 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ghoulcaster
Date: 2021-06-22 09:11
Can the extended range of the bass clarinet be played with the register key?
If so, are these notes be in tune enough to use? What about a full boehm soprano with the low Eb?
I could not find any answers to this question, probably because it was hard to figure out how to phrase the search…
Are there any other potential benefits in the clarion or altissimo registers to be had (new fingerings, etc.) with extended range low notes?
Thanks!
Post Edited (2021-06-22 09:13)
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Author: ebonite
Date: 2021-06-22 10:27
You can play some of the extended range bass clarinet notes in the clarion, but if you use the standard register key, they are very sharp. The register vent is in the wrong place and probably the wrong size to play these notes in tune.
If you use alternative vents, some of the notes can be played in tune.
On my instrument, if I play low C, and open the half-hole vent for L1 (not pressing the register key), I can get an in-tune G--same pitch as throat G-- in the "clarion" register.
I've never played a full boehm soprano, but people on this board have mentioned that they can play an alternative to throat Bb on their full boehm Bb clarinets, by overblowing the low Eb with the register key, presumably with useable intonation.
The equivalent on my bass clarinet would be too sharp to use, except maybe as a grace note.
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Author: Gouffre
Date: 2021-06-22 12:50
To add to what ebonite says - if your middle B is stuffy, those notes will be even stuffier.
I might try using "long Bb" to avoid a double register change in a fast passage that bottoms out at Bb somewhere in the middle.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-06-22 19:34
You CAN get low Eb down to low C to overblow a 12th if you use the trill, side keys or throat G# and A keys as speaker keys, but it will be awkward. You'll have to experiment which ones work best with each note.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-06-23 21:17
Here you go:
Low C with the left thumb off the thumbplate will give a G (sharper than open G).
Low C#/Db with the throat G# held open will give a G#/Ab.
Low D with the throat A key held open will give an A.
Low D#/Eb with the Bb trill key held open will give a Bb with more substance than using the speaker key (issuing from the lower speaker vent).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2021-06-24 10:52
>> Low C with the left thumb off the thumbplate will give a G (sharper than open G). <<
If you blow in a specific way it also gives a unique multiphonic, if I remember a major 2nd interval (unlike most multiphonics that have larger intervals). I use it a lot.
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Author: ghoulcaster
Date: 2021-06-25 04:43
Thanks so much everyone for all the great responses! Exactly what I was looking for! I’ll write all these tricks down and add them to my files!
I have one more question if anyone knows: is the hole on the LH1 key a simple hole, or is it a tube?
I see vintage basses from the 40s and earlier fairly often have no hole. Is it as simple as drilling a hole in the right spot?
(Not that these basses have the extended range in question, or even the low Eb! ![[tongue]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie6.gif) )
It also makes me wonder if holes on other keys could theoretically be useful as well…
Post Edited (2021-06-25 04:49)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-06-25 20:47
The hole through the LH1 fingerplate is either a plain hole or has a chimney on the inside of the pad cup depending on the make. It's normally around a 2mm hole going through it and mostly used for altissimo D or Eb up to F or F# (depending on the fingerings used) where lifting LH1 off would make those notes too sharp.
Some basses (eg. B&H Imperial) have a screw adjustment where LH2 will lower or close LH1 so you can lift LH1 off instead of rolling down to uncover the aperture. I had that added to my bass and it can be completely disengaged by backing the screw off: https://www.woodwindforum.com/clarinetperfection/galleryclar/Keywork/CP2/04.jpg
Some like Leblanc have a threaded chimney where an internally threaded washer screws onto it to seal the hole cut in the centre of the leather pad. With cork pads, that's not necessary and neither is the chimney.
I have converted an old Conn bass which didn't have the aperture in the LH1 fingerplate by drilling a 2mm hole through the centre of it and hard soldering in a short piece of key barrel to form the chimney as well as adding an extension tab to the lower side of the fingerplate to facilitate rolling LH1 down to fully uncover the aperture.
It's fairly simple to do and a plain 2mm hole drilled in the centre of LH1 fingerplate will be fine as well as using a cork pad with a hole cut through the centre of it, or if using a leather pad, the centre of the pad is punched out and the inside edges of it sealed instead of leaving the felt showing. You'd also have to fit an extension tab to be sure you can roll LH1 down to fully uncover the aperture.
Given the finger spacing on basses where only one or two fingerplates are directly above their toneholes (LH1 and RH2 on most basses and only LH1 on Selmer basses from the '80s onwards) as is the thumbplate, having perforated fingerplates on other fingerplates besides LH1 isn't beneficial. And in the case of having a perforated thumbplate, you won't be able to use the speaker key easily without the left thumb uncovering the hole in it if there was one drilled in the thumbplate. Buffet basset horns have a perforated RH1 fingerplate to help the venting of the xxx|oxo fingering which can be stuffy, especially lower register B.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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