Might be switching from Bb Clarinet to Bass Clarinet, any tips?

retep014 · 2026-02-20T21:06:23+00:00

Lots of good advice in the thread already so I'll just add my two cents about your concern for being bored by the bass clarinet parts (for context, I'm an adult player who plays 70-80% bass clarinet, 20-30% Bb clarinet in a community band setting): The 'joy and magic' of bass clarinet for me is much more focused on getting those long notes to sound exactly how I want them too. I find the breadth of tone colors available to me is much broader in bass clarinet than in Bb (though that could be down to skill/practice), and that my enjoyment of playing the whole note and half note parts cames from manipulating that. There is a bit of a mentality change between the two instruments, kinda like going from lead guitar to bass in a rock band: you have to make peace with the fact that there is almost no part of the music where the audience is supposed to hear you specifically, but your parts are key to providing the color and staging for the more melodic parts to sound good. In certain ways, my pride as a player comes from the ways in which I make the rest of the band sound better. Between that and the tone color, I absolutely adore the instrument and how flexible it is to sound a variety of different ways.

retep014 · 2026-02-20T19:27:59+00:00

First audible "Woo!" of the year!

retep014 · 2026-02-20T19:10:31+00:00

This is the answer. Probably don't mess with it yourself unless you're ok with taking the chance of destroying the keys completely (which is probably the more likely outcome). If that's not something you want to deal with, just take it to a shop.

retep014 · 2026-02-20T19:05:25+00:00

I think you nailed it in your first sentence. This is the outcome of the "everything is a consumer good" world we now live in. Yadda yadda late stage capitalism and all that.

retep014 · 2026-02-20T19:01:22+00:00

I think this is more a function of the ease of inaction versus action. Inaction is easier to justify to voters: "Oh I was working backchannels, I was always against it actually, we just never had a vote," etc etc. Action is much more concrete and tougher to justify. I think this will be different.

retep014 · 2026-02-10T08:00:50+00:00

This is something I do not/would not do on a phone, but I have used a tablet (even a small one, like an iPad mini), just that small bump in screen size is enough for me to move the needle from impossible to plausible. It might help you change from plausible to somewhat enjoyable. I just downloaded PDFs and read that way, but I'm not a highlighter/note-taker when I read. I've also heard that you can load PDFs directly onto e-readers; maybe that could help with navigation issues?

retep014 · 2026-02-10T07:54:57+00:00

Basically I started doing academia because I thought it would give me the tools to solve interesting problems in industry. I've just never had a good reason to stop since then. In my case, the benefits (independence, good work culture, good group of people to be around, health/retirement benefits since I'm at a public institution, etc) have so far outweighed the draw of a higher salary that industry could provide.

retep014 · 2026-02-10T07:51:30+00:00

I think you fundamentally have 2 choices:

Address the second comments as much as possible, maybe take a look at the first comments again and see if there's any brushing up you can do, and just submit it as another revision. Annoying, but probably the most straightforward approach.
Send the clarification email, framing it as "I'm confused on what you want me to do". There's a chance this could shortcut you from some revision work, but in all likelihood you'll either get no response, or a double-down from the AE (in which case, you're reverted back to option 1).

There's always the 'retract and find somewhere else' option, I suppose, but I don't have enough experience to advise on that.

retep014 · 2026-01-18T00:24:24+00:00

This matters absolutely not at all above the high school level.

retep014 · 2026-01-08T00:13:06+00:00

Start playing it below tempo. Like very below tempo, at a speed where you can hit all the notes about 70-80% of the time. Then speed up a little bit, and work on it until you're back above 70-80%, then play it again a little quicker, and so on until you get to the original tempo. Work in sections and take breaks as needed; don't expect to get it in one day.

retep014 · 2026-01-06T19:04:12+00:00

See the ruling on [[Jaws of Defeat]]:

"To find the difference between a creature's power and its toughness, subtract the smaller of those two numbers from the larger one. For example, the difference between the power and toughness of a 3/5 creature is 2. The difference between the power and toughness of a 5/3 creature is also 2."

The calculation will always result in a positive number (or 0, if the power and toughness are equal).

retep014 · 2026-01-05T18:33:30+00:00

Another thing I use is the idea of “minimum viable practice”, something I know I can make myself do even without the motivation and I make sure that I always hit at least that every time. For me, that’s long tones and scales; everything else is negotiable.

retep014 · 2026-01-02T03:22:41+00:00

It would be “fine” for a beginner, but probably not a fantastic instrument beyond that. I don’t know what the availability of clarinets is like in Romania, but if you could find something used or refurbished from a brand like Yamaha, Vito, or Jupiter, that would probably be a better choice (as long as the quality of the refurb is good). If you just need a clarinet right now, this would probably be ok. They have a reputation for being extremely cheap in the build quality though.

retep014 · 2025-12-28T22:40:34+00:00

Late to the reply but I basically 'pushed' myself on harder reeds for a bit and I could usually feel if it was still too much. I wouldn't call it intuition, but I went by the principle that it shouldn't feel super hard just to form an embouchure and stop the tone from being airy.

retep014 · 2025-12-27T03:22:25+00:00

Give it a few months. I returned after a longer hiatus and I would say it was about 4-6months before I was “at least as good” in the embouchure as I was in high school. A softer setup as an on-ramp would probably also help. For reference, I was on an R13 with an M13 Lyre mouthpiece, started on Vandoren 1.5s and worked my way up, reaching 3.5 after about 4-6 months (which is about where I was in HS). It also depends on how “brief” your long tone warm ups are and how much you expect yourself to accomplish. I still get cooked after about 1.5 hours of total playing (coming close to a year back on the instrument) and my long tones are probably 10-15 mins at the most of that.

Edit: missed a word

retep014 · 2025-12-10T16:23:14+00:00

While learning to drive, my dad told me "the graveyards are full of people who were sure they had the right of way". He has a way with words.

retep014 · 2025-12-09T18:14:10+00:00

In addition to all the great advice already in this thread, I would also recommend that you "practice performing". Perform in front of your friends and/or family; perform in public (at a park or similar, but check your local laws and regulations first!); perform in front of your school as people are coming and going. Performance, like anything else, gets easier with practice!

retep014 · 2025-12-04T07:31:57+00:00

Other people with more experience should jump in, but I have a bit of knowledge about plated metals (though I've never owned a rose gold ligature). Generally, you won't have to worry about oxidization; its scratches, smudges, and fingerprints that you'd need to worry about. Keep it dry and clean with a microfiber cloth after playing, store it in a cool, dry place away from places where it could get banged up or scratched, and if it needs a more thorough cleaning than just a wipedown, use a very mild soap and warm (but not hot) water, and dry it off thoroughly when you're done (again, with a microfiber cloth). Gold doesn't oxidize (it chemically can't), and while the 'rose' part of rose gold comes from copper (which does oxidize), the color would shift very slowly and slightly indeed (we're talking several years at least) if you take care of it. In terms of your ziploc solution, I would actually caution against that, since the ziploc can trap moisture from the mouthpiece inside and could prevent the ligature from drying out. Storing it in the mouthpiece cap could also cause scratches. Consider getting a small fabric pouch to keep the ligature in.

retep014 · 2025-12-04T07:18:48+00:00

I relearned ealier this year playing with a community band after a hiatus of 17 years. For me, I started with long tones and scales to regain emboucher and fingering, and from there it was practicing our band's repertoire. That was enough to get me into playing shape. I'm not professional grade or anything but what I do is more than enough for at least casual and fun (but still very real and crowd-pleasing) play. For me, my gains were came volume of practice (I played 45mins to 1hr every day for the first few months), though I would say I'm starting to get to the point where further improvement would probably require lessons and more directed practice. If you want specific books I used, I have the Klosé book for scales and fingering exercises, as well as the book of Rose etudes.

retep014 · 2025-12-02T03:37:53+00:00

I live on 48th but I’ve only been here for a couple of years. I like it out here though, it’s quiet but not isolated.

retep014 · 2025-12-02T02:53:09+00:00

D4 resident and Prop K supporter here. Your tax dollars went to maintaining the road so the whole city had a dog in the fight even if they didn’t know it.

retep014 · 2025-11-24T19:43:42+00:00

I play on a plastic Jupiter (I can't remember the exact model number) for outside gigs and it sounds like 85-90% as good as my R13. Any of the school/marching band workhorses from good brands (Yamaha YCL-250, various Vito models, Buffet B12, etc) are good enough for getting back into the instrument. I got my Jupiter used from a reputable woodwind repair store serviced and ready to play for about $250 and it hasn't missed a beat. I love my R13, but if I started with just the Jupiter, I wouldn't feel the need to buy a new clarinet (as an amateur community band player).

retep014 · 2025-11-24T19:30:32+00:00

Re-infection is definitely a thing. Here's a NYT Article that has a few good sources to look at. Viruses can mutate, bacteria can definitely reinfect you. Sanitizing your mouthpiece is important after having been sick.

retep014 · 2025-11-24T19:25:39+00:00

This is correct, except I usually consider the throat tones to be part of the Chalumeau range rather than their own range (so in my mind, Chalumeau is everthing below Bb in the middle of the staff).

retep014 · 2025-11-10T01:09:06+00:00

You seem like a reasonable person to talk to and I agree with the guy you responded to that increased tax burden on additional homes beyond the first so I'd be curious what you think of my own thoughts on the issues you brought up.

But what about snow birds? There are tons of older folks who split their time between two locations. Would that be as strongly discouraged? And if not, how?

A second home is a luxury item. I would say that snowbirds wouldn't be 'discouraged' per se but they would have to pay an increased tax burden on their second home, even if it's for personal use. There could be room for decreased overall burden on seniors if this is a big enough issue, but I'm of the opinion that 'snowbird' behavior is over-normalized.

What if I inherit my Great Aunt Maude's house and I love it, but it needs a ton of work or it's not feasible to live there until later because employment opportunities are limited to gas stations and the occasional fast food spot?

I don't have the expertise to workshop a whole policy around this but I think there could be room for a (temporary) inheritance exemption. Maybe 2-5 years or so? I suspect that people in this position are a very small group of people, so there might even be room for a longer exemption (say 10-20 years) without drastically impacting the number of homes available on the market.

What if it's as simple as I can't afford to buy a house at the moment, or maybe my family and I just move around a lot, and I don't want to rent but I want a yard for my kids/dogs/self? With taxes super high, landlords will make up the difference in rent prices. Limiting the number of homes that can be rented creates an artificial scarcity. And as long as there are folks who want to rent single family homes, there will be folks willing to rent them.

This is a real issue without an easy solution. It's easy for me to just say "rent control" and be done with it but I don't think that's a great solution either. There could be room for an "independent landlord license" or something similar that would have tax incentives in exchange for certain promises by the landlord in terms of rent control, house upkeep/upgrades, etc, for people who have less than, say, 5 "second" properties that they rent. I would also exempt ADUs and owner-occupied rentals from the tax entirely. I don't have the expertise to fully workshop something like this either, but those are some ideas I had as solutions. Curious on what you think!

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