 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Apersonn
Date: 2019-10-25 08:36
This is my first post on this website, so bear with me.
As a preface, I have been playing Bass Clarinet for 2-3 years so far, and reached first chair in my school region's (state-wide districts, larger than school districts) Honor Band this year, being only second chair last year.
As part of the All-State Band program, I have been accepted for both Bass Clarinet and Contrabass Clarinet (whether it is Bb or Eb contra, I do not know right now). I auditioned on my regular bass clarinet, and simply had the perform the final selected excerpt on contrabass in order to submit a contrabass audition.
The only reason I got in was that my audition was part of callbacks. I previously did not plan to audition, as I did not have access to my instrument over the summer, and as such could not practice the audition pieces, but they did not have a fourth bass clarinet nor did they have a contrabass clarinet, so I auditioned for both after having only a couple of days to work on the auditions.
Nonetheless, the contrabass I used for the audition is in a state of disrepair; it has not been used for years, and other contrabasses my school owns are even worse. My audition was very likely the only one received and was accepted despite its (relatively) horrible performance.
My question for you readers is about the issues I am currently experiencing with it. My director plans to borrow a better contrabass clarinet, perhaps a Bb one, from another school or somewhere else, but I would like to know which issues are caused by a bad condition or are common in playing the contrabass and *should be practiced.*
The issues are as follows: extremely weak throat tones (from G# to Bb), *very* squeaky low clarino register (B to G), especially on the attack, and relatively squeaky clarino register overall.
I am finding that I can temporarily relieve the squeakiness by pushing the thumb key harder or by going soft on the attack, and can deal with the weak throat tones by pushing faster air through the instrument.
Thoughts? Ideas? All feedback is welcome.
Edit: By the way, I am using a 2 1/2 Rico Reed which is slightly narrower than the mouthpiece fits, which may be the cause. I am planning to get a synthetic reed for the contrabass (for one to avoid the ~$10 cost of a normal, more fragile cane reed, and to remove the uncertainty of cane reed use) if a synthetic reed proves useful on my bass clarinet.
Post Edited (2019-10-25 08:47)
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2019-10-25 14:51
For reeds you want to stay on the soft side. I actually use Rico 1.5 reeds on a Fobes San Francisco mouthpiece as I found it to give the best response. I have also used a Fobes Debut with a Legere 2.25 reed, but found the response of the Legere to be worse than cane.
As for the other issues, they are definitely caused by leaks.
Are all the instruments you have access to the plastic Vitos? These instruments are common in schools but are pretty notorious for playing poorly as the way the keys are installed makes them prone to mechanical failure. If you have access to a metal Leblanc I would take that instead. If your school doesn't have one, or isn't willing to get it fixed, you should look at borrowing an instrument from a university.
-JDbassplayer
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Author: LCL
Date: 2019-10-25 17:28
JDbassplayer is exactly correct! I have played bass and contra for 63 years but recently had trouble switching from bass to contra-alto with squeaking. Tried an adapter made by Stephen Fox that allows the use of a bass mouthpiece. Works great and I won’t use the contra mouthpiece again.
Best wishes,
LCL
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Author: Apersonn
Date: 2019-10-25 17:31
I neglected to mention that the contrabass is, in fact, a metal Leblanc, but I have a feeling my school would rather borrow one than service the one we have right now. :/ We do have a plastic Eb contrabass, but the B key is fully leaked; you cannot play low B without using the alternate fingering. I found this to be a much more serious issue, considering I tend to play notes in that range when performing, and it would be a more difficult issue to find a workaround for. I'm sure that figuring out somewhere to get a working contrabass from wouldn't be too much of an issue.
Edit: Clarity
Post Edited (2019-10-25 20:01)
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Author: LCL
Date: 2019-10-25 17:37
Of first importance is whether the music will have a contrabass or contra-alto parts! Seems intuitive but...
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Author: Mojo
Date: 2019-10-25 17:42
Leaks, leaks, leaks. These big instruments must be serviced regularly.
MojoMP.com
Mojo Mouthpiece Work LLC
MojoMouthpieceWork@yahoo.com
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Author: Apersonn
Date: 2019-10-25 17:57
Yes, sorry not to mention that we will only be seeking a better instrument once we find out whether my music calls for an Eb contrabass or a Bb one.
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Author: LCL
Date: 2019-10-25 18:14
In regard to instrument type, I have found that late era composers such as Chance, McBeth, and Reed more likely will write for contra-alto. Contra-alto can be more versatile in the absence of a written part by the easy transposition of the Tuba or Bassoon parts.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2019-10-25 19:49
The chances are any contra you borrow will be in need of service ... in fact, putting it gently in the case or taking it out makes it in need of service ... the long rods bend by photon pressure I swear. I don't play one, but s best friend plays contra occasionally and I watched it go out of adjustment literally after he put it away for an hour in its case and then taking it out. He's a professional player for the last 40 year specializing in low clarinets, so he knows how to treat them nicely. They're just curmudgeonly monsters.
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Author: Apersonn
Date: 2019-10-29 05:37
Sorry for a bit of a necro, but
UPDATE
I now have a 2.75 strength synthetic reed for the contrabass. Yes, I know, it's way too strong a reed for the instrument. But might I note that those low-clarino notes are now much easier to hit without squeaking and that the overall tone of the instrument is WAY firmer and steadier with the new reed.
Admittedly, the throat tones are now even worse (although the airiness is a steady, consistent one), and it now takes way more air to play, but I see this as an improvement over the previous issues I had, replacing them with ones easier to remedy without much effort, and I can only imagine how great the sound will be once we can repair the metal Leblanc I am using now or borrow one already in good condition.
I also got a synthetic reed to try out on Bass Clarinet, and I am excited for tomorrow when I will be able to try it out.
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