Altissimo Note help?

[Trobiejr]

I'm a junior going on to being a senior in band. I play bass clarinet in my school's advanced ensemble. The problem with this is that I have to test on a Bb clarinet for admittance into the honors band for next year. Since I play bass clarinet, I only see notes that at most go up to a high C, not the notes past it. I've been working on playing these super high notes on a regular clarinet for my testing, but they sound absolutely terrible. They're basically squeaks. Is there any way to improve my tone?

 

[Gandalfe]

If you can't work with the band teacher, the easy stuff is:

• Play long tones (start soft, watch tuner, crescendo and the decrescendo)
• Play a simple tune like "London Bridges" across the range
• Need a lot of air and embouchure support
• Record yourself and listen to what you hear
• Work on it every day for a week, starting with the long tones. Then let us know how it's going. This will take some time, don't rush it.

You can also work with a peer if you can find someone who sounds like you want to sound. Good luck!

 

[Trobiejr]

Thanks for responding! The highest they go is an E. They're all in glisses (the song is marked at Allegro and in 6/8) so hopefully I'll be able to get the right sound out. They just sound awful when you sustain them.
Speaking of the Allegro marking, what is a good tempo for the 6/8 time signature? I know you should start slower when learning a new piece, but I need to speed it up, but I have no idea how fast to go.

 

[Gandalfe]

Allegro — fast, quickly and bright (120–139 bpm)

 

[SOTSDO]

If I was worrying about this, I would start with the reed, mouthpiece and embouchure. Virtually every young clarinet student is playing on a reed that is too hard for their mouthpiece, and they end up squeaking as a result.

The next step is to follow the advice above - particularly long tones. The only way to get your mouth and head on the same page is to first play the notes just as held tones, and put in a great deal (not just a good deal) of practice. When you get bored, resolve to play another period equal to the one that you just finished.

I just got done reacquainting myself with the Heckel system bassoon. As much as I hated it, the majority of the practice time spent was done with long tones and basic scales.

As the old saying goes, "Practice makes perfect". The big secret is to know what to practice, not just practice blindly. Long tones first, then make the glisses fit once you have the notes down.

 

[Trobiejr]

I've already noticed a major difference. I practiced the long tones for about an hour last night - it's still hard to go down to a piano but I can still maintain the note. Plus when I was going through my piece the notes weren't squawking anymore! Thanks so much for the advice! I'm definitely keeping up with this, even after my audition.

 

[Heckelphone]

fingering differences

Did anyone tell you about the altissimo vent on the bass clarinet? You (probably) have a small hole pierced in the middle of the LH1 key pad (where your left index finger goes), with a smaller key connected just beneath it. For notes above high D, close LH1, but slide your finger down so that the pinhole vent is uncovered. That should help too. For high C# and D, leave LH1 open (as you would on a soprano clarinet).

Enjoy!

 

[Trobiejr]

Did anyone tell you about the altissimo vent on the bass clarinet? You (probably) have a small hole pierced in the middle of the LH1 key pad (where your left index finger goes), with a smaller key connected just beneath it. For notes above high D, close LH1, but slide your finger down so that the pinhole vent is uncovered. That should help too. For high C# and D, leave LH1 open (as you would on a soprano clarinet).

Enjoy!

So that's what that hole is for! Haha I never understood what it's purpose was Thanks!

 

[Trobiejr]

I'd like to thank everyone for their advice. It really helped me work my way all the way up to the altissimo 'F'. It also helped me improve my embouchure for lower notes too!