Pushing The Limits: Playing Loud

Playing the Bass Clarinet isn't a mystery, but so many people make it out to be harder than it really is.  Case in point:

I teach a private lesson and the kid tells me, "So, everytime I try to play out it's out of tune."  Well, how do you know that?

"The Director told me it sounded wrong."

Did you director give you a solution?

"No."

Before I say this please remember that I AM a band director:

Stupid band directors!

Every band director on the planet wants more from their low woodwinds, but very few of them actually know how to get it to come out.  When you're playing louder on a Clarinet the pitch goes through the floor.  On Bass Clarinet this drop in pitch is only accentuated by the size of the instrument.

So, what should your band director know that they don't?

You can't just "play louder" you have to "play broader".  If you're listening to the lower parts and riding the wave with them it's easy to bring the color of the Bass Clarinet out without playing massively out of tune.

This means you're listening.  Listening is good.

What if it's still a little off?  Then you're going to need to adjust your embouchure.  The softer your lower lip is the more flexibility you have to move the pitch up and down.  Keep the top of your embouchure strong, but let the lower lip rest so it can push the pitch up and down.

The reed is huge and it doesn't take much, but you can make small changes without trying that hard.

That, my friends, is something most band directors have no clue about.  They think you're supposed to use a Clarinet embouchure.  Not so.  Soften the lower lip and you'll be amazed at what you can do.

The next time you're sitting next to the Tuba and Timpani just remember that adjusting the pitch and "playing broader" makes your tone color jump out of the band.  It's the best sound you can imagine.

Go, blow your conductor away.  I mean it, go!  We'll talk soon.