 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: FrankM
Date: 2006-02-17 15:14
I did something I never thought I’d do…bought an Eb clarinet…and I’m glad I did. It’s really quite fun and I’ve been enjoying attempting to tame the little guy. I played a musical last year which required some Eb. I was intrigued…after all, they wrote for Eb, they must have wanted it for some reason! I bought a 60s vintage Bundy, and with the suggestion of an experienced Eb player, a Vandoren B44 mouthpiece. I must say, it’s got an interesting sound….not too shrill…. I’ve checked it out with a tuner, and the intonation is not too bad. Up to altissimo d and e, I’m OK…above that, intonation and sound quality go through the floor ( or maybe the ceiling!). Now, all I need is someone with the nerve to ask me to play it on a gig!
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-02-17 15:26
I've recently changed my Eb mouthpiece for want of something easier - I have used a B44 for a while, but bought a 5RV which makes a huge difference. I can get a much rounder and compact sound with this - in comparison the B44 has more spread, but I'll keep it as a back-up (I originally bought the B44 to use with a Lyons C clarinet to do 'Carnival of the Animals' on as the Lyons mouthpiece was cack!).
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2006-02-17 15:28
Congrats on joining the Eefer fraternity!!
Actually the horn you describe is like the one I started on in 1965! It was a good horn and was especially good for a plastic clarinet of that era. (Did they use a different kind of plastic back then, it seemed sturdier!) My teacher was always amazed it could sound that good!
I used a 5RV (I think) on that instrument (it's been a while!) and that seemed to give quite good high notes, certainly up through G. You may need to experiment with other fingerings on anything above D. E is generally a bad note on almost all Eefers. Add the sliver key to the traditional fingering.
The most important difference in playing in ensembles with an Eefer is that YOU ARE HEARD. It is like playing piccolo in that respect and you are playing the same lines as flute and piccolo very often. They tend to go sharp as you go flat, so it is always an interesting battle. Oftentimes you have to stick in a sliver key or additional keys to stay in tune with them, if they won't come to meet you.
Good luck and have fun. Peter Hadcock's Eefer Excerpt book is a great place to get a feel for the instrument in terms of its musical personality.
Eefer guy
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Author: Veldeb
Date: 2006-02-17 16:25
for above high C... an effer trick... just take it up a half step and dont add the Eb key..... you won't get a bloody lip that way and your director will wonder how you keep it from going flat :-) I ve use Clark Fobes Effer mouthpieces and barrels for several years now and love them. Blake
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Author: FrankM
Date: 2006-02-17 16:52
Actually, I did noticed that if I play my fingering for high f#, I get an almost perfect F ! In the heat of battle that could get confusing I would think !
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-02-17 16:59
I struggled with my plastic Vito up in the stratosphere, but my new-old R13 Eb will play up there with no trouble.
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Author: pcrispino32
Date: 2006-02-19 08:27
i'm in my early stages of Eb clarinet playing, it is quite interesting. i'm playing this piece called dead elvis, pretty nifty. but anyway, i saw you were using a vandoren b44 mouthpiece. those aren't bad at all, but if you're interested in spending a few more bucks, the richard hawkins mouthpiece is pretty good. it makes a darker sound and helps keep your pitch low. just so you know...
PC
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Author: OpusII
Date: 2006-02-20 09:26
The Eb is indeed a wonderfull instrument! It took a while getting used to it, but after a year of playing I've to say that I'm in love with it! At the moment where playing Yiddish dances from Adam Gorb, It's a joy to play the Eb part!
You can also try the Viotto RH, it's a great mouthpiece and a very nice sound. But I still recommend Bb reeds... It's easier to play the high notes that way..
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2006-02-22 00:22
I am playing Eb in my wind ensemble. I am sure I would enjoy it if the instrument wasn't so terrible, there are some great parts written for the instrument.
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
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Author: FrankM
Date: 2006-05-19 03:10
I just bought a Buffet barrel for my Bundy Eb and it makes a big difference. I think the high notes are much more in tune and the over all sound is nicer...less shrill. I'm doing "Sweeney Todd" his summer and if I get the book with Eb , I'll be ready !
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Author: Tyler
Date: 2006-05-19 04:15
I'm so sorry. May the black stick of death have mercy on you.
;-) have fun with it; I'm sure I'll have my share of Eefer-playing in college, although probably against my will.
-Tyler
Post Edited (2006-05-19 04:15)
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2006-05-19 05:28
Since my last post in this thread a few months ago I bought a used R13 Eb off the clarient classifieds on this site actually! It's great!!!! So much better than the [ Edited - GBK ] noblet I was using.
Sorry GBK... I let that slip... (perhaps it's this delicious glass of vodka i'm currently enjoying!).
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
Post Edited (2006-05-19 06:09)
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Author: Cuisleannach
Date: 2006-05-19 05:59
My wife would never let me buy an effer....I ruined any chance of that when I bought a garklein recorder and dared to play it in the house while she was home. Incidentally my daughter loves it when I play the little beast and as soon as she can hold it I'll teach her how to torture mommy with it.
-Randy
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Author: donald
Date: 2006-05-19 07:02
my ex wife GAVE me a Garklein as a present some years ago....
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Author: redwine
Date: 2006-05-19 11:36
Hello,
I've heard about the techinque of playing high notes up one half step, but with experimentation with mouthpieces, I've found that if you use a rather close facing with a harder reed than you use on b-flat, the high notes are perfectly in tune (assuming you have a good clarinet).
Ben Redwine, DMA
owner, RJ Music Group
Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America
Selmer Paris artist
www.rjmusicgroup.com
www.redwinejazz.com
www.reedwizard.com
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Author: ClariTone
Date: 2006-05-19 12:46
A great teacher once said "Eb clarinets are like bunnies. They reproduce like crazy, and look so innocent, until they get into your garden..." Think about it!!!
Clayton
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Author: FrankM
Date: 2006-05-19 14:28
I met my wife of 26 years in our college band...she WAS the Eb clarinet player !
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Author: Tony Beck
Date: 2006-05-19 14:51
I’d agree with Mr, Redwine on mouthpieces. Use a close facing and stiff reeds. My ancient Noblet was hopelessly out of tune above mid-clarion with a B44, and it was a monster to play under mezzo forte. That may have been a bad mouthpiece though. It seemed to be extremely wide. A new barrel and refaced mouthpiece (from David Spiegalthal) fixed most of the problems. Altissimo above F is still not right.
Last month I played it for the first time in a concert, in both Holst suites. I wasn’t real happy with my performance, but the recording came in last night and it’s a lot better than I expected.
I can’t help myself. It’s too much fun to play. My wife and daughter have gotten use to my attempts to make music with the Effer, and I’ve gotten better at it too. In fact, I told my daughter that she could play it in her school band next year, and she didn’t flee in terror or laugh hysterically.
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2006-05-19 18:41
<<for above high C... an effer trick... just take it up a half step and dont add the Eb key...>>
This is a kind of advice that can only be destructive. If your instrument is this bad, bye another one or go back to basic practice! With an appropriate emboushure, good MP/reed match and a decent instrument you should be able to play original fingerings. If you don't want to spend a fortune and can't find a used pro-model the Noblet Artist or Buffet E11 are great instruments.
Alphie
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2006-05-20 00:47
i have an old 60,s bundy eb too. its a far better horn than one would expect and i used it professionally many times. it fits my large hands better than my old hard rubber conn or my wooden robert. i have a vandoreen b44 too but dave speg. refaced an older selmer hs* that now is great!
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