Low Clarinetists Anonymous

Hey to my fellow low clarinets!

I wanted to share the store of my BC journey.

I started playing the bass clarinet in middle school. I spent alot of time being last chair because I could not master the upper register of the clarinet for the life of me. My director handed me a bass clarinet and said "try this". It was love.

In high school I was forced back to the regular clarinet for marching band. I withstood a year of screeching high winds and finally I had had enough. I spent the last half of the season, all spring and most of the summer (I helped teach summer beginning band) hounding the directors to let us start a marching bass clarinet section. We were a band of close to 120 kids at the time and we needed more low wind sound. Well my efforts paid off. With the help of a fellow concert BC player we launched the marching bass clarinet section with me at the helm. Its scary being a section leader as a sophomore and of a new section. We had to learn to march with our new huge additions and still sound good. We were deemed the Marching Ducks of the marching band and of course...I was the Momma Duck. The rest of my HS career we gained one new duckling a year until I graduated in 2003.

At last count the band is up to 6 bass clarinets...one of which just became drum major (well one of three DMs). I am so proud. And the story of the BC's creation is passed down every year. We have been "best section" undefeated since my junior year and have received reconigition throughout the state of Missouri. I am EXTREMELY proud.

I was an all state bass clarinet player, all district 1st chair and started playing contra in college. For my graduation from HS I was given a brand new BC by my mother. Its my baby.

the bass clarinet has truly shaped my life for the good. I love my horn, band and most of all, my ducklings!

OK everyone, have decided *gasps* to post!

Dun dun dun!!!!!

Anyway, I am going on a music tour with my school at the end of the year to China and was curious as to a couple of things.
1. Because of the size of the thing, my school offered to rent an instrument over there for me to play, and my instinct is to decline, because I've had my current instrument for 9 years and it's really good in the lower register where I'll mostly be playing (and I played the school Jupiter recently and it was HORRIBLE in the lower register, kept cracking and was really soft and everything) and I know all its little quirks and things. However, I am a bit worried about it getting damaged/lost in China, which would NOT be good. I mean, my parents would pay for insurance, but still...my instrument is my baby. Should I take my school up on this offer or not?
2. What are Chinese musicians/conductors like? Do they mostly speak English?
3. For that matter, what are music tours like? I've never been on one!
4. Are airlines generally good and careful wih instruments or should I pack extra padding in there or something? My bass is very hardy (as most are) but I don't think it'd like having a really heavy suitcase dropped on it or falling out of the hold of the plane or anything too much...


Any help or answers much appreciated!

Liv xxx
(x-posted like WHOAH)

So the PMA put pictures from Saturday. And in all two of the ones I'm in, my face is all red and I look like I'm crying. Well, I was crying. But still. It's kind of funny. Man, that trophy is huge. Apparently it's the biggest one the school's won in a long time. Or maybe ever.


So that's Sammy, Teresa, and me and Melissa looking cry-er-ific. Being emo is hot, okay?


That's Mark, Ted, and Trophy. There is another one with it, but I'd rather not...subject myself to any more public humiliation than needed.

Flipping. Sweet.

Okay, so it's a little late, but I like to think of procrastination as one of my strong suits. The obligatory introductory post:

Hi there. I'm twenty and currently a communications major at Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, Alabama. I played bass clarinet in high school for four years, marching with it for three. To my knowledge, I was the first marching bass clarinet in St. Clair County history, a fact that would have impressed people had they known what the hell I was talking about. Plastic reeds became my best friends, as for two years I was the whole of the low woodwind section. My junior year we got a bari sax player so I actually had a section to lead. Since high school I haven't played because Jeff State doesn't have a robust music department. I hope that will soon change when I transfer to Jacksonville State University in January. JSU has an excellent music program, perhaps even structured for lazy persons such as myself. I really miss playing bass clarinet, so I hope that I can find a venue once again for my musical abilities.

I am HIGHLY offended at this.

im in the marching band and being forced to play soprano because my band director says that a bass clarinet is WORTHLESS. i believe our school is the only school in the district that doesn't have a bass clarinet line.. we do a mass band thing were the bands from all the schools play together as one for one song, and my director won't even let me play bass clarinet for that! im forbidden to establish my own bass clarinet section, and i can't join the prexisting ones for one song. what could my director possibly have against bass clarinets? or maybe he just has something against me? i don't know. i think its low reeds in general. we have zero low reeds.

anyways, i am unwillingly a part of a the clarinets and don't wish to be and im forced to work with this creepy guy who goes by the name santa and is always wearing a santa hat and shark swim goggles and tells me he loves me. he does that to other girls in the section too. but when he has failed to get a girl friend he anounces that he's gonna have to go for guys and so he's going for this poor tenor sax guy. he just makes us all feel really uncomfortable because he's always putting his arm around some one or coming up behind me and sayin' "cutie" agh. anyways. he can't march either, i mean he really CAN'T do it. and he can't play his instrument either. he stumbles aimlessly around the feild, ruining our formations, and killing visual effect because he basically flanks to all his sets because he can't slide. i realize im probably asking too much for him to be in step, but can't he atleast keep his shoulders square?! i hate working with him. but NO ONE says a word to him because "he has to be treated gently" we have a small band, its not like he can slip by unoticed.. it angers me that we all work really hard and yet we still are critisized, and then he just can do whatever. seems like a double standard to me.

basically, the director refuses to let me play bass clarinet, forces me to work with that dude, and the other less than pleasant people in my section, and i'm devoting alot of time and money to this.

so, my question to you is, am i crazy and immature to be upset about this and to plan to not join next year?

and second, is there any way i could convince him that i should be playing bass, and that is not worthless?

on a happy note, the orchestra teachers rocks, he randomly gave me this huge viola solo. who just plays the viola part on bass clarinet? geeze. but i'll take what i can get..

but for pit orchestra for the musical in april, we were playing from the balcony because we don't have a pit.. anyways, they had me seated in a balcony auditorium seat type thing in not the first row. you know what that means? yeah.. my bell was pressed against the back of a chair. and then they go and mic all the woodwinds, besides me. hows that for making sure the bass clarinet can't be heard?

any of you ever feel under appreciated? bass clarinet has got to be THE coolest sounding instrument. it has such a nice sound and awesome range. how could any one not love it?

k, third question, how can i earn some respect as a bass clarinetist who plays the most awesome instrument EVER?

any of you face similar problems? or are any of you rightfully worshiped?

i say we start on a make the world love bass clarinet compaign. yeah. this is ridiculous. even the icky piccolo has most respect than us, or atleast me..

Hey y'all, I new here and I need some help. I need to come up with two contrasting audition pieces for my university's wind ensemble and orchestra....can anyone help. The pieces need to be fairly short and I'd like them to be not so challenging...less I mess up the better chance I have of getting in. So, plz help :)


btw: been playing since 1999 and made 1st chair in local honor band :)

Let's talk about bass clarinets. lol.

Where has everyone gone?

So... I like bass clarinets. They go bah bah bah. :)

Yall should get some more ppl to join or something. It will be fun. haha

Me again... *sigh*

1clarinetgeek

Hey, come check this out.

elite_clarinet


Where has everyone gone anyway?