 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Hauper
Date: 2021-12-12 16:54
I am the lucky (or not so lucky?) owner of a C clarinet, partly because I can play whatever I want for any C instrument and vocal score, partly because I love klezmer music and want to learn how to play some myself. Klezmer is said to sound better with a C clarinet, a brighter and perhaps merrier sound compared to Bb and A. The C clarinet is also smaller than the common Bb, and a bit more handy in a given situation. The challenge I have is that it feels a bit harder to play than a Bb clarinet, so I’m wondering if any of you have some good tips here? Maybe simply replacing the mouthpiece or some special tecnique? As you might suspect, I’m kind of a novice player and need piles of good advices, in any direction.
Post Edited (2021-12-12 16:54)
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2021-12-12 19:52
I have 2 C clarinets and don't find either of them to be any more difficult to play than my Bb or A instruments. If you're experiencing problems associated with resistance firstly check your instrument for leaks and also experiment with different reeds and mouthpieces.
Tony F.
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Author: Hauper
Date: 2021-12-12 22:47
I’ll definitely need try out different reeds and mouthpieces, and I have to work on my tecnique. Klezmer music is not for the faint of heart. Another question is of course the general state of the instrument. Mine is obviously not a pro, probably made in China, branded Rivendale (cool name:). I’ve tried to trace reviews, but has not found any yet. To me the build quality appears to be good enough though, but I’m a novice here.
Yet another challenge is that the keys feels more cramped than on the Bb. I luckily don’t have the biggest hands, but I feel that I kind of have to «reprogram» my fingers. Any tips or experiences here!
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Author: Bennett ★2017
Date: 2021-12-13 01:17
A simple test for leaks is to plug up the bottom with a sock or similar or some plastic wrap with a rubber band, cover the holes and blow or suck at the top. If air comes out/in, you've got a leak. Leaks make any instrument much harder to play. If your clarinet has an upper and lower joint, as is likely, do this on each part separately. Try adding the barrel as well.
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Author: davidjsc
Date: 2021-12-13 07:30
I have two C clarinets - a Bohem and an Albert. Got them so I could use my oboe music, vocal music, etc. and not have to bother transposing.
Honestly, between the C and the Bb, I find the C actually more comfortable for my fingers because the C is the same length as an oboe. I also find crossing the break is often easier on the C than Bb soprano - especially when using the one with the Albert keywork.
I love how the C clarinet seems to be going through a revival, as it's a great cheerful instrument. My Albert I got from someone who had been using it for klezmer, and I find it's great for the Swiss and Scandinavian polka I play a lot of.
DSC
~~ Alto Clarinet; Bass Clarinet; B-flat and C Boehm Clarinets; Albert C Clarinet; Oboe ~~
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Author: vintschevski
Date: 2021-12-13 08:31
My hands aren't so very big, but enough to find playing a C clarinet a bit challenging - there's always a cramped feeling, for a start, and paradoxically I seem to have more difficulty covering tone holes than on the B-flat, but I'm sure these problems would diminish if I spent more time practising the C clarinet.
There is one particular problem on the C clarinet, however, which gave me a lot of grief before I realised what was going on. My left-hand ring finger was so close to the sliver key just below it (C#/G#) that as I was playing, the ring finger was bumping the key just enough to raise the tone-hole key a tiny fraction, so it was like having a bad leak - but it wasn't a leak and not detectable with the leak tests, of course.
To avoid this problem I needed to push the sliver key down as far as I could (I mean, down towards the bell-end of the clarinet) and even then I needed to file down the upper side of the sliver key so that my ring finger didn't touch it.
Hauper, I don't know whether this is a problem that you are experiencing, but it could be worth checking. It took me quite a while to realise the problem as one doesn't really feel that ring-finger touching the sliver key unless specifically checking for it.
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Author: ACCA
Date: 2021-12-13 13:26
I Play a vintage stencil C clarinet, and yes, it takes more air than my Bb. Intonation also requires some more "steering"! Currently the best setup I've found for it is an older Selmer C85-120 with soprano saxophone reeds. Legere signature 2.25 or Hemke 2.5 work well. Good luck!
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Author: JTJC
Date: 2021-12-13 17:03
I too find my C a little more resistant. These things are personal, but then again the bore is narrower. If you’re trying to use your Bb mouthpiece on your C it might be worth seeing if you can match the C with another mpc which gives the resistance you want. If you want to make the most of your C the main point I’d make is that you really need to treat your C as a separate instrument, which you need to practice in its own right.
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Author: Chris_C ★2017
Date: 2021-12-13 18:53
Re; the sliver key - I have that problem on all my clarinets so I've disabled it (generally just with a piece of cork under the key). I understand Artie Shaw did that to his clarinets, so it's good enough for me...
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Author: MichaelW
Date: 2021-12-13 19:19
Attachment: C-Mundstück.JPG (260k)
Some time ago I wrote a bit on my experience with (German system) C- clarinets:
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=454972&t=454772
You may find more via the search function. Some found intonation of the throat tones also more challenging than on Bb, but not like on the eefer.
Modern C-clarinets, at least in German system, are made to fit Bb- mouthpieces, but the older ones have smaller mouthpieces and use special reeds.
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Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2021-12-31 06:59
I have a C clarinet a really ice one, and I play a lot of klezmer. You can play klezmer with what ever gear you play any music on. It’s what you are listening to and trying to sound like that matters. I play close m13 type mouthpiece for everything I play. Pick a tune and learn how to play it.
Tom Puwalski
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Author: EbClarinet
Date: 2022-01-05 07:51
I have an Amati C clarinet. I use a Pyne crystal mouth piece with 3.5 Vandoren V12 reeds. I have no problems with my instrument. I've found that it plays a little like Eb Clarinet but I have excellent tone quality n it. My altissimo notes r a little flat but nothing I can't lip up.
I would suggest using the same red/mouth piece/ligature u have for A/Bb to see if that will help. U want great tone quality and intonation C and I think this will help u just fine.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/mbtldsongministry/
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Author: donald
Date: 2022-01-06 13:17
I bought a Wooden Amati C clarinet after trying one owned by my colleague in Auckland Chamber Orchestra. The one I got was not quite as nice as I hoped, but with some fine tuning (filling in various holes etc) plays quite well in tune (compared to the Buffet RC Prestige C clarinets owned by APO).
Just before Covid my wife needed to borrow it for a gig with Ensemble Matheus in Paris (they needed to switch from period instruments to modern with short notice as the "historical Oboe" player became unavailable), and her Principal got me to pick out an Amati C from some available in here in NZ. As well as a wooden one, I picked out one from a sample of about 10 plastic student C clarinets (Amati) and he ended up using the Plastic one and returning the wooden one to NZ!
All of the plastic Amati C clarinets I tried were more free blowing than the wooden ones and seemed to have comparable intonation.
It seems unlikely that in the middle of Paris a top orchestra was using Amati student clarinets, but the Principal player had several solos (in "Italian in Algiers") that he played on a PLASTIC STUDENT AMATI C CLARINET.
Then again, I know of a former principal of a major orchestra who used a Yamaha student clarinet for a dress rehearsal once, as his clarinet was getting last minute repairs, and several colleagues complimented him on a big solo, not realising he wasn't on his pro horn!!!!!
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Author: kilo
Date: 2022-01-06 18:00
When I met Evan Christopher a few years ago he had just started playing an Albert C clarinet that he got from Vytas Krass.
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