's about it.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2018-11-08 04:57
Everyone in the band, including the conductor, needs to attend some live concerts by any of the major U.S. Armed Forces military bands--Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force, and observe that the clarinet sections in these bands can clearly be heard. These reason? Discipline and Attention! The brass and percussion especially both listen to the other sections and watch the conductor, who keeps the section volume and balance at the proper level at all times. If anyone gets brash and out of hand they are reprimanded.
In school bands, the brass and percussion often listen to nothing but themselves, pay little heed to the conductor, and blare and pound in an unleashing of animal spirits that produces nothing but sound and fury--and effectively covers up the clarinets, flutes, and other softer woodwinds. In a word, they are undisciplined and inattentive.
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Author: hjang
Date: 2018-11-08 06:32
if only, The clarinets in my band are well, outnumbered should I say. Out of our band of around 40 people, we have 5 clarinets. Well, I guess that's part of the reason why we sound so soft and are overplayed.
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2018-11-09 06:50
hjang, Well, that is the problem, only 5 clarinets! 2 firsts, 2 seconds, 1 third?
seabreeze, As a long time Band Director, I love your post. Of course, you describe a very poorly run school band. A colleague of mine used to refer to the drums as the dumbs (not to their face of course, and don't tell my percussionist wife...).
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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