 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Junior
Date: 2001-06-25 19:09
I play soprano clarinet and my band director asked me to play alto or bass, too. Is the fingering on alto and bass clarinets the same as soprano clarinet? Do mouthpieces, reeds, etc. cost alot more for the bigger horns than the soprano? Are all three treble clef? Thanks for your help.
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Author: Eoin McAuley
Date: 2001-06-25 22:12
Alto and bass clarinet use basically the same fingering as soprano clarinet. The only difference is that for the first finger of the left hand they have a pad with a hole in it. The finger normally covers this hole. When playing in the altissimo (highest) register, instead of lifting the left index finger, you slide it to one side to uncover the hole leaving the pad down.
Both Alto and Bass clarinet normally use the Treble Clef. Very occasionally you will find Bass clarinet music written in the Bass clef. Worse still, you will find it written for an A Bass clarinet, although all Bass clarinets are Bb. You will have to transpose it in your head. Bass clarinets are also often asked to play the bassoon part which is written at concert pitch. (I think in Bass clef).
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-06-26 17:43
Junior -
The alto or bass clarinet your band director wants you to play undoubtedly belongs to the school and already has a mouthpiece. You aren't expected to buy your own.
School mouthpieces get a lot of use and abuse. If you're serious about the instrument, you'll want your own mouthpiece, particularly for bass, which you might one day buy for yourself. Unfortunately, alto and bass mouthpieces are pretty expensive -- figure around $100. The reason is that there are very few made or sold, in comparison to soprano mouthpieces, so manufacturers can't recover their investment as quickly, and sellers have to buy them and keep them in stock despite slow sales.
Have fun on the big guys.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2001-06-28 20:31
(Jack dons his flame retardant armor.) If you are a pretty good player (say, first section or likely to be first section by your senior year) I would recommend you take the band director up on his/her offer but only if s/he will let you have the bass. (I would not be in such a hurry to take up the alto for reasons I will discuss below.) I doubt you will run into bass clef or bass clarinet in A parts in your school band. I played bass clarinet all through high school and never saw either. They tend to turn up in orchestral music. Depending on the size of your band, you might have to play bassoon parts on occasion if there isn't a bass clarinet part. The transposition isn't bad though and it's a useful skill.
Some clarinetists and some teachers may recommend that you focus on the soprano and forget about the low clarinets at your age. They can make some good arguments, particularly for players studying with symphony clarinettists in preparation for a performance career, but, for most reasonably talented players who are primarily in it for the fun, I have always been a strong believer in versatility. Don't give up on the soprano though. Through high school I was fortunate to have the opportunity to play bass in band and soprano in orchestra. I practiced both regularly but took *all* my lessons on soprano. I found that what I learned on soprano transferred to bass. Also, I didn't have to worry about "challenges" from someone trying to take my chair.
I think you will find the parts more challenging and interesting on the bass. As far as I can see, most band composers/arrangers view the alto clarinet as an optional instrument that many bands (read potential music purchasers) won't have. So the alto doubles other instruments almost all the time. Bass does a lot of doubling, too, but many composers consider it a real instrument and you will occasionally fall into a nice (usually little) solo.
Alto clarinet is pretty much a band instrument whereas the bass is used in both bands and orchestras. Also, IMHO, bass clarinet is a more versatile jazz instrument and, IMO, eased my transition to tenor sax when I decided to take that up. On the other hand, if you can handle an alto clarinet (and have one), you may find it opens doors to clarinet quartets and larger clarinet ensembles that might not otherwise be available because alto players are more rare.
Bass clarinet reeds are a bit more expensive. You can get a box of 5 good bass clarinet reeds for about the same price as a box of 10 soprano reeds. On the other hand, in my experience, bass reeds tend to last longer -- sometimes quite a bit longer. If the mail order catalog I'm looking at is any indication, a top quality bass (or alto) mouthpiece won't cost much (if any) more than a top quality soprano mouthpiece, ditto for most of the intermediate level and student level mouthpieces.
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