Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2002-06-04 14:23
From personal observation, I developed a hypothesis regarding the average body size of bass clarinetists, in particular female bass clarinetists. I have observed that four of the five female bass clarinetists that have, over the years, played in my current municipal band have been noticeably heavier for their heights than the average woman or, perhaps more importantly, than the average female clarinetist. Even if I throw in the female bass clarinetist I played with in another band, the statistics are still four out of six. The male bass clarinetists I have played with have not been noticeable rotund. I, myself, am tall and slender.
Does this observation hold up in general? And, if so, why do band directors tend to select heavier females to convert to bass clarinet? Do they think they have more lung capacity? Are they perceived as being stronger and more capable of holding or carrying the instrument? Do they feel the instrument will appear more in proportion to them than it would to a more petite middle school student?
This same observation may be carried over to tuba players as well. Most, who I assume were converted from trumpet players, are bulkier than the average brass player, at least in my observation.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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