*Has been looking at bass clarinets*



Does anyone know anything about them? Apart from the fact that they are expensive...

Well...

They're pitched in B flat, need a different embouchure to a standard B flat clari, read most of their music from treble clef (though there are exceptions), and a good many bass clarinets will have extra keywork to descend down to the C below the E where you'd expect a clarinet to stop at.

Hope that helps!

! Its a start. I'm thinking about playing one in the school Christmas concert, IF I can find one that is decent and under £670, unless my parents chip in.

Theres a couple on Ebay (and a rosewood sub contra bass ) and a new one on gear4music.... Except I have no idea how good they are!

It'll feel a bit different to start with Rosemary. The embouchure I find needs to be a bit more relaxed. Do make sure you give the bass plenty of diaphragm support too.

If you get a chance to try instruments out, make sure, in particular, that the low notes are good and full, because this is the area of the bass you are likely to use most.

Hope you enjoy bass clari!

I won't get the chance to try one It'll be ebay I think. Theres a Leblanc Vito which should be okay, although I don't know how low it goes.

I suspect it'll descend to Eb Rosemary.

There is only one extra key that I can see from the pics, so that sounds right Just got to convince the parents with the eBay account....

Thanks Rosemary - it worked! Just need to suss out the notes from A to D now...

Never knew you could get the same note in so many ways - all those shiny bits on the sides to get used to......

Glad I've helped! Have fun with that After A (twelth above D above middle C) I found it got a bit harder, so lots of long notes and slow scales to build up to it

How often do you service your Clarinet?

I haven't had it serviced since.. end of July 06 roughly.. Do you think I ogut to have it serviced soon ?

Yes, even if only a quick once over to adjust keywork where necessary and replace the odd cork or pad. Keywork takes quite a battering and its amazing how much easier to play an instrument is after a bit of attention!

Twiddle

All my instruments get a service about once every 18 months.

Ooh. Thanks for that Will keep that in mind.

May take the clairnet tomorrow and see if it needs any servicing.. It should be okay.. If there is some servicing necessary I hope it isn't too expensive.

Also forgot to ask. in the original Question.. How long do they take? hours? days? If it days I may not do it tomorrow but another day seeing as my next lesson is on Monday, and I can't get out of the house any earlier than tomorrow...

hi all clarinettists!

i just bought a new clarinet mouthpiece with brand rico royal and size B5, is that suitable enough for a beginner, and i'm really want to know, if we use clarinet's ligature, will the sound better than using alto sax ligature?

now, i use alto sax ligature, haven't tried any clarinet ligature, is it really important to use clarinet ligature one?

thanks

I've booked myself in for a lesson - although the notes appear to be in tune with each other, I think I might Bb.....

(Bb? Be flat! )

I was wondering how you were getting on When's your lesson?

Nice pun...

Best of luck with the lesson - do let us all know how things go.

Lesson's this Thursday

<It is a good pun, isn't it? >

guys! i need help.. hehe

i practised on clarinet basics by paul harris and my mouth's muscles fastly got tired.. how to make it stronger and not too tired?

and just noticed this in clarinet basics, like this :
"Reminder! Check the position of your right-hand thumb (which should be under the thumb rest between the thumb nail and the first joint)."
i don't really understand what this sentence mean..
is it mean that my right thumb's nail should touch the thumb rest?
and how about the position of left hand's thumb?

errr, and one addition (this is disgusting and nasty.. )
well, my spit is so many in the clarinet although i play for few minutes, is that good, if it isn't, how to avoid too many spit

thanks

Your lip will get stronger with practice - it's the only way! Just play a little each day until it tires, and you'll find the muscles will get stronger.

The right hand thumb needs to support the clarinet. Hold your clarinet comfortably in your right hand with your thumb under the rest, so that one edge of the rest sits just above the thumb joint; this should mean that the other edge of the rest is just below the base of your nail.

There is always a lot of "spit" with clarinets - it's not really all spit, a lot of it is water which condenses from your breath. Don't worry too much about it at the moment; just make sure you dry your clarinet with a pull-through (a cotton or chamois cloth with a long cord weighted at one end) after playing.

Berkshiremum has given some great advice. As she says it means that the instrument should rest on your thumb on the same side of the 1st joint as the tip. With my little hands the thumbrest is almost the same width as this joint so it sits above my nail. I've seen quite a few people hold the instrument with it resting between the joint and the base of the thumb as they find it more comfy.....don't....it prevents your fingers moving as well as they should do.

As to the left hand as long as it covers the hole and ring and can press the register key you are fine. Mine sits at about 30 degrees to the register key.

thank you very much berkshiremum and CJB!

i have practised again this day!

I was wondering which clarion-C fingering people use for A Major 2-octave arpeggio - I've been using the left hand C because I find it easier, but something my teacher said in a different context has made me wonder if I should try and perfect playing it with the right hand C, simply because I *do* find it more difficult?

I'm sure you meant C# rather than C for A major skylark.

It's good to know both ways of playing C#, and be able to use both regularly. In the A major arpeggio, I tend to go for left hand C#, like you. For the A minor arpeggio I usually use the right hand C though...

9/10 RH C# - my LH little finger had a bit of stretch to reach C# when I 1st started so the RH one was always preferable.

hi...I am new to these forums but i just have a question i would like to ask.....
i have just got a new wooden clarinet (leblanc sonata ) and i read somewhere that with new wooden clarinets you need to gradually build up the amount you play on it...have just gone up from a plastic clarinet so am not really sure. also is there anything else i need to worry about....i have bore oil to but i dont know what it is for...any help would be apreciated! thankyou!

Yes, you do need to gradually build up the amount you play on a new wooden clari, a bit at a time. It won't be long though 'til you can play it as much as you like.

Oil - my policy is 'not a lot, and not very often' - and if you're in any doubt, get someone more experienced to do it for you.

And to the forum - hope you enjoy your time here!

thankyou for advice! - am likeing it so much better on the wodden clarinet...sounds a lot nicer and keys are a lot smoother to press

thanks!

[runs and hides....]




I'm trying both ways, but it's not easy



I'm very envious by the way, kate xx! And welcome to the forums

I'm not sounding as flat now that I've been moved up to 2/2.5 But I've not been able to practice the last two days because the cleaners threw away my reeds (I'd left them out to dry)

Sounds like you're progressing well. I notice you say 2 and 2.5 - do you have a preferred reed make? A 2 in one make can feel rather different to a 2 in another make...

What make of reed are you using, LT, just as a matter of interest?

(Now that you're a clarinettist, you'll discover that reeds are one of the main topics of conversation here )




edit: Snap Barry!

Great minds (and clarinettists) think alike obviously! Not sure I'd call myself one yet though skylark....

I'm a complete novice with reeds so any advice would be greatly appreciated! The 1.5's I was larking about with were given to me by a friend. I was told to try both the 2 and 2.5 after my first lesson - luckily the local guitar shop sells them individually but only one brand - Ricos. So far I've managed to get a sound out of both - the 2.5 seemed less effortful and I was planning to practice again before my next lesson but for the cleaners

I'm sure my embouchure is not consistent so getting a smooth sound out of the 2.5 might just have been luck. I'll find out tomorrow!

*reminds self to get reeds before lesson*

Let's both call ourselves baby clarinettists - you're new-born and I'm just beginning to toddle! And I keep falling over!


Reed-wise, I used Rico or Rico Royal 1.5 until I'd crossed the break. Then I changed to Rico/Royal 2.0. I've tried to get on to 2.5 but never quite been comfortable with it. Probably because I'm not very fit! Vandoren are often reckoned to be the best quality reed but I've never been able to get on with it. I've decided it's the shape of the Vandoren reed and my mouthpiece which aren't compatible! I'm currently using a Rico Mitchel Lurie reed 2.5, but I think that's only equivalent to a Vandoren 2.0.

It's all a bit of a minefield but this chart might help - click the link and then download a PDF of the reed chart. Hopefully you'll get some more responses from people who know more about reeds than I do, but look forward to chatting to you further about one of my favourite topics!

Making an educated guess in that case that your embouchure is strengthening well LT - well done!

Never forget that the reeds are thin pieces of wood (grass!) and the temperature and humidity changes ( in and out of mouth) make them warp. This can be so slight, you'll never actually see it, but it affects how well they lie on the mouthpiece.

Put a piece of paper e.g. newspaper on a hard flat surface, lick you fingers and press down on the reed, running it in a circle over the paper. This will gently sand the back, flattening it.

This often results in quite amazing improvements in how easily they play!

As for oiling, you're breaking in the clarinet because it's new wood moving to a region where the humidity might be very different. Fast changes in the temp and humidity makes the wood crack. That's why you have to be careful when taking it outside.

The oiling is meant to slow down any changes in the actual wood. The fashion seems to be organic oils more specifically mainly peanut oil and almond oil. You can do this yourself simply by putting a few drops on a swab and pulling it through a number of times. Approx once every six months seems to be the norm.

Steve

Thanks for the advice, stevensfo - I'll try that!

Sticking with 2.5's - need to keep a consistent embouchure whilst tonguing but otherwise a really positive lesson today! Moved up to grade 2 pieces - I'd bought several "Making the grade' books at 50% off - luckily I'm old enough to recognise the tunes!

Thanks for the encouragement barry/skylark - and I'll look through the reeds website sometime (looks rather daunting at the moment )

Hi all,

I've been playing the clarinet for about 10 years and about 3 years ago now I took up the tenor saxophone. I never had any trouble with my wrists up to this point but this summer I changed to the alto sax and took grade 8 recently and i'm not sure if it was just due to my increased practice but I now have horrid wrist pain in my right arm. It's super annoying as now I can't survive a 2 1/2 hour orchestra practice playing my A clarinet without it cracking and generally aching. I don't know whether it's music related (that's my suspicion) or whether it could be due to bad technique with hockey (although I don't see how this could have changed dramatically over the last year) which would actually make it completely unrelated to music. Either way it's quite painful after a while of playing and i have no idea what's up with it. Any thoughts?

I think I may make this my footer as I post it so often. Have you checked your posture whilst playing? Alto sax is quite a heavy instrument to take all the weight round your neck. If you're sticking your head out at all when playing then the problems, of compressed nerves, may well show themselves in your hands/wrists.

A clarinet is also quite a lot of weight to hold on your right thumb continuously. Again check posture and consider the thumbrest position, where on your thumb the weight is being placed maybe consider a sling or one of the more exotic thumbrests. When playing A (and to a lesser extent Bb) make sure you take the weight off your thumb if possible when resting and (as unobtrusively as poss!) shake out your right hand and wrist. I will also sometimes just rest the bell on my knee if the weight is getting too much, needs to be done with care to avoid muffling the bell notes but in the long run is better than risking damage to your hand/wrist.

I don't know much about posture, apart from its important! If you still have trouble, maybe you could see your doctor, possible get a wrist support?

I now have a question... My only decent reed died last night, the other having vanished into my study somewhere. I have a concert on Tuesday. Anyone like to tell me my chances of getting the new one broken in by then?

You have a very good chance Rosemary - and for the future, I'd recommend having several 'broken in' reeds to call upon, that you can use, just in case this happens again .

Some of the reeds I still have in my clarinet case are horrific. Bits missing from the corners, chips all along the top edge, splits, you name it. I would have a current favourite and use it exclusively until it pretty much fell apart. There's even one that's missing about a quarter inch right across the tip (it got retired when that happenned).
The only thing that baffles me more than the fact that I didn't get rid of them when they became unplayable is the fact that I /still/ havn't thrown them away even now!

T.

I usually have 6 reeds on the go at a time and take turns with them.
My reed case is handily numbered.

I swear I had at least 4 decent reeds and 2 being-broken-in ones a week or two ago.... I don't know what happened to them! *Wonders if there is a reed-eating thing in her study*

In my house it's called a cleaner!

Are there any holes in the lining of your clarinet case that they could get through, into the space between that and the outside of the case? Some of mine used to disappear into the innards of the case like that.

T.

I bet its my mum!! Grrr. She's obsessed, and refuses to accept my definition of 'away'



Nope - If they're in my case, they're in a special wooden box thing. If they're not... They're probably in the middle of a pile of the strangest things. Like inbetween the pages of my maths work

wrists are feeling better now... i just didn't play for a couple of weeks (tbh not an issue as i wouldn't have had time to fit any practice in anyway) they're feeling better. Not sure what it was but i doubt it is posture - clarinet teacher had a large period of nagging on the posture front and it's good now! Will keep an eye on it.

As for the reed eating thing... could just be you in a warewolf like state... that is if it were a full moon. Who knows. More seriously, of course it can be done. I (probably unwisely) had a new reed the night before my grade 8 sax and also before an orchestra concert where i was principle clarinet and had quite a few solos. Just play for a bit and see what happens... otherwise resume the search! You're lucky in a way that you keep losing your reeds. I always find that i can't throw them out and just have piles of used reeds in my box. *sigh*

Well, I played today in the cold outside tescos (Music securely pegged to stand!!) and it felt like there was absolutely no resistance at all, anywhere. I only knew I was playing because I could hear myself... I'm not sure if thats good or bad. I'm just being annoyed that I took my wooden clari out in those conditions!! (I thought we'd be inside) 3 hours of rehearsals tomorow will tell I guess.


Glad your hands are better now That must be frustrating not having time to play!

I would be very surprised if your clarinet has suffered any long lasting damage Rosemary, as long as you didn't rapidly heat it up afterwards.