The Bass Clarinet (バスクラリネット Basukurarinetto) is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Someone who plays the bass clarinet is called a bass clarinetist.
Variants[]
Like the more common soprano B♭ clarinet, it is usually pitched in B♭, meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B♭, but plays notes an octave below the soprano B♭ Clarinet.
Bass clarinets have also existed in other keys, notably C and A, but are very rare (in contrast to the regular A clarinet, which is quite common in classical music). Most average bass clarinets can play down to a low Eb, while some may have an extension, allowing them to play to a very low C. These are often called low C bass clarinets and are more common amongst professional players. Bass clarinets regularly perform in orchestras, wind ensembles/concert bands, occasionally in marching bands, and play an occasional solo role in contemporary music and jazz in particular.
There are two even lower-pitched clarinets called the contrabass clarinet and the contra-alto clarinet, and a slightly higher-pitched clarinet (but lower-pitched than a B♭ soprano) called the alto clarinet.
Performance[]
The bass clarinet is played in a similar fashion to the B♭ clarinet, by blowing into a mouthpiece with a single reed attached. The musician opens or closes keys to change the pitch of the instrument.
It should be worth noting that many clarinetists can also play the bass clarinet. The player will read in treble clef for both clarinet and bass clarinet, since they are both B♭ transposing instruments.
Scoring[]
Bass clarinet parts are typically not divided into first, second, or third parts, unlike B♭ clarinets.
As portrayed in Sound! Euphonium[]
There are two bass clarinet players in the Kitauji Concert Band:
- Hitoshi Usui - Principal Bass Clarinet
- Junko Koshikawa
In Sound! Euphonium: The Movie - Our Promise: A Brand New Day, a new bass clarinet player joins the ensemble, and a current member switches:
- Ayako Sakasaki
- Youko Matsuzaki (Formerly B♭ Clarinet)
In Sound! Euphonium 3, another bass clarinetist, Ichigo Nakata, joins the ensemble.
Trivia[]
- Bass clarinets featured in Sound! Euphonium are based on a Yamaha YCL-221II model.
Gallery[]
| Woodwinds | |
|---|---|
| Brass | |
| Strings | |
| Percussion | |
| Other | |