Clarinet

[even if they were canadian]

Any other clarinet players on here? I love this instrument. I've been playing for almost seven years now. I hope to major in performance in college.

[Little Android Man]

no... but my friend does :)

hope that helps

[Spouge]

Yeah, I play the clarient as well as the bass clarinet. I prefer the bass clarinet though.

[even if they were canadian]

Bass clarinet is cool, but the upper register is a bitch sometimes.

I actually wanted to play sax, but my uncle/band director said it would be easier to switch over to sax from clarinet, and he was right. It's taken me about half as much time to advance on tenor/alto sax as it did on clarinet.

[Spouge]

Same here, I wanted to play alto in grd. 6 but I was told to try clarinet, then to bass clarinet. Now I play baritone sax on top of those two. With the ambersure(sp?) that I've developed from bass clarinet it made it alot easier to cross over to bari. sax. I hate playing high notes on bass clarinet its sounds almost jekyl and hyde if you compare to its low notes. Its not overly difficult though.

[quino]

i play sax and violin i like alot the alto sax but that's not what i wanted to ask, what i wanted to know is i got one clarinet and is a gift but i want to know if it's a good clarinet or bad the ,its a antigua winds clarinet
i dont even know if its a good clarinet but it looks very very good
i would like if you can tell me

[Left Shoe]

clarinet player of 6 years here, i love my R13.

i am a bass guitar player mainly though

[Det_Nosnip]

I don't play the Clarinet (unless synthesizers count :p ), but it's a great instrument and I enjoy writing for it!

[even if they were canadian]

i play sax and violin i like alot the alto sax but that's not what i wanted to ask, what i wanted to know is i got one clarinet and is a gift but i want to know if it's a good clarinet or bad the ,its a antigua winds clarinet
i dont even know if its a good clarinet but it looks very very good
i would like if you can tell me
I checked out their website; they only make one model, and it's a student model. It's not really big thing though. I have a cheapo plastic thing, and a nice yamaha wooden clarinet, and I actually prefer the plastic one.
clarinet player of 6 years here, i love my R13.

i am a bass guitar player mainly though
:eek: I want one of those. Hopefully I'll be getting one before my college audition.
I don't play the Clarinet (unless synthesizers count ), but it's a great instrument and I enjoy writing for it!
I wish I could write music. I've tried, and it wasn't good. :(

[Ollie The Drumming Legend]

I know a few people who do. My friend is awesome at both that and sax, i think they must be quite similar.

[traveller]

i play clarinet and i just ordered in an r13. These things are sweet!!!! Clarinet Rocks

[1Cpm1]

I have played the Clarinet for 4 years now & I love it. I am looking for a Buffet R-13 for under $2,000.00 if you guys know were I can get one let me know.

[conniption]

I've been playing clarinet for about 6 years now, and the bass clarinet for about 3 years. From the music I have played, I prefer the bass clarinet music to the clarinets. I like playing the low register more too.

[jazzbandball]

I've played clairnet for 8 years now. I'm entering my 9th for last year of school. Whoohoo!
Yeah playing Sax after clarinet was great... I was cruisin'!

[conniption]

I just bought some new reeds for my bass clarinet, and they seemed more expensive than I remember. They were about $5.75 a reed for a 3 pack of Vandorens.

[even if they were canadian]

I have played the Clarinet for 4 years now & I love it. I am looking for a Buffet R-13 for under $2,000.00 if you guys know were I can get one let me know.
I actually just got a used R13 today, in good shape, for $450. That's less than I payed for my plastic student model.

I would just look around at local music stores for a used one in good shape. That's what I did. It also helps to have someone who really knows the instrument to try it out.

I just bought some new reeds for my bass clarinet, and they seemed more expensive than I remember. They were about $5.75 a reed for a 3 pack of Vandorens.
Bass clarinet reeds are expensive. I get regular clarinet reeds (V-12, #4) for $2 a piece. I feel like I'm getting ripped off though, since I might only get 4-6 playable reeds out of a box of 10.

[Animus Light]

I don't play, but my fiancee is a clarinetist, so I enjoy writing for it every so often. She's got an A and a Bb... both are Buffet, I believe, and they're somewhere between $2-3k. I don't know much more than that.

[KraiZee]

I've been playing bass clarinet for about 5 years. And Bb clarinet just off and on. Bb's higher register is just plain annoying. I like the mellow soothing low sounds. ...Probably why I choose bass over guitar.

[Lady Lex]

LURVE Bass Clari. Awesome sound. Awesome instrument.

Im not into Clarinet unfortunately. Something about the frequencies just grate my ears. Esp the higher register. I only like Artie Shaw because Gene Kelly played him on Xanadu :lol:

[Mazeppa]

I used to play clarinet. I kept it up until I was almost grade 5, but then I dropped it.

[even if they were canadian]

I've been playing bass clarinet for about 5 years. And Bb clarinet just off and on. Bb's higher register is just plain annoying. I like the mellow soothing low sounds. ...Probably why I choose bass over guitar.
Meh, the upper register is only annoying for when you first start playing (or for like the first 5 years :p).

[jazzbandball]

yeah the upper register is a bum, but once you can get the smooth sound then its really really nice. like, with all the fingering being all broken kinda. its silly. but i love it.

[King B]

I play a pink clarinet

[Seafroggys]

i had an ex who played clarinet

personally I don't care for the sound of the instrument, I hate watching old 50's Disney films and listening to the clarinet dominated soundtrack, always annoyed the hell out of me.

French Horns all the way! (no I don't play one, I used to play t-bones though!)

[LTJ386]

Bass clarinet has such an awesome low sound. I can't imagine going back to soprano. I play guitar and I always loved the way bass guitar compliments the guitar, so it was cool to start playing bass clarinet. It's favorite low sounding low instrument in band out of bari sax, tuba, and baritone. I want to get my hands on a contrabass clarinet.

[Seafroggys]

^^^those things are fricken huge. There's a guy in my concert band who occasionally plays one, he sits on a stack of like 5 chairs, and it goes all the way to the ground. The case is like 10 feet long.

[kevbud187]

Ya clarinet is awesome. I've played for about 5yrs now, mozart concertos are my favorite to play on soprano. The Clarion (B4 to C6) register can be annoying if you don't have a good enough tone, but the Altissimo(C6 to G7) Register is amazing!! Chalumeau (E3 to B4) Register is so awesome to play and it sounds really cool too. But, actually I mainly play bass and alto clarinet and their contra versions. I've played Bb Bass for about 3 yrs now and I just started playing Contras and Alto last semester. I marched a Bb Bass in Marching Band, not fun. I do not recommend it. lol. Anyways. Alto was a sort of change-up for me seeing as it is in Eb and my Band Director failed to notify me of this fact before we started playing and he does all sorts of excerises and corrections in concert pitch. So learning to transpose chorales and everything I ever knew on bass and soparno clarinet into Eb was fun espicially when I did it in 50mins.lol. The other bass clarinetist who plays some Eb Contra was laughing his arse off as I was trying to find Concert F on the Alto Contra. It's D by the way. lol. I find the hardest part of playing clarinet is polyfingered trills, technical runs over the register breaks and exterme technical stuff that is done with multipule alternant fingerings. Also squeaking in tune and changing registers with purly your obesure is a walk in the park. If you are a serious clarinetist you will learn to play flute, oboe, sax and basson. I'm attempting them all with some degree of sucess, but the flute is hard as hell. The fingering gaps make my head spin. Well for those of you who made it through my post good luck with calrinet skills. If you have any questions or want some music or something just ask.

NOTE:
Chalumeau - No Reigster Key
Clarion - Register Key
Altissimo - Beyond High C(C above the staff)(Also some of higher altissimo can only be figered with certain fingering systmes.)

[LTJ386]

How hard are bass clarinet solos usually? Like on par for ninth grade band. Tomorrow I'm getting the music for a scholarship audition I have at my school and I'm wondering what to expect. I don't really want to do it, but my mom signed me up and I have to go Saturday. I guess I'll give it a shot.

[lit_girl11]

i played the clarinet for about a year, then i switched to bass clarinet. i love bass clarinet, the sound is just so damn sexy and beautiful

[lowrider5]

< Plays BAss Clarinet, Clarinet and hopefully moving to sax sometime soon

[lit_girl11]

and hopefully moving to sax sometime soon

go for the bari:thumb:

[LTJ386]

How hard are bass clarinet solos usually? Like on par for ninth grade band. Tomorrow I'm getting the music for a scholarship audition I have at my school and I'm wondering what to expect. I don't really want to do it, but my mom signed me up and I have to go Saturday. I guess I'll give it a shot.

Anyone?

[even if they were canadian]

go for the bari:thumb:
Go for them all. :p

[conniption]

Anyone?

Depends on the grade of music...

In the past when I've had a bass solo (grade 5 music maybe?) they weren't to diffucult. It also depends on your skill level too, and how fast you can interpret and sight read the music. Make sure you can do fast 8th/16th note runs because it could be that, or it could just be a rythym in the low octave notes(had one of these in Incantation and Dance).

[LTJ386]

Depends on the grade of music...

In the past when I've had a bass solo (grade 5 music maybe?) they weren't to diffucult. It also depends on your skill level too, and how fast you can interpret and sight read the music. Make sure you can do fast 8th/16th note runs because it could be that, or it could just be a rythym in the low octave notes(had one of these in Incantation and Dance).

Well I can do eighth/sixteenth note runs if I have the fingerings down, but it depends on what tempo it's at. I can't really play too high past a third octave C. Sight reading is probably my biggest weakness. I can play something if I hear it played for me, but I need a while to live with a piece before I can get it down. Most of my concert band music never really challenges me. On a sidenote, I played a piece in band last year called Incantation and Ritual. The bass clarinet part only played four different notes. T'was a nice break for my right hand.

[even if they were canadian]

Concert band music is usually really easy. I thinkI've only had to practice one song ever. It's one we're going to play at our upcoming concert. It's called Variations on a Korean Folksong, or something to that effect. Lots of weird pentatonic 16th note things.

[kevbud187]

9th grade bass clarinet solos get quater notes usually with some accidentals and basic acending descending fith/fourths stuff. Just make sure you ploay with good tone and play the full value and your solos will be fine. play some regular Bb clarinet music sometimes in order to increse on basic skills.

Funny story we got a bass clarinet part a ocuple weeks ago in concert band and I looked thorugh it and noted I had 16th notes and I yelled "HOT DAMN". So award, but the other bass clarinetist was in tears. 1/2 form humor 1/2 from happiness of 16th notes.

[LTJ386]

My band director gave me a Bb solo book with a lot of different stuff. It has a lot of popular stuff also. A lot of the solos need piano accompaniment, so I was thinking of jumping between the Bb music and the treble clef of the piano music.

[Zappa]

^^^those things are fricken huge. There's a guy in my concert band who occasionally plays one, he sits on a stack of like 5 chairs, and it goes all the way to the ground. The case is like 10 feet long.

He probably plays Eb Contralto.

[SilverSpoon]

I play the clarinet. It's my primary instrument in university. I really like the tone of a clarinet, especially in the middle ranged notes. It's so warm. Right now my teacher gave me Schumann's Fantasy Pieces to play. I love those, they're beautiful. The first movement has always been my favourite.

[kevbud187]

He probably plays Eb Contralto.

thats what i was thinking.

[even if they were canadian]

I play the clarinet. It's my primary instrument in university. I really like the tone of a clarinet, especially in the middle ranged notes. It's so warm. Right now my teacher gave me Schumann's Fantasy Pieces to play. I love those, they're beautiful. The first movement has always been my favourite.
I actually like throat tones. They suck at first, but once you're able to get good tone on them they're actually fun to play.

[Spouge]

I love playing low whole notes. Its my favorite part about playing Bass Clarient. A low sustained note is by far more effective than a bunch of 8th or 16th notes.

[kevbud187]

ypu they keep them long because they don't want the listener to think that the bass clarinet has the moving part when it doesn't and unfortuneatly bass calrinet mainly acts and the root for the chords in the harmony.

[lit_girl11]

if any of you can get it you should try and get Redline Tango by John Mackey. It has such an AWESOME bass clarinet solo throughout the whole thing.

[kevbud187]

if any of you can get it you should try and get Redline Tango by John Mackey. It has such an AWESOME bass clarinet solo throughout the whole thing.

What level band is it written for? *i'm interested*

[joe_fred_bob]

He probably plays Eb Contralto.
i play the Eb contralto, its not THAT big. *wishes school had Bb contrabass*

[kevbud187]

i play the Eb contralto, its not THAT big. *wishes school had Bb contrabass*

omg same exact hting. my BD says hes not going to spend the money on one though, so I just live with the fact that I must transpose everything.

[even if they were canadian]

omg same exact hting. my BD says hes not going to spend the money on one though, so I just live with the fact that I must transpose everything.
Transpose everything? Ewwww

[kevbud187]

yes i know. not too bad only five half steps. I pretty much cheat and just go down a generic fourth and apply it to my relative key signature. I change on the leading tone and sub-dominant up a generic second. Once I play a song right I memorize it anyways so its not too bad.

[even if they were canadian]

yes i know. not too bad only five half steps. I pretty much cheat and just go down a generic fourth and apply it to my relative key signature. I change on the leading tone and sub-dominant up a generic second. Once I play a song right I memorize it anyways so its not too bad.
A fourth down from what? The key sig? Like if you were in the key of G:, you would go to the key of D:?

[kevbud187]

I have no idea some fag posted on my account while I was at school. But I transpose from Bb into Eb. Whatever it's not that hard. 5 half steps.

[Dried Muffin Remnants]

I used to play it; wish I kept it around because I like jazz a lot more than I used to.

[ak50324]

My concet band is playing this song ...it has about 15 measures of straight 16 notes....and then goes to this wierd Staff A to B trill thing to G back to C#...:(
...and this is 2nd btw 0_0

[kevbud187]

practice it four notes at a time then string it together. Works everytime.

[Left Shoe]

kind of obscure but you all should try to find sheet music / recordings for Piece for Clarinet Alone - Dana Wilson, its what im leqarning right now, its a very....modern piece. you get to play 4 different notes at the same time, good stuff

[MathMusic]

I've been playing clarinet since 1976.
Almost thirty years come October, I think it was.
I have a Bb Buffet. Lowest note is E below low C.
Highest note I usually play is A above high C.
Highest note I ever played with a good reed was a
C# above double high C. I have also played higher
squeeks by putting my teeth on the reed, but it
wasn't musical. I think we should letter all of the
keys on the clarinet, so then we can describe
alternate clarinet fingerings with codes like ABFIJQ.
Wouldn't that be cool? The really high notes certainly
have a lot of fake fingerings that could be useful because
some have different qualities of sound and some are a
little sharp which could be good if the high notes are
coming out a little flat, it's just an idea.
Anyone know of any key naming conventions?

[LTJ386]

Could anyone reccomend me a good plastic bass clarinet to buy? The one bass clarinet my high school owns is crap, even when it got repaired, and the other one is wooden and can't be used for marching band. I plan on majoring in music in college and I think if I got a new bass clarinet I could take good care of it and it wouldn't get to be the way the ones my high school owns are. Basicly, I'm looking for something inexpensive, something that can take the abuse of marching band, but still be a nice instrument for concert band, and something that has nice tone. It would be nice if it was able to hit a low C, but that's not a necessitey.

[lit_girl11]

What level band is it written for? *i'm interested*

its college level. i have the audio for it and the bass clarinet part if you would like it.

[RadKeysPlayer]

I played Clarinet back in 8th grade. I believe I still have it laying around somewhere. I'm going to take it back out and start shredding. I will find a way to play Eruption on it, making the squeaks like pinch harmonics.

[MathMusic]

I can do teeth harmonics and almost do a tune, but no one should be around for notes that high and loud.

[Noyana]

Hey. Does anybody know what to do when you're having trouble over the break and don't have access to a harder reed?

supposedly my reed is too soft. my playing final is on thursday, but i'm pretty sure I won't have access to the store by then.

is there anything i can do with embouchure/other to help?

[crazyjake19]

I've been wanting to learn clarinet ever since I head the clarinet solo from "Breakfast In America" by Supertramp.

[FockerTheLopper]

Wow not one person plays an albert here! Middle eastern/greek/turkish music uses albert system which is much better in many ways.
Pros of Albert - Much easier to play smooth notes, it can sound like a violin. The low register is much fuller and deeper sounding. The upper register shimmers and cuts.
Cons of albert - The fingers are harder then the Boehm(barely but some people can't handle it). The intonation of the instrument isn't always on since they're older. Going over the break can sound weird if you aren't experienced.

Luckily most greek/middle eastern musicians use soft reeds so they can bend and control the pitch more and its easier to control your tone as opposed to a boehm.

Anyway guys nice to see so many people on these boards play clarinet!

[hopestreet]

The only thing I can think of for your reed/exam worries, is keep your embouchure firm use a lot of air. That's what my band instructor would always say.

I play the clarinet.. well, I used to. I played it a lot in high school, but when I graduated I stopped playing as much. I'm really out of practice, but I'm trying to get back into it again, It wasn't something I ever really wanted to give up.
I just never got to go to music school. ;-; I'm fascinated with Jazz and incredibly eager to play more of it and grow at it. I have this urge to prove someone wrong who said, "Clarinets don't fit well in Jazz." to me.

But yeah, I practice regularly now and I'm investing in music lessons and looking into music schools for the future.

[meep17]

I still play the clarinet and have been doing so for about four years.:)
I might not do much with it next year, though, because in order to continue playing clarinet in the school band, I have to join the marching band, which is something I do not want to do. I hate football (American style), marching, "school spirit", and--less importantly--the uniforms. Basically, I'm MAD at that stupid school!!:angry: I'm not sure what I'm gonna do next year, as I sure as heck don't have enough money for private lessons... I guess I'll noodle on it until I get enough money to actually continue getting better at it. :p