Author: Apersonn
Date: 2020-03-13 05:07
I'm having an issue while playing my bass clarinet in my high school's pep band. I find that my sound is easily drowned out by that of trombones, trumpets, and saxophones alike, so whenever I am trying to project an important melody or an otherwise interesting part, I am unable to. Sometimes I don't even know if I am playing correctly because I cannot hear myself!
Balance is out of the question, as the pep band is a more informal institution, so I need help. I have tried everything from simply giving more power, spinning my air as fast as I can, and even using half-hole tricks to reach into the high altissimo register (up to a barely tuned A5), but nothing so far has worked for me.
Should I try to get a new mouthpiece? Is my 3 hardness reed too soft or hard? Should I just play the tenor sax?!?
All feedback is welcome!
Edit: Thank you for the replies! What I'm hearing is that I could try to experiment with more open mouthpiece styles or hook an amplifier to my instrument, but I really can't compete with instruments practically designed to be loud. Perhaps it's about time that I finally get into a different instrument group than the clarinet family, but I'm not too sure if my director would let me; I've been playing *only* bass clarinet (with some contrabass) for the past three years, and I nearly reached the first chair position in my state's All-State band this year... Basically, she might want me to stick to bass clarinet and nothing else. I tried to learn Bari sax at the end of the previous school year, but not only did I never get the chance to bring it home over the summer, but there are also some other musicians in the pep band who are already considering the same (and actually play the sax in the first place). I'll talk to her soon and see what we can figure out.
Post Edited (2020-03-13 23:42)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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