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bflatlclarinet
(1 point)
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Ok so my band teacher is wanting me to play bass clarinet. im game...well theres not really a bass clarinet teacher at my school...so im kinda just supposed to meet with the 2 high school instructors every so often for instruction...well im gonna play in front of 'em in about a week for the first time...i dont want to embarass myself so does ANYONE HAVE ANY TIPS!?!? please help...from one musician to another...if it helps any i play regular b flat clarinet too!
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music_girl_27
(418 points)
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hey, consider yourself lucky- our school has ONE band instructor for the middle and high school. We have a bass clarinet player at our school who used to play Bb and i've noticed it does sound better when he plays louder- but that could be because he's our only bass clarinet player.
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laeta_puella
(343 points)
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not so much always play louder, as use plenty of air. you still have to play piano when it's called for! just think how much more clarinet there is than when you play soprano, and use air accordingly.
don't use too stiff a reed. sometimes people switching think, "oh, i use a 4 on soprano, i'll just use a 4 on bass too" usually a 2.5 or 3 works well, but figure out what works best for you.
the embochure's not exactly the same as soprano.
figure out what all the keys are, if your bass clarinet has more than your soprano- some bass clarinets have a left hand Ab/Eb key, which my teacher claims sopranos usually don't (i don't play soprano enough to know for sure myself),and my bass has more alternate keys, although i think those are more common on soprano too, just my soprano is lame... but anyway- the low Eb too of course! you can put them to good use if you know what they do! the left hand Ab/Eb is particularly useful, i've found.
have fun! 
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suzie
(387 points)
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Hi, I'm not sure if this will help or not but I'm posting anyhow! =) In high school I went from flute to bass clarinet with no prior clarinet experience. Within two years of playing bass clarinet during concert season, I'd beaten other bass clarinetists during all-county competitions when Bb clarinet was their main instrument. I played bass clarinet during all four years of high school (concert season only) and the strongest reed I EVER played on (with the Selmer C* mouthpiece that I grew to absolutely love!) was a Vandoren 3. I started bass clarinet alternating between a low number Rico (ick!) and a low number Vandoren and played on a 2 the most. I picked up Bb clarinet later on (around 11th grade) and some advice given to me (from a tenor saxophonist) was to relax your jaw when you play as the tighter your embouchure (and jaw) is, the more out of tune your playing will be. Practicing the bass clarinet is essential to give you a good idea of your projectional capabilities. I never (pardon the flutist hard-headedness) used any of the side/alternate keys (my school had Selmer Paris 37 model basses with low C) until I HAD to learn them when I went to repair school. Hopefully you're playing on a decent mouthpiece as well since that'll help (just like flute headjoints to a flute!) with your sound and yadda yadda yadda (just like regular clarinet). I think I'm rambling and I'm going to go for now. Hopefully that helped a little! -Suzie
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trouthat
(33 points)
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i am in 6th grade and me and a nothere kid just started playing this year and we are the best in our band. we have the same music teachere for 6th 7thand 8th and highschool band. just try to play as many notes as you can at the beginning. if you learn them early then the songs will be a lot eaisier later. but it also helps to have a band teachere that used to play bass clarinet that is as good as mine!!!
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trouthat
(33 points)
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i am in 6th grade and me and a nothere kid just started playing this year and we are the best in our band. we have the same music teachere for 6th 7th and 8th and highschool band. just try to play as many notes as you can at the beginning. if you learn them early then the songs will be a lot eaisier later. but it also helps to have a band teachere that used to play bass clarinet that is as good as mine!!!
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trouthat
(33 points)
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i am in 6th grade and me and a nothere kid just started playing this year and we are the best in our band. we have the same music teachere for 6th 7th and 8th and highschool band. just try to play as many notes as you can at the beginning. if you learn them early then the songs will be a lot eaisier later. but it also helps to have a band teachere that used to play bass clarinet that is as good as mine!!!
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trouthat
(33 points)
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i am in 6th grade and me and a nothere kid just started playing this year and we are the best in our band. we have the same music teachere for 6th 7th and 8th and highschool band. just try to play as many notes as you can at the beginning. if you learn them early then the songs will be a lot eaisier later. but it also helps to have a band teachere that used to play bass clarinet that is as good as mine!!!
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trouthat
(33 points)
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sorry about posting it so many times im new and my computer was being slow!!!
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-harmonic_divine
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Hey, i'm Allison, ive played Bass Clarinet for awhile. First Chair in my High School. All i can say is try not to rely on instructors. most of the time in schools they just give you a new instrument and say "Hey, play this" and you just do. Loud isn't exactly the best way to go by the way. Being too loud results in the Bass Clarinet sounding "reedy" and causes major fluctuations in your tone. Work on keeping a steady embouchure and air stream. If your having issues getting notes out, play simple scales and try going up and down to the note that may be giving you trouble. If you have ANY questions what-so-ever email me at
harmonic_divine@yahoo.com
or just mail me on here,
Good Luck
AKR~
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Scratchy2010
(40 points)
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Hey I'm also pretty new to playing the bass but if I have learned anything in the past couple of months that I've been playing I have learned that no matter what as long as you're playing and blowing strong 99% of the time you're going to play at least half-decently. My band instructor is very unhelpful when it comes to knowing anything about the bass so my section leader, there's 2 of us, she's really helpful so i guess what I'm trying to say is. If you're really having trouble just blow strong even if it make you light headed and ask for help if you need it. Good luck! 
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iloveclarinet
(8 points)
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I just started playing contrabass recently, and it's not as hard as it first seems. You already know the notes because you play clarinet, so the only thing that may trouble you is using enough air and the embouchure. Just keep your mouth open and you shouldn't have to be too worried.
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