 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Nomenclature
Date: 2019-09-21 00:12
I'd love to try a bass clarinet and it seems the only way I'll be able to do this is to hire one for a minimum of three months, which is quite costly considering I just want to try it. Sadly there's nobody in my local area who has one they'd be willing to lend me for a day.
So, before I hire one I have a few questions that I'd be grateful if anyone could answer please!
I've played Bb clarinet for many years and wondered what the difference in fingering is, if any? How well would I be able to adapt? Do you need a wide hand-span? What's the extra key that I've seen at the bottom RH pinkie? Is the mouthpiece just bigger with no other difference?
Any other info and advice would be great please.
I live in the UK btw.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-09-21 00:34
Nomenclature wrote:
> I've played Bb clarinet for many years and wondered what the
> difference in fingering is, if any?
No difference for the most part.
> How well would I be able
> to adapt? Do you need a wide hand-span?
The holes and keys are farther apart. I do find the spread a little uncomfortable, especially for my right pinky. It can be gotten used to.
> What's the extra key
> that I've seen at the bottom RH pinkie?
It's a low Eb.
> Is the mouthpiece just
> bigger with no other difference?
>
Well, that's a significant difference in itself. The reed is consequently bigger. I don't think the proportions of the mouthpiece are the same - it's wider, I think, in comparison to its length thaqn a soprano mouthpiece.
Some players like to mimic the angle of a Bb mouthpiece (which is why some BCs have a neck that's angled upward to make this easier) and some like the mouthpiece to come in straighter. That's mostly a personal preference..
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-09-21 02:05
For me I find the approach to the clarion (and beyond) COMPLETELY different. Much like starting clarinet with a teacher, you need to have some guidance from a bass player when you first start.
Just for emphasis, I can get pretty good on bass, but after a long hiatus it takes me several months to get the sound and intonation really going again.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2019-09-21 16:53
Some people take to it easily and others don't. As already answered the fingerings are bacislly the same except for added low notes until you get into the altissimo range, about the high C, then there's a half hole and some alternates to learn but mostly it's the difference in voicing. It's not a clarinet and it's not a sax it's a base clarinet. I've taught many woodwind doubles the difference in just a couple of lessons. Voicing. I suggest if you decide to get one you speak to a knowledgeable person and perhaps take a few lessons with a Pro after playing it a few weeks to get a general feeling for the instrument. Remember one thing, even the slightest leak on the top joint can make the instument go crazy and be careful putting it together so you don't bend something and the bridge key from the bottom to the top joint is perfectly in line. Check my website, I have an article or two about playing bass clarinet. Good luck.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2019-09-21 18:57
I tried a bass clarinet and I thought it was lovely to play. I had to blow really hard and the vibration made me wonder if it would knock my teeth right out. There was also a tremendous vibration through my back and body which was quite nice, but I think I would have struggled to manage it for more then a minute or two. It was a very relaxing instrument to play, but I think it must take a lot of oomph.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-09-21 20:03
Depending on what you mean exactly by "oomph," I don't think it should take that kind of exertion. That's why a lesson or two with a player who is skilled on bass is a good idea. It sounds like you had some reed/mouthpiece/instrument issue or some combination of them that made you work too hard. An experienced player can at least evaluate the equipment and recommend ways to make playing it easier. When you have no experience with a new instrument, you don't have any way to know what to expect or how playing it should feel.
Karl
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2019-09-21 20:50
Three months is about the minimum time for getting the setup and fingering familiarity to the point where you'd even know whether you like bass. Things like smooth fingering over the break only start becoming satisfactory when you play it all the time, but if you have a chance to play good parts, it's well worth it. Fantastic instrument.
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Author: JEG ★2017
Date: 2019-09-22 00:59
I played bass clarinet once in high school, then usually played it (grudgingly) in wind ensembles in college. Finally I succumbed to it junior year in college and bought a new Selmer Model 33.
I always had an affinity for low woodwinds - baritone saxophone and bass clarinet - and my sound came rather naturally. But you really need to know that you're getting a mechanically sound bass clarinet; otherwise you'll be frustrated.
In college I used the school's Leblancs, which were ok but resistant in the upper register, if I remember correctly. The Selmer 33, which I still use, was a revelation. It gets a big focused sound and is relatively easy to play.
I had one lesson on the bass clarinet with my teacher at the time, Felix Viscuglia of the Boston Symphony and a lot of advice over the years from my tech, Bill Street. Their advice was to play it like a big clarinet. My take on that is that it's just like a clarinet, only more so. In other words, every idiosyncrasy of the clarinet is more pronounced on the bass. It requires a wider embouchure due to the wider reed, but I've found that adapting to the bass embouchure has helped my clarinet embouchure, and vice versa.
My hands are small, and I am about 5'5". So sometimes I have trouble when I have to play my bass while sitting on a short chair. So phone books (rapidly becoming extinct), towels, books or other cushions come in handy. Regarding finger size, I never had any trouble with my bass, though newer bass clarinets seem to be more ergonomic.
So my advice is to go for it. You might find that you and bass clarinet get along well, or otherwise, but at least you will have had the experience.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2019-09-22 06:07
JEG wrote:
> The Selmer 33, which I still use, was a revelation.
> It gets a big focused sound and is relatively easy to play.
Jess is being modest. I have played in orchestras where we have used him to play bass clarinet and he is a fine player.
...GBK
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2019-09-22 17:28
I started playing bass as a Jr. in conservatory. Sold my flute and sax to buy an inexpensive bass clarinet, and Eb as well. Have trouble with the upper register though I took to the rest of it like a fish in water. Took lessons with Joe Allard on bass, was told the instrument sucked and I traded it in for a Selmer bass with Allard's help, did the same with the Eb clarinet but for a Buffet. That made an incredible difference in my playing though I continued studying with him for the rest of the year. When I got the BSO job in 63 I decided I should have a low C model since they were just being produced and I noticed a few players with them at an audition. . Before that most players had extensions built for the few orchestral parts it was needed. So in 64 or 65 I bought a Selmer 33 low C model, I believe the first low C model Selmer "mass" produced and used it for the remaining of my 50 year career in the BSO. The year I bought that the orchestra did several works that required going down to the low C, good timing on my part.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: HelenaS
Date: 2019-09-26 23:58
I bought a used Bundy bass just to try it, and I love it. It took a bit of work to adjust to it--kind of like adjusting to piccolo after playing flute. Fingerings are the same, but the feel and embouchure are different. Of course, now I am obsessed with bass and am saving up for a better one.
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Author: Nomenclature
Date: 2019-09-27 00:42
Thanks everyone for all the advice. I went ahead and decided to hire one for a few months to give it a try!
It arrived with me this morning and I love it! It will take a bit of getting used to though. I find the angle of the mouthpiece quite different. I'm not sure if I have the rest (?) at the bottom too high or too low as my right wrist was getting sore at the new angle I'm holding it at. I love the resonance the low notes give - had a nice buzz in my teeth/head. Quite a stretch for my smallish hands. I laughed with I saw the size of the mouthpiece and reed - they're huge! I've already broken the reed off my shoulder but ordered some more.
I'll probably be back on here soon for some more advice... My neighbours haven't complained yet, so all is good.
One more thing - I assumed bass clarinettists would read from the bass clef but I've seen music written in treble.
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Author: JEG ★2017
Date: 2019-09-29 03:11
Most bass clarinet music is written in treble clef and you read it like you would read clarinet parts. The bass will then sound a 9th below the written pitch.
That's true for most situations, but if you play in symphony orchestras you might encounter bass parts written in bass clef. Wagner wrote in bass clef, and you would also need to transpose parts written in A. Also, Strauss, Franck, some Prokofiev and other Russian composers wrote in bass clef, if I remember correctly.
And I think Rite of Spring uses both clefs.
For now though, I wouldn't worry about it as I don't know what kind of playing you do and you should concentrate on getting accustomed to it.
When written in bass clef the bass clarinet sounds a whole step lower than the written note.
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Author: donald
Date: 2019-10-01 03:57
Over the years I've seen the question of "how different/difficult" come up in relation to both Bass and E flat clarinet, and after much thought I came up with the answer....
You can't PLAY it like a B flat clarinet, but you can LEARN it the same way. Address the same challenges as the soprano clarinet and you will come up with solutions (habits, technique) that are different to a greater or lesser degree but more similar than if you were playing a different instrument!
And per usual, scales help.
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