Is Bass Clarinet Easier to Play? 

That's a great point! A lot of clarinetists have a natural affinity for either the low or high clarinets, and playing any instrument at a high level is incredibly difficult and labor intensive. In this video, we're trying to address the common belief among grade school students and some band directors that bass clarinet is less difficult and doesn't require a proper embouchure.

@@ClarinetHQ I totally understand where you're coming from and what the idea of this video is, and I do agree with your overall point that the bass clarinet isn't necessarily easier than the soprano, I was just pointing out that there is no single absolute answer to the question. And yes, a proper embouchure is required, though the embouchure varies a bit on the 2 sides of the Atlantic(the European approach I was trained under tends to favor an "O" shaped embouchure which allows the use stronger reeds even on more open mouthpieces). I guess the whole misconception with the bass clarinet being easier is due to it often being neglected in grade school settings as band directors often put their focus elsewhere which is pretty sad!

I absolutely agree! Thanks for sharing your experience. Very cool to have a viewer from Finland!

That's great! Bass clarinet is so much fun, especially when your whole head vibrates playing the low notes! Let us know if there are other bass clarinet videos we should make, and good luck!

Thanks for sharing your experience! Some people are definitely drawn to the lower woodwind and others find that the higher woodwinds naturally fit them better. The tenor and bass embouchures are certainly similar, so your preference for bass clarinet makes sense.

That's great - I hope you enjoy playing it as much as I do!

I’m also in grade 9 now it’s my 3rd year I started as a Bb Clarinet but a few months later my director said “ hey you are very good at clarinet so I decided would you rather play soprano clarinet or bass clarinet”. So I look at both and said maybe bass clarinet will be challenging to play so I chose it . I didn’t doubt that decision yet

I could see that. If you're always playing the secondary part then it might seem easy. We know the truth, though 😎

That's really interesting! It makes sense since your fingers have a little more margin for error with bass. Thanks for sharing!

It's tough coming back after a long break, especially without an instructor. My best advice is to take it easy. Find music that's fun and not too difficult. Don't expect yourself to sound like you did 6 years ago right away. It'll take time. Just enjoy playing bass. It's a great instrument! You could try some of our free play-alongs (music at www.clarinethq.com/freemusic), but there's a lot of good music out there.

My opinion bass clarinet is harder Advantages of it is the closed holes and can be sat on the floor disadvantages Slightly different fingerings for low F and E and High C and B, Very Wide, Bigger Mouthpiece, harder to put high notes out but still easy, and ginormous

We agree!

You could absolutely switch to bass. Some people feel more comfortable playing bass than soprano, and you'll never know unless you try! You should also consider taking your soprano clarinet to a repair tech, if you can. The dusty sound might be your instrument not working properly.

First of all, congratulations on making region band as a freshman! You have a really great perspective. I hope other people read this. In the end, playing both probably makes you a better overall clarinetist.

Going from bari to soprano is tough! The soprano mouthpiece feels so tiny in comparison.

It is really common for bass clarinet players to march Bb soprano (regular) clarinet during marching season and then switch to bass during concert season. Sometimes marching tenor saxophone is an option - but that depends on your school and its instrument inventory. Tenor saxophone is also in Bb and uses a lot of the same fingerings. If you want to get better at playing higher notes - and this applies to bass clarinet, too - you should make sure your tongue position is high enough and that you're using fast, cold air with a good embouchure. We have videos that can help point you in the right direction! Here is our High Note Hacks playlist: ru-vid.com/group/PLFQufybMvJhSkn6Nucim5rhGBrEznoHkb Keep us updated and let us know if you have any other questions!

@@ClarinetHQ Thank you :)

Good luck switching to bass! I love playing the low clarinets! Bass clarinet parts tend to be less technical, but they're challenging in other ways. Because the bass is so much longer, you need to push more air out of the instrument in order to make a sound. You'll get used to it. Just focus on taking big, relaxed breaths, and make sure you have good tongue position. (Here's a video that can help with that: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3dJb_EOH9QE.html)

@@ClarinetHQ thank you so much honestly we need more people like you

That's true. Although, there's a lot of great (and very difficult) solo and chamber music for bass clarinet (some great orchestra parts, too). Bass clarinet doesn't get a lot of love in band music though. 😢

I am currently playing bass in a community band and LOVE IT. It really is a nice change from playing higher parts :) Let us know how your switch goes!

@@ClarinetHQ 👍

That makes a lot of sense. I think bass works pretty well with a sax embouchure. I play a lot of tenor sax and feel like I play bass and tenor very similarly.

@@ClarinetHQ i completely agree. just with tenor i wouldn’t suggest a pinched embouchure like i see most bass clarinet players who start playing tenor sax do

Thanks for the question! Meredith plays on Backun Model F and Mike on Backun MoBa, which both fall under the professional clarinet category.

@@ClarinetHQ Thanks madam

Good question! The range on bass clarinet and B-flat (soprano) clarinet are pretty similar, so you can play the same high notes, although you almost never need to play that high in band music. What's great, though, is that many players find the high notes on bass clarinet a lot easier to play than the high notes on B-fat.

yeah its pretty much the same and its harder in the higher registers but once you practice a lot and find the voicing for those notes you can hit them more consistently. When I played soprano I could barely touch the high c sharp but now on bass im hitting the highest g

That's awesome - Finding the voicing is half the battle!

Iden: The bass clarinet can go up to 5 octaves(if you have a low C bass with at least a double if not triple register mechanism), though 4 octaves will suffice unless you're a specialized soloist!

So I play bass clarinet professionally and love it. The range of the bass clarinet to the Bb are very similar. Any note you can play on bass you can play on Bb, it will only sound an octave lower. Hope this helps.

That's true! I'm not sure why it's become the norm to call the soprano clarinet B-flat when there are others in the clarinet family also pitched in that key.

Bass clarinet can definitely feel awkward, especially if you're short like me. 😀 It's a shame that it doesn't get more love in band music. There are some great, and really difficult, pieces for bass out there.

@@ClarinetHQ I started playing bass a few years ago. There are difficult parts for bass but many more soprano parts are harder. I play both in a community band (I fill in when the regular bass player is out) and the bass parts are almost always easier. I would say, however, that it can depend on the person. The bass fits better in my large hands and I have a lot of lung capacity. It took a while for me to learn to play longer phrases on bass but I no longer struggle with that.. The embouchure is very different but I wouldn't say it is easier.

Great answer!

@@ClarinetHQ I personally generally find bass clarinet more fun to play because of its larger, more versatile range, its 'niche' factor, its cosmetics (I think it looks so badass), and its dark, inky sound.

Agreed! Inky is a great way to describe bass.

I switched to bass like 2 years ago (in 7th grade im in 9th grade now). I think it'd basically the same honestly bass is just a little boring.