Hi everybody. I have a very serious problem with getting notes below G, specifically any of the notes that need pinky keys such as F, E and E flat. I normally soprano but for our band i play bass. Whenever i venture into the depths of the bass clarinet range, i keep squawking or overblowing. I can slur from C down to F, but i can`t start on the lower notes. i`ve tried a lot of things, such as practising heaps with the bass, using more mouthpiece, using less, adjusting the ligature, adjusting my body position but nothing happens. No one else seems to have this problem, BUT I DO!!!!!!!!!!!

Your ideas are extremely welcome

hmm.. i had the same problem when i started playing tenor.. ive never played bass but ill see if i can help.

as you know, the bass is a much longer horn than the soprano, which means that you need to use alot more air to get the air columb down low and vibrating to get the low notes out.

make absoluely sure you are not pinching your reed, and the ligature should not be on too tight. drop your jaw, and it sometimes helps to drop your chin a bit too. when u first are practicing don`t worry so much about tone as just getting the note out. when u do get them it will probably only be for a second, so just keep using alot of fast, warm air and blow through the clarinet. also taking in less mouth piece helps. hope this helps and tell us how it goes

drop your jaw, this will help with many long, low note instuments.

I play the bass clarinet to. I`ve been playing for about 5 years now. When I firt started I had the same problem. Just out of curiosity how old is the BC. If you use your stomach to breathe, use more mouth piece, and more air than it might be the BC. When I first started I had the exact problem and it ended up being the BC. We got a knew one the next year and found out that it really wasn`t me. It could also be your mouth piece or the neck piece. You have to keep the mouth piece at an upward angle and use an "o" amiture. Goodluck!!!!!!!!!!!

I solved the problem. It turned out i wasn`t covering the little hole for the left hand index finger. That button is shaped in a figure 8, and i thought it was shape dlike this so you had the option of using the bottom part of the 8 so you don`t have to stretch your finger. The top part of the 8 has the little hole that you`re suppost to cover.

Thanks for the help anyways!