Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2021-02-24 08:04
tdufka wrote:
> Karl, apart from the Bach Cello suites, do you have experience
> with other cello repertoire that you could recommend?
To be honest, I don't teach bass clarinet and I only practice it in preparation for a job, so I don't have repertoire at my fingertips. But for advanced or intermediate material, a quick search at IMSLP turns up at least a few cello sonatas (e.g. Mendelssohn, Schubert) that might be generally suitable for a junior high/middle school bass clarinet player, though not for one who is just starting to read treble clef. There are also a number of books of studies and individual solos for any given level of cellist listed on the J.W.Pepper site that a bass clarinetist could play provided the bass clarinetist reads bass clef. I'm sure other music distributors have cello music that is light on double stops and specialized bowing exercise and musically interesting.
For a graded approach to learning the clef, the Suzuki cello books might be very useful. They're organized to provide a graded series of solo pieces for young cello students who, in classic Suzuki tradition, learn most of the books by rote from recordings and teacher modeling, but there's no reason why the same material wouldn't be good for a bass clarinet student who has a secure basic playing technique and is trying to learn to read bass clef. He won't be learning the rhythm side of the notation, only the pitches as they appear on the staff.
Apart from the Suzuki series, there are any number of elementary and intermediate cello methods on the market that could serve the purpose. You probably shouldn't ask a student to learn a new clef at his current technical level, at least not at first. Youi also should avoid using material the student has already learned from a treble clef source to make sure he is reading and not playing the familiar material by ear.
I can go back to my own experience. I hadn't learned to read anything but treble clef as a clarinet student. I didn't begin to take piano lessons until my first year of high school. I don't remember having any problem learning to read the bass clef for my left hand. But I've known adult reed players who, when faced with a bass clarinet part in bass clef, have to write it out (or have someone else transcribe it) in bass clef. The rest of their playing is all treble - the saxes, clarinets, flute, even oboe. Only if their doubles include bassoon do they have any experience with bass clef. Being limited to treble clef is a great inconvenience for them.
Karl
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