How to Write for Bass Clarinet in 2 Minutes

[@legoshaakti]

"Inky" is such a great word to describe the sound of a bass clarinet.

[@AlgyCuber]

i'd say it sounds a lot like a duck especially in the low chalemeau register

[@ItsMe-ic5oc]

@@AlgyCuber Yeah, but in a good way

[@310-q1c]

SLAP TONGUE TUTORIAL

[@mikethecubinator]

One thing I will say, especially in orchestral work, bass clarinetist must know how to read bass clef. It just an essential.

[@eliherzer1748]

Id rather see the concert bass clef line than the transposed one though

[@sameash3153]

So many problems would go away if they just made it in C

[@neesax]

I've recently decided that the next instrument I get will be a bass clarinet, but I really want one that goes to low c. What kind is yours?

[@francissadleir9805]

He's playing a Selmer Privelage but that is not a begginer instrument. (it's roughly 18000$) Try the Kessler low C. Michael Lowenstern reviewed it. It's the best Low C intermediate model.

[@megelizabeth9492]

One thing that would be cool to see is writing for Bass Clarinet in an ensemble setting. In pieces arranged for student level band especially, the Bass Clarinet is treated as a low brass instrument, and mostly ends up doubling the Tuba or the Bari Sax. There isn't a lot of truly intermediate parts written for it.

[@XeniaStCharlesIrisLlyllyth]

Thanks so much for making these videos! They're really interesting and really helpful to me as a composer. I do have a couple questions though. First, do you have any advice on how to notate the technique on bass clarinet where you pull your bottom lip back and get high overtones (I think it's sometimes referred to as lip harmonics)? Also, do you have any comments on the use of extensions to get even lower notes on the instrument?

[@JoshPlotner]

For the harmonics thing, I'd probably just write the root of the note you want as an empty notehead and put text above explaining. I'm all about simplicity, and making things as clear as possible for the player. When you say extensions, are you talking about notes lower than C? I'm not aware of anyone who does anything that makes a bass clarinet get lower than C.

[@XeniaStCharlesIrisLlyllyth]

+Josh Plotner Well, I've seen before a bass clarinetist placing a toilet paper tube in the bell of the instrument to get a low C on an instrument that didn't have that note. I have also seen a contrabassoonist make low note extensions for their instrument (I saw a KZbin video about it), so I thought maybe there were similar possibilities for the bass clarinet. It was just a thought though; I didn't actually have plans to use it in a piece.

[@JoshPlotner]

Haha I don't think I've seen that! It's certainly a cool idea, but it would mean that you couldn't play the normal lowest note. Not sure it's practical for most situations! You'd also have to worry about intonation, etc. I think it's just one of those things that's fun to play with, you know?

[@XeniaStCharlesIrisLlyllyth]

+Josh Plotner yeah definitely. It's really cool though. I'll see if I can find that video I mentioned.

[@XeniaStCharlesIrisLlyllyth]

+Josh Plotner Hopefully that link works. If not, it'll show up if you look up contrabassoon extensions.

[@PhillipDrange]

thanks for this clarinet series, very accessible for beginners like myself

[@dobemolmajor7]

This is very helpful! Thank you for making videos like this. I have one question, can the Bass Clarinet make growls like a sax or a soprano clarinet?

[@JoshPlotner]

Absolutely!

[@mrewan6221]

Bass clarinet is soooo good at a quiet, subtle downwards glissando in the chalumeau, say from C down to F. (Harp type gliss, not trombone type.) Bari sax can do it, but they work better when it's loud. For bassoon - it's probably better to get the celli to do it, or do it an octave up - but then you have clarinets, viole, tenor saxen who can all do it better!

[@jayyclay9173]

How u play the low c

[@JoshPlotner]

You need a low C bass clarinet! There's an extra key for C/C#

[@catbread6944]

Tyguy80s XD

[@brendy_eddie1705]

I literally can't stop replaying 0:54

[@roccoharris]

this is helpful. it's mighty generous of you to offer this up. thanks much, sir.

[@tylerboyle3413]

What songs/riffs are you playing throughout this videos? Thanks for reading.

[@JoshPlotner]

Oh on this video I just made up some riffs... haha couldn't find anything I liked enough on short notice!

[@tylerboyle3413]

Oh ok. Like the part where you demonstrated the chalameau and clarion registers I swore I heard in Daphis et Chole or something. Speaking of bass clarinet music, I released an original suite recently. Would you mind me sharing it here? Thanks for responding so promptly. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4GmiHSJh51pbdE

[@neesax]

I've really enjoyed all of you're videos! I recently started playing bass clarinet and I'm having trouble with higher notes. I can barely get to a g at the top of the staff before I start to sound like a dying goose. Do you have any tips? Thanks!

[@JoshPlotner]

Honestly? This is one of the few times where the solution might be to buy a new instrument... Bass clarinet is inherently terrible up there. If you get a $10K instrument that'll help a ton. Short of that, you want to relax as much as possible while keeping the corners firm. Find where to voice the notes in your throat, it feels a little like altissimo but not quite. You might want to play with your setup, the strength of reeds, etc. Hopefully you'll only need to play those notes in an ensemble setting where you're not exposed. But if you're playing solos up there, just make sure that your equipment doesn't get in your way.

[@ChaplainAcosta]

That was great: short, informative, and to the point. Template/prototype video for others who want to do what you did. Thanks!

[@jessevite2956]

also the rap city thing can be accomplished if you slowly lift the keys up. but I dose take sometime to get it down

[@averybondeson2642]

Jesse Vite *rhapsody

[@itznoxy7193]

I'm calling my next piece Rap City in Blue

[@dolphinbanana3053]

I know this is very very late but Bass Clarinets can read bass clef usually if they play in orchestra settings, except when they read bass clef they don't transpose it down an octave so they just read it like a Clarinet would If you fellow writers want to make it easier for Bass Clarinetists to read their bass clef parts make it subbass clef, it's essentially a bass clef shifted up two lines so the F is on the top line like the treble clef

[@JoshPlotner]

This is true, but the point of this series is to educate composers on best practices. While there is a chance a given bass clarinetist (especially in a non-professional situation) may not be fluent in bass clef, there's a 100% chance they'll be fluent in treble clef. In orchestral settings, bass clef is more commonly found in older pieces. It's used less and less frequently these days, except by inexperienced composers who are unaware of common practice. While subbass clef works perfectly fine, it'll likely confuse a player, especially in the very common context where a composer doesn't have the ability to work with or talk to the clarinetist beforehand.

[@meganwright7384]

I have 1 question, have you ever used a plastic reed? If so do you prefer the wood or plastic reeds?

[@shawncharton9416]

Education AND pretty to look at! Perfection.

[@MrInterestingthings]

Awesome channel ! He plays all the wind instruments .How about euphonium or you dont include brass ?

[@freeyost-moore4747]

What song is that

[@alexakrznaric886]

that slap tongue is sooooo cool, oh my gooooddd

[@k.monzingo_4518]

YOU SHOULD DO AN OBOE!!!

[@allisonserenafaithe80]

YESSSSS, I play Oboe and Flute UwU

[@isaiahhymans948]

He did. He’s back

[@laurenwitt7012]

I'm clarinet and I'm looking in to playing bass clarinet I love it

[@slateflash]

How have you managed to cover everything so well in such a short time?!

[@hautbois123]

I have a question for you. You say you would rather have ledger lines rather than 8vb but what if I am writing at the very bottom range? That is quite a lot of ledger lines!

[@JoshPlotner]

The thing is, as a player you end up associating what the note looks like with the fingering. So if I see a C below the treble staff, I think three fingers down. Add an 8vb on that, now I sort of have to transpose down an octave to a very different fingering (all fingers and thumbs down). Players sight transpose all the time, but it always takes a bit more processing power that can take you out of the music. Plus, once you see enough ledger lines you get used to it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@hirotakasglasses6661]

This is so helpful,thx!!

[@rodterrell304]

very helpful

[@AedanBryant]

You should do one of these for bassoon

[@benjamindover8221]

Tipster Trickster He doesn't have one yet

[@alexakrznaric886]

soon! he’s currently funding for one

[@Zaleskee]

Rock Star!! THANK YOU !

[@AIKiarika]

How do you finger that high c pls

[@finniartz1982]

Yay now I can do solos

[@francissadleir9805]

Bb clarinet can actually slap tongue. In fact Eb clarinet can also slap tongue. Its just easier with the bigger reed of a bass clarinet.

[@heinvanmaarschalkerwaart9799]

A good skill to learn is to read bass clef up a major second. in that way you can play bassoon parts. Also Eb parts (Bari sax) are becoming easy to read with a littl shifting of the sharps and flats.

[@cameronwiseman8598]

You should do contrabass when(if) your able to

[@williamedmundson6626]

Josh: "all bass clarinetists learn clarinet first" me: *laughs in bass clarinet first*

[@edwardrasmussen3465]

When I auditioned on bass clarinet years ago, I was disqualified because I slapped tongued. I keep that in mind whenever I play a bass clarinet. I don't need to worry about that on bassoon!

[@BeccaPatterson]

Wooo!!! Now I am an expert :D

[@JoshPlotner]

You know it!

[@leighannebousfield860]

Haha I'd like to mention that I actually learnt Bass clarinet before clarinet. I did really terrible on clarinet but I was really impressive on Bass clarinet my first time playing five years ago. Haha not all players start on clarinet, some of us just suck for a few weeks and pick up Bass like a pro 😎

[@carsonstephens2508]

Leighanne Bousfield one of my friends started on contrabass clarinet in concert band and bass clarinet for marching band. He had the option of playing contrabass for marching band(he’d sit on the sideline) but he chose not to

[@brianmaul7135]

Ever use the alto clarinet?

[@JoshPlotner]

Yeah they're awesome! Wish I had one. Super underused.

[@cdsteig]

I actually bought one on one of the last concerts I was the clarinet section manager in the band I'm in because I was tired of sight transposing from bass to cover the parts. Best $750 I spent. The alto is a misunderstood and beautiful instrument that's more capable of covering the Bb's range and mimicking the Classical timbre of a saxophone than any other clarinet, yet reminding everyone all the while that it is a clarinet with a phenomenal range. I make a point to give the alto major lines in my compositions/arrangements -- and also to the bass. Most players don't realize or appreciate the major extended range on top the alto and bass have (and I didn't until I heard what the Edmund Welles Bass Clarinet Quartet did with Saint-Saëns' Danse Macrabre!) What's your take on the two contras, btw?

[@rlsavage2]

I bought an alto clarinet in a thrift/antique/junk/secondhand store. The one thing that most do not realize is the Eb low clarinets like the alto and Contralto can play any bass clef part, same notes different clef and major-easy fix. On Contralto I played more tuba/bassoon parts, and rarely baritone sax parts, alto clarinet could play bassoon, trombone, baritone (bc) rarely alto sax, thats if there wasnt a part written specifically for them

[@abedinsubashi]

I’m a savage. I wrote for bass clarinet first then Bb clarinet

[@Jay-Mad]

i had the switch from clarinet to bass clarinet and it was hard the first couple of days but as time went by my band director said im the best bass clarinet in the whole school (not cap btw)

[@cuddlefish5565]

Any contra bass clarinets or is that just me?

[@matthewbenedict5923]

Glissando scan be permed if you open the keys super slowly

[@amj.composer]

bass clarinet don't always start on Bb clar lol. Most BCs in my band started on BC. I started on CONTRABASS because my college lacked a player at the time XDXD

Bass clarinet sounds so nice. It's a shame they are not as available as regular clarinets. (From what I gather, they are usually a lot more expensive, so understandably not as many players own one.)

[@DividingInfinity]

It might be redundant at this point but Alto clarinet?😍

[@JoshPlotner]

I’d have to get an alto clarinet first… maybe one day!

[@anthonyperkins9982]

Technically you can slap tongue on regular B-flat clarinet as well it's just not as effective and a lot harder

[@gagetaulbee2979]

Bb clarinet can slap tongue but it’s just harder

[@jessevite2956]

I can so a toung on clarinet

[@williamedmundson6626]

Technically you can slap tongue on a soprano clarinet, you just have to have the right kind of tongue for it.

[@PrinceSwaggy]

Bass Clarinet=Clarinet+Saxophone

[@chrisr03]

The funny things is, that, Adolf Sax (inventor of the saxophone) made the design for the Bass Clarinet

[@davidnjuku]

0:43

[@francissadleir9805]

Bb clarinet can slap tongue. Even Eb can

[@francissadleir9805]

All clarinets can actually slap tongue though it is most effective and easiest on bass and contrabass clarinet

[@davida.musicdavideammendol4702]

Yes i can do it on a Bb soprano clarinet

[@NidusFormicarum]

I have always thought the bass clarinet has something of glass in its tone.

[@ajkohlhepp9076]

But there are many occasions where bass clarinet is written in bass clef in orchestra.

[@malloryelmo]

to my knowledge of classical writing: that is true historically, but most modern composers use only treble and the overwhelming majority of clarinettists prefer this. the use of bass clef in some older scores creates similar problems to the old transposition of french horns a fourth below written pitch, but as clarinettists read bass clef more infrequently than hornists, it's even more irritating.

[@Horatio_on_the_Beat]

But I've seen normal clarinets do slap tongues!

[@JoshPlotner]

You're not wrong. The reason I said this is because on normal (soprano) clarinet it's an extremely ineffective technique. Arguably to the point that it's useless, because so few clarinets can do it. An effective slap tongue has a lot to do with the angle that the mouthpiece enters your mouth, and on clarinet that angle is somewhat unreasonable to achieve. Also, slap tongue most effective with lower notes (and instruments). It just doesn't sound that great on clarinet, and as a composer it wouldn't be an effective choice. Haha but it's hard to fit all that into my videos as short as they are!

[@Horatio_on_the_Beat]

+Josh Plotner thank you for replying! Excuse me, could I send you a clarinet piece through Facebook so you could take a quick look? I would really appreciate it! Thank you

[@JoshPlotner]

No problem! I actually offer a woodwind/composition coaching service if you'd be interested. Essentially we'd set up a Skype session for an hour, and we can go in depth into any piece(s) you'd like. But if you'd like me to take a quick look at something, I can do that, no worries.

[@Horatio_on_the_Beat]

+Josh Plotner I already messaged you!!

[@sabrinasaurusswartz2486]

I love ur vids, buut... I COMPLETELY DISAGREE THAT CLARINETS CANT SLAP TONGUE LIKE BASS CLARINETS. Because they can.

[@lostross]

infinite rests problem solved