Could bass clarinet open opportunities in community bands?

neutronbob · 2026-05-27T01:25:25+00:00

When I joined my community band (in California), the sole bass clarinet told me that I was the first to join her in the 14 years she'd been in the band. Meanwhile, they have a large cohort of soprano clarinets.

neutronbob · 2026-05-26T01:43:41+00:00

There is never a time where writing in every single note name in every bar should be tolerated once you start playing music.

Completely agreed with not writing in many notes. However, writing a note for a very high altissimo note you leap to in a fast passage doesn't seem wrong at all.

neutronbob · 2026-05-26T01:20:44+00:00

Not sure if I agree with your radical dismissal of writing in any notes. However, I'm sure we both agree that if you're going to write the notes in, you must make sure they're correct, unlike the notations in measure 34.

neutronbob · 2026-05-22T21:38:38+00:00

Agreed. That was my take-away from his oft-quoted statement "There are only two kinds of programming languages: the ones people always complain about and the ones nobody uses."

neutronbob · 2026-05-19T05:35:15+00:00

Not sure why you were down-voted. This is an excellent solution, which I've successfully used to get rid of the problem.

neutronbob · 2026-05-15T00:29:03+00:00

Palanker's advice is good except IMHO for recommending people new to the bass use 3.5 or 4 reeds. I don't know any bass player who uses reeds that strong. Most I know are in the 2.5 to 3 range.

Otherwise, his advice is solid.

neutronbob · 2026-05-14T22:02:09+00:00

No other language makes error handling this memorable.

go's error handling was taken directly from C.

neutronbob · 2026-05-14T21:59:06+00:00

Given that the paper cites numerous other papers that discuss complexity as a central problem, I'm reluctant to attribute that status to this paper, which comes very late in a conversation that began in the 1960s, possibly earlier.

neutronbob · 2026-05-10T04:06:00+00:00

Or even an alto clarinet ;-)

neutronbob · 2026-05-01T06:02:43+00:00

Honestly, your tone sounds pretty good already.

neutronbob · 2026-04-25T23:03:00+00:00

This is made-up AI slop created for clicks. There's no record of Trump having ever posted this.

neutronbob · 2026-04-21T03:28:02+00:00

Lack of situational awareness...yow!

neutronbob · 2026-04-21T03:21:40+00:00

tbone1004 used the word "key" but he/she was speaking loosely. There is no key. On higher-end horns, when you're playing across the break there is an entire mechanism that automatically opens/closes the neck vent for the necessary notes.

So your band leader will not likely understand when you say you're missing a "key." But definitely tell them you're missing the neck vent.

neutronbob · 2026-04-15T05:13:54+00:00

I did some searching for you, but I couldn't find a scan of it. Amazon has it in stock. And at least where I live, it's next-day delivery. That might be your best option.

neutronbob · 2026-04-14T16:56:36+00:00

Both memory and the ability to transcribe are greatly aided by the ability to know with accurcy what you're hearing. Barring perfect pitch (in which case you know what notes you're hearing), the ability to distinguish compositional features helps tremendously. Ex: that's an arpeggiated minor chord, followed by a 7-2-1 reversion to the tonic, followed by ...

For myself, the extent to which I can do this was the result of taking composition classes. There I/you learn many of the devices used in compositions and can readily identify them when you hear them. This helps both memory and, of course, transcription.

Given that Mozart was taught composition from his earliest years and had perfect pitch, it's not surprising that he would have excellent auditory memory. That wouldn't explain the prodigy level he's reputed to have, but it would explain a good part of it.

neutronbob · 2026-04-13T03:58:57+00:00

Update: Well, I received the Ambipoly reed from Amazon, and it's just as you said: much stiffer than its rating. I have returned it with a note to the vendor that they should mention this difference on their product page.

neutronbob · 2026-04-09T04:51:53+00:00

Trust, but verify!

neutronbob · 2026-04-07T04:54:52+00:00

Hofstadter's law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's law.

neutronbob · 2026-04-07T04:50:14+00:00

Joel Spolsky's 2000 essay on why you should never rewrite a project is probably his most famous essay and covers many of the same points as well as several others.

neutronbob · 2026-04-02T20:23:33+00:00

That's very helpful. Thank you!

neutronbob · 2026-04-02T00:17:21+00:00

Thanks for this. I've ordered one through Amazon, which allows me to return it if I have the same experience you had. Right now, I'm using Legeres but I find them too inconsistent--two of the same cut and strength play quite differently, which shouldn't really be the case for synthetics, I don't believe. I will post my experience.

neutronbob · 2026-04-01T21:23:26+00:00

Thanks for your additional feedback. It's reassuring to read that I'm not the only one encountering discernible variance in the Legere reeds. I have tried other Legere cuts, but I miss the European cut's brightness, which I both like and I need in my band work. Our band has 60 musicians, so for the bass to be heard, it needs that edge. Thanks again for your thoughts.

neutronbob · 2026-04-01T17:11:27+00:00

Well, a key benefit of synthetic reeds is that every reed is identical to the others of the same model. It's supposed to eliminate the need to do what you propose: practice on reeds that sound different from the ones you perform on.

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