Bass Clarinet

Congratulations on selecting the bass Clarinet!

Below are some drop down boxes with information to get you started as well as some great links to bass clarinet players who represent great sound and technique.

Daily Required Supplies

at least four good, working reeds at all times
a Reedguard
silk swab
cork grease

Bass Clarinet Embouchure Instructions and Pictures

These two links are for use by Hilltop Middle School students and teachers only. Those from other schools who wish to use them should purchase the Embouchure Project from Teachers Pay Teachers.

See these Clarinet links as well as the bass clarinet instructions below.

Clarinet Embouchure Instructions

Clarinet Embouchure Pictures

Assembling the Mouthpiece and Reed for Success

Before you can learn to form the bass clarinet embouchure, you must learn and practice placing the reed onto the mouthpiece correctly.

Place the thinner part of the reed in your mouth for about a minute (maybe more if it is a brand new reed).
Loosen the screws of the ligature a little.
Take the mouthpiece in one hand, and place the ligature on it so the screws are on the right side of the mouthpiece. Hold both mouthpiece and ligature in one hand, with the ligature over the flat part (with a blowhole) of the mouthpiece.
With the other hand, take the reed out of your mouth, holding it by the thicker part (bottom) of the reed. Notice that one side of the reed is totally flat, and one is not. The mouthpiece also has one flat side (with a blowhole) and one curved side.
Place the flat side of the reed, bottom or thicker side first, against the flat side of the mouthpiece, over the blowhole. Gently slide the reed down, in between the loosened ligature and the flat side of the mouthpiece, until the tip of the reed is even with the tip of the reed. Do not touch the tip of the reed - just slide it down carefully, touching only the thicker parts of the reed.
Once the tip of the reed and the tip of the mouthpiece are aligned, gently slide the ligature down over the reed to the thicker (not shaved) part of the reed. If the ligature is too tight to go that low over the reed, loosen the screws. The ligature must rest on the thicker part of the reed, never the shaved part.
When the ligature is positioned over the thick part of the reed, hold the reed in place while tightening the screws. Make sure the tip stays aligned with the tip of the mouthpiece. Tighten the ligature screws snugly enough to hold the reed in place so that it cannot wiggle if someone tries to move it. But don't overtighten.
When the ligature snugly holds the reed correctly in place (a teacher should check it the first few times), you are ready to learn to form the embouchure.

Forming the Embouchure

Position your lips into an "eu" shape.
Hold the mouthpiece (with the reed on it) sideways up to a light. Note where the reed meets the mouthpiece. That is how far you should take the mouthpiece into your mouth. Position the mouthpiece on the lower lip.
Bring your top teeth down to the top of the mouthpiece.
Bring the corners of your mouth in, and seal your lips around the mouthpiece. Hold the mouthpiece firmly with your mouth.
Push mouthpiece up to create firm pressure against top teeth.
Take a deep breath, position your mouth and mouthpiece into correct embouchure position, and blow fast air.

Producing Correct Pitch on the Mouthpiece

You should be able to produce a concert C on mouthpiece and reed only. Use a tuner or piano to check your embouchure pitch. If you can produce the concert C, your embouchure is correct.

If you are not getting the correct pitch, check the following:

Use faster, stronger air.
Make sure top teeth touch top of mouthpiece.
Make sure mouthpiece is sealed firmly around mouthpiece.
Ligature needs to hold reed firmly onto the mouthpiece. If the reed is moveable under the ligature, you must reposition the ligature and reed correctly, making sure the screws are snug enough to hold the reed in place.
Ligature screws must be snug enough (and in the correct position) to hold reed in place.
Ligature must not cover any part of the shaved portion of the reed. If it does, loosen the screws, move the ligature down, and tighten to keep reed in place.
Reeds should be good quality and in good condition, and at least #2 ½ to #3 strength. By second half of first year, students should be playing on #3 reeds. Depending on mouthpiece/reed combination, harder reeds might be used as students progress.
Reeds that are too soft and/or poor quality may produce sounds that are flat (or under pitch).
Ligature screws should be snug enough to hold the reed in place without the reed wiggling, but not so tight that the screws or ligature are in danger of breaking.

Tuning Instructions for the Bass Clarinet

Clarinet tuning notes are open G and 3rd space C.

Play tuning note towards tuner. If the needle stays towards the right, your note is sharp. If it stays towards the left, your note is flat.

The goal is to get the needle to stay in the middle. Once you can play the note in tune with the tuner, see how long you can hold the tuned note. Play "freeze the needle" - hold the note steady and in tune.

If the needle is more to the left, the note is flat, or too low. Loosen the screw on the neck of the bass clarinet, and push the neck in to raise the pitch. If the needle is more to the right, the note is sharp, or too high. Loosen the screw on the neck of the bass clarinet, and pull the neck out to raise the pitch. Start off by pulling out at least 1/2 inch, then return and readjust.

In a nutshell...

The longer the pipe, the lower the pitch. If your pitch is sharp (high), you need to make it flatter (lower).

The shorter the pipe, the higher the pitch. If your pitch is flat (low), you need to make it sharper (higher).

Keep in mind that even though you will first use these notes to tune, as you become more advanced on bass clarinet, you will learn to improve your intonation. Intonation means to adjust pitch on particular notes while playing (without pushing in or pulling out).

On bass clarinet, you may loosen or tighten the embouchure or use alternate fingerings. Adjustments for intonation help improve the pitch of different notes in action. You use your ear and make adjustments while playing.