Monday, January 6, 2025

29 thoughts on “Yes. You Can Play High Notes on Bass Clarinet EASILY. (-ish)

  • I double on bass clarinet from time to time but mainly play soprano clarinet. Up 'til now I have gotten away with not having a good high register but the time jas come to fix that. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

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  • For me it is just high c before altissimo. It is because I can't easily push down the register and f key down without having the weight of other keys being pushed down

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  • PEOPLE DO “UH” holy shit!!!! This explains why so many of my highschool classmates sounded so terrible !!!!! I never even considered that an option!! Thank you so much for this video!! I used to be able to play high notes on bass clarinet well into clarion register. But then I played the clarinet for a couple years and came back to bass and couldn’t get above a High D and with that one video, I unlocked all of the notes I used to be able to play instantly!!! We love Michael

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  • Agreed, it's not that hard, but in moving from saxes to bass clarinet I had to work out altissimo fingerings above G by trial and error, with a teacher watching pitch, timbre and ergonomics. My instrument is a cheap, Chinese-made , composite bodied low C model which has lasted well for over 3 years (US$1500, and if I get another year out of it I'll consider myself well ahead on the deal).
    In gradually extending the altissimo I can now get to a second altissimo Eb but there seems to be a barrier just above that. Is that because the harmonic curve has levelled out so that further harmonic intervals are microtonal? I doubt if I'd ever use the higher notes seriously but being able to hit them accurately really improves the playing of those notes a little lower.
    Also playing in a local community band It's nice to know that I can play both lower than anybody else ……. and higher.

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  • I am still confused as to why I am failing to play above high F. Right when I do F# or G, I tend to just squeak it. High B to high F sounds clean, but at that breaking point it squeaks really bad. Does anyone know why this happens?

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  • I tried getting to play a singular note and I can't, I tried blowing into the bass clarinet, but I still get no sound, but on the clarinet its easy, any tips?

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  • Thanks for this video! I managed to extend my range another octave! For me I play a high concert B-flat by uncovering the top half-hole and go up to a concert C like that and then I cover the top half-hole and play from a concert D-flat up to a high G and then just repeat those steps messing around up to a ridiculously high B. At some point it gets to be parlor tricks because the notes get wonky and out of tune but it sounds great on my Bundy bass clarinet! Now I can play along to Whitney Houston!

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  • Thank you for this explanation of the right place off the tongue for playing hight B and C. I used to play clarinet in a big band 12 years where i was a doubler with the bass clarinet. I used and still use a yamaha 221II with a single register key. It was always a challenge if i had to tongue right away the hight C or the B. As i'm french i used the word "oui" which mean 'yes' to get the right "e" and the right tongue position and it works pretty well. Thanks to you I can use now as I want the whole register of this bass clarinet. I'm not any more affraid to squeark if i have to play at the begining of a phrase hight B or Hight C. Thanks a lot. Your a great clarinetist and teacher. If i have met your teaching younger maybe i would have been a professional player today.

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  • When my tongue does the "E" and "Uh" position, do I put my mouthpiece above or below my tongue?

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