 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Colleen
Date: 2001-07-31 09:16
My daughter would like an Eb clarinet in addition to her 'normal' clarinets. If I buy her one, will she need to learn on it as a beginner? She plays on a Vandoren M-13 with Vandoren #4 reeds. Would she start on similar mouthpiece and reeds for the Eb, or does she need beginner mouthpiece and reeds?
Also, if there are any books or classical sheet music that are "standard" I'd like to know about them so that she can have some music to get started on it.
TIA
-Colleen
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2001-07-31 13:36
I'll leave the reed and mouthpiece questions to someone who has played an E-flat clarinet.
Your daughter shouldn't need to start as a beginner on the E-flat because it uses the same fingerings as a "normal" B-flat clarinet; e.g., if you see a C on a sheet of E-flat music, you finger the same way you would finger a C if you were playing music for a B-flat clarinet on a B-flat clarinet. She will need to adjust her embouchure, but once she is able to do that, she should be able to play either instrument with equal ability.
As far as books and music, she can use the same ones she uses for her B-flat, as long as she is practicing or playing by herself. If she is playing with any other instruments, such as a school band or a piano, she will have to get parts specifically for E-flat clarinet.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2001-07-31 14:19
It sounds like your daughter has been playing for quite awhile. As Don noted, the eefer fingers like ... a small clarinet. Because it has such a small bore, however, the Eb has more resistance than a Bb. I would say that it's most likely that her reed/mouthpiece combination will be rather different than on a Bb. On the other hand, she shouldn't need a beginner Eb mouthpiece (if there even is such an animal) or beginner reeds. The best approach would be to try out a variety of combinations. The problem is that, unless you live near one of the mail order houses, you will likely be hard-pressed to find a store that has any selection to try. (You may have to special-order the clarinet.) If the instrument you buy comes with a mouthpiece, my recommendation would be to play around with some different reed strengths and see if you can find something that works reasonably well. If you want to select a better mouthpiece early on, start the trials with a medium or medium close mouthpiece with a reed equivalent to a (regular) Vandoren #3 or #3 1/2 and work up or down from there.
Standard exercise books should work. She might want to start with something that she used on the Bb at an earlier level. The Eb takes some getting used to and altissimo on the Eb can be particularly painful. She should work very hard from the beginning at controlling the high notes and being able to play them relatively softly because they really pop out and a player who just blasts away will soon find him/herself friendless in any type of ensemble. Most composers and arrangers tend to write for the Eb in its extreme register so expect alot of high parts.
If she is an orchestra person, Peter Hadcock has a book of excerpts from the standard repertoire that is good and contains some useful fingerings. (While most basic fingerings from the Bb carry over, if she is into alternative altissimo fingerings yet, she may find that some that work well on the Bb do not work as well on the Eb and vice-versa.) If she is looking for a solo piece, I would recommend Easily Blackwood's "Sonatina." It has been recorded by John Bruce Yeh and the music is available from Luyben Music, among others. (But don't confuse it with his "Sonata" which is for Bb.) It is not overly difficult and is fun to play and to listen to.
Finally, I don't know the specific circumstances here but I suspect that your daughter would find much more use for a bass clarinet than an Eb.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: Larry Liberson
Date: 2001-07-31 15:32
You might tell us at what level of proficiency your daughter is currently, i.e., how long has she been playing, what study materials and repertoire has worked on, etc.
This information would help greatly in advising you further.
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Author: Keil
Date: 2001-07-31 15:54
Aww, a new Eb clarinetist is being born, oh the joys... and the horrors! okay, as an Eb player myself i can whole heartedly say this instrument is NOT a beginner instrument for new clarinetist. I would most definetly get the best mouthpiece for Eb which i myself am still on the mission for. As far as reeds go what i find that works really well for me is to use older Bb reeds that i've broken in versus buying a seperate set of Eb reeds. For some reason i just don't like the way the reeds play in comparison to my Bb reeds that i've already played on and find they are too soft to use on my Bb clarinet. I hope your daughter is aware of the very limited repetoire for this instrument although i find playind Bb music on Eb is really really fun. I think the Eb has most of it's really challenging works housed in orchestral scores so Peter Hadcock's orchestral book for Eb would be wonderful. Though the Eb fingers the same as the Bb and A, it has the reputation of being the witch of the clarinet family second only to the less familiar Ab sopranino clarinet. After playing the Eb for 3 years now i find that i prefer the Eb to Bb playing just because of it's unique timbre and the work required to get the Eb to SING. By far if the clarinetist is willing to put in the time like i'm sure your daughter is then they will come to love the Eb though i know many who have played of years, sound fabulous on it and just can't stand it. Oh well, i love the eefer!
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Author: David Spiegelthal
Date: 2001-07-31 16:26
I recently tried a Clark Fobes Eb clarinet mouthpiece which was superb. It worked well for me with #4 reeds. As for the instrument itself, it plays pretty much like a Bb clarinet, but you gotta have small fingers, or at a minimum very good hand position, to play Eb. It does generally require a tighter embouchure and more wind pressure (but less air flowrate) in the upper register to play in tune, but all in all it's a blast to play Eb, and a competent Bb player with good basics and a bit of teacher help should be able to do just fine on the 'eefer'.
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Author: Colleen
Date: 2001-07-31 19:09
Wow! Thanks for all the great responses.
It seems that maybe I should get the Vandoren 5RV mouthpiece with 3 & 3.5 reeds to start??? There's no place around here that carries any Eb mouthpieces, so we've got to start somewhere. The instrument that I have in mind is the R-13, if that changes anything... and I can't imagine starting her on the Buffet mouthpiece.
I'll order the Peter Hadcock book & the Blackwood Sonatina. I'm not shy about buying music, so any other suggestions would be appreciated.
I do have another question (un-related). Does anybody know how I can get a C.D. that includes the "Oriental Song" by Rimsky-Korsakoff? It's in the Klose' book and probably a portion of one of his operas. My daughter plays it, but we don't know if she plays it well or not, because we've never heard it, and neither has her instructor. It's a tough trivia question that Tower records can't answer.
-Colleen
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Author: Azzacca
Date: 2001-07-31 19:47
I remember fondly the eefer I played in high school (I rented it, and was the only/first eefer player in the school) - what a thrill. I've been toying with getting one myself, but have to wait until I have more time to practice - I just don't have enough time to practice my Bb let alone the eefer.
Just to warn you, and your family, be prepared for her to make lots of noise before she makes music. The eefer, as I remember it, takes a slightly different embouchure (smaller mouthpiece, etc). It takes a little getting used to, but once you do, it's a heck of a lot of fun!
Best wishes (and let us know what happens!)
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Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2001-08-01 02:17
I've found that the 5RV is flatter in the upper register than some other mouthpieces. I've tried Smith and Street mouthpieces, and found the pitch to be better in the upper register. While I've never tried a Fobes Eb, his work is always wonderful.
Chris
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Author: Sheryl
Date: 2001-08-01 03:49
I strongly suggest you try other Eb clarinets besides the R13. Finding a good Eb clarinet is even more difficult than finding a good Bb/A so try as many as possible. I'm assuming your daughter is not a professional or an advanced college student so I also suggest having a professional (her teacher, perhaps) help you select the instrument. While your daughter may choose not to pursue a career in music, starting out with a good Eb will save her lots of time and money if she does continue with clarinet. When trying out horns, check everything with a tuner. Choose the clarinet with the best intonation and your daughter will have a much easier time playing this difficult instrument. The Eb clarinet is not difficult to play but is extremely difficult to play well, especially if the horn itself has worse than ordinary intonation problems.
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