 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: fuehrcol
Date: 2015-11-23 00:35
Hello fellow clarinetists. As I have mentioned a ton of times before, I am in middle school. The school owned bass clarinet I use (saving up for my own by the way) is, well.. crappy. abused (not by me). old ( the case says 1996 and its a selmer). I think you get the idea. Anyway, I cant get above the g in the altissimo no matter what I do or try. I am almost positive it is not me, and the g and below comes out just fine. What should I do?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? By the way, I think it might be my mouthpiece (a plastic leblanc student mouthpiece that was abused before I got it.)
-Cole Fuehrer
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Author: pewd
Date: 2015-11-23 00:48
Do you mean the top of the staff G?
In any event, you should be able to hit an altissimo G (2 octaves above the open note).
I always prefer that my bass students buy their own mouthpiece -that way they are not using a different one each year (most schools reissue school owned instruments each year).
I'd suggest a Fobes Nova (bass).
In any event, ask your band director if they can have the instrument serviced. A slight leak causes massive problems for bass students. Also, can you have a clarinet playing private teacher check out the instrument?
Good luck.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2015-11-23 00:51
1996 ain't old! But ... I'll wager the school has not maintained it very well. First thing I'd do is try and get the school to have the bass clarinet adjusted, repadded where it leaks, and generally make sure it's in good order. Before I spent a dime.
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Author: fuehrcol
Date: 2015-11-23 01:41
Oh whoops what I meant was that it is not really a new one and has been very used. I problably should have said that.
-Cole Fuehrer
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2015-11-23 06:59
If it's a wood Selmer Paris model, it's worth restoring. A plastic Selmer USA, not so much.
Ken Shaw
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Author: qualitycontrol
Date: 2015-11-23 07:43
You've got a pretty good range going up to G altissimo. Anything above that, I find the fingerings will change on each bass clarinet you pick up, even between the same make/model. Concentrate on getting a good sound in the range you have, and start trying to find some good G# and A fingerings (be very creative up there, try every voicing and combination you can.)
Until you start working on more advanced repertoire-I can only really think of contemporary chamber pieces-you're not going to have to play above a a G above the staff.
I can play up to around C# or D above that G, but like you I find anything above the G gets much trickier to play. The fingerings get really cumbersome as well. If it's a single register instrument, you should be able to get a fairly decent G# out of just the right hand keys (all down) and the Ab/Eb key. I find A is usually easy to voice with left hand 2 and 3 and right hand 2 and 3 as well as Ab/Eb or F/C.
My last piece of advice is to play around up there and try to find stable and clear fingerings for any note you can, don't work with a tuner at first. If you can get a good, stable sound at P and F for a high sound, take it to the tuner and see what sort of note it's giving you. If it's fairly close to a particular note, explore opening or closing the pinky keys to bring it in tune. If it's a quarter-tone away from anything useful, try experimenting with the sliver and side keys to bring it up in pitch to something useful. Maybe you'll find a great, stable high C# before you can even play the B or Bb, but those will come next if you keep looking for goof fingerings and voicings for your instrument.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2015-11-23 10:18
If it's a 1996 Selmer Paris bass clarinet then it's about as good as anything available now and isn't considered old. Any problem is probably something that needs to be repaired and pretty much anything can be.
If you can play up to altissimo G without problems then it's likely there isn't a huge problem. If you can't play above that then that is unlikely to be an adjustment/leak/mouthpiece problem but those are still possibilities. It's best to have it checked by another good bass clarinet player and/or a good repairer.
Are you sure you are using the correct fingering above altissimo G?
If you actually meant the G just above the staff then that is the area most affected by a leak at the top of the instrument.
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Author: Mike Blinn
Date: 2015-11-23 15:40
You are confusing the registers: chalumeau, clarion, and altissimo. The chalumeau register goes from your lowest note to middle Bb.
From middle B to upper C is the clarion. Altissimo starts with C# and goes up to highest C.
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Author: fuehrcol
Date: 2015-11-23 16:19
I am talking about the G above the clarion G (the altissimo G)
-Cole Fuehrer
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2015-11-23 16:29
OK start by posting what fingerings you are using for the notes that don't come out, like G#. Also what fingerings are you using for the altissimo notes that do come out fine, up to G?
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Author: fuehrcol
Date: 2015-11-23 16:31
I am talking about the g four lines above the staff.
-Cole Fuehrer
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2015-11-23 16:36
That was clear from your previous post, the one I replied to just above.
Please post the fingerings you are using for the altissimo notes around G and below (i.e. notes that play fine) and G# and above (notes that don't play).
Post Edited (2015-11-23 16:37)
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2015-11-23 23:17
Hurstfarm,
RH "half hole"... You lost me here.
HRL
Post Edited (2015-11-23 23:21)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-11-23 23:31
LH1 half hole - roll down LH finger 1 to uncover the aperture in the middle of the fingerplate to help some altissimo notes that are unstable if you lift LH finger 1 off completely (as you'd do on soprano clarinets).
Some basses (eg. older Conns) don't have the perforated plate for LH1, but that can be altered. I did this on an old Conn bass and fitted a piece of key barrel on the inside to make a chimney for the 2mm hole to go through and an extension tab on the lower side (made from a cor anglais LH1 fingerplate).
But most basses (altos and basset horns) have a perforated plate for LH1 to help with the tuning and response of some altissimo notes.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: fuehrcol
Date: 2015-11-24 02:04
clarnibass- whoops sorry about that. I didn't realize sent. Our wifi is really crappy and cuts out a lot.
-Cole Fuehrer
Post Edited (2015-11-24 02:07)
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Author: fuehrcol
Date: 2015-11-24 02:11
By the way, the bass clarinet I am using is a plastic selmer usa from 1996. It is not a wood selmer paris.
-Cole Fuehrer
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Author: fuehrcol
Date: 2015-11-24 02:22
while I was typing the fingerings I was using, I found out my problem. I realized when I played some of the notes above a g, I was accidentally scooting my finger from the half hole onto the normal part of the key. Thanks for everyone's time trying to help me.
-Cole Fuehrer
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