Thank you for visiting the companion website for Bass Camp: A Training Manual for Bass Clarinetists! Here, you will find my recommendations for bass clarinet equipment, performers, method books, repertoire, and other online resources. This list is not intended to be comprehensive; rather, my goal is to provide resources which I use regularly personally and in my own teaching.
Suggestions are welcome! However, my schedule is busy, so please don’t take offense if you do not hear back from me.
Recommended Equipment
Mouthpieces
- Fobes Debut: This affordable mouthpiece is an excellent choice for younger students looking to upgrade from a stock mouthpiece.
- Vandoren B40, B50: I regularly recommend these mouthpieces for advanced high school and college level players. In my experience, most students clearly sound better on one or the other, so I often order two and return the one not chosen.
- Vandoren BD5: These mouthpieces produce a darker tone. They do often tend flat, and I hesitate to recommend them for younger players for that reason. That said, many professionals sound excellent with a BD5.
- Selmer Focus, Concept: These are expensive mouthpiece geared toward professional players. I personally perform on the Concept. If budget allows, my experience is that both offer a significant upgrade in projection and focus from the Vandoren models. The Concept tends to be slightly more resistant than the Focus.
- Selmer C*: This mouthpiece is no longer produced, but there are still a lot of C* mouthpieces floating around. While these are excellent mouthpieces, I have found that in many cases, these older mouthpieces are blown out and do not project well.
Reeds
- Vandoren V12: I personally perform on Vandoren V12 strength 3 reeds, and I often recommend these reeds for students as well. Vandoren Traditional reeds also work well for beginning and intermediate level players.
- D’Addario Reserve: For some players, the Vandoren reeds sound too stuffy. In these cases, I have found that D’Addario reeds often work well. An additional benefit of D’Addario reeds is that they come in half sizes, including 3.0+ and 3.5+.
Ligatures
For years, I have played on a BG gold ligature and have been happy with it. That said, these ligatures are much more expensive and difficult to find than they were 10-15 years ago. When I choose to upgrade, I will likely go with another type of ligature.
- Rovner Dark: The Rovner Dark is a good choice for beginning or intermediate players looking to step up from a stock ligature.
- Rovner Versa: This is a step up from the Rovner Dark and is an excellent choice for a leather ligature. Most students gravitate toward either leather or metal ligatures – the only way to know for sure is to test both!
- Vandoren Optimum: This is the mid-price ligature option for students who prefer a metal ligature.
- Silverstein: These ligatures are made of string. If you are looking for a freer-blowing setup, this ligature is a good choice. Their customer service is impeccable and they will re-string a broken ligature for you.
- Ishimori: Ishimori ligatures come in a variety of finishes, including silver and gold plating, and these finishes affect the sound. For some performers, the high cost is worthwhile because of the improvement in their tone quality. However, for others (myself included), there is not enough difference in sound quality to warrant the high price tag.
Instruments
Bass clarinets are notoriously expensive, and the “sticker price” can be really shocking to students and families. For any student or educator looking to buy a bass clarinet, I strongly recommend consulting with a local clarinet and/or bass clarinet professional before purchasing.
One big choice to make before purchasing a bass clarinet is to decide whether you want to purchase an instrument with a low E-flat key or one that extends to low C. For an increasing amount of solo and ensemble repertoire, composers write for an instrument with a low C. Many high school band programs will be able to cover their needs with a low E-flat instrument. However, for individuals looking to purchase an instrument for personal use, literature choices will be very limited without the low C extension. If the cost of a bass clarinet is excessive for your budget, it is often appropriate to wait and save while using a school-owned instrument. For a student preparing for college, there will generally be a bass clarinet available through the college or university, allowing you to save until you are ready to purchase your own. As with all major purchases, where you purchase matters. Each of the supplied links below is to a retailer I personally trust.
The models below all have the capacity to play to low C.
- Backun Alpha: In the under-$5000 range, the Backun Alpha and Royal MAX are the major players. The Alpha has versions with low E-flat and low C.
- Royal Global MAX: The Royal MAX is the other major player under $5000. Made of a composite material, this instrument only has the low C option.
- Royal Firebird: The Royal Firebird is widely regarded as the best mid-price model, coming in under $9500.
- Buffet Prestige: The Prestige is considered by many (including me) to be the industry standard low C bass clarinet. I have played on a Prestige for the past 10 years and it has worked incredibly well for a variety of performance styles. It has a few quirks—for example, it has three fingerings for low D and no roller between the thumb keys.
- Buffet Tosca: In my opinion, the Buffet Tosca is the best bass clarinet on the market. It has a more robust sound than the Prestige and a more logical thumb key setup. I would have absolutely purchased this instrument if it had it been available when I purchased mine!
Recommended Performers
- Alder, Jason: Jason Alder specializes in bass and contrabass clarinets, and he has many wonderful recordings of new music on his website. He also has a great fingering chart for quarter-tone fingerings on clarinet and bass clarinet.
- Anderle, Jeff: Jeff Anderle teaches at Arizona State University and performs with the Sqwonk bass clarinet duo, Splinter Reeds reed quintet, and Edmund Welles bass clarinet quartet.
- Bloom, J. Lawrie: J. Lawrie Bloom was the bass clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1980-2020 and played a key role in the development of the modern orchestral bass clarinet sound. (He was also one of my undergraduate professors at Northwestern!) He can be heard on many of the CSO album releases during his tenure in the orchestra.
- Bok, Henri: Dutch bass clarinetist Henri Bok has several fantastic recordings, as well as a book New Techniques for the Bass Clarinet.
- Boots, Cornelius: Cornelius Boots is a well-recognized American bass clarinetist and shakuhachi performer. He has a huge number of fantastic original compositions and arrangements, especially for bass clarinet quartet.
- Dolphy, Eric: Eric Dolphy was a celebrated American jazz woodwind performer who championed the use of bass clarinet in jazz music. His performance of God Bless the Child has been transcribed by Roger Jannotta and is a staple of the advanced solo repertoire for bass clarinet.
- Edmund Welles: Known as the “heavy metal bass clarinet quartet,” Edmund Welles recorded several studio albums featuring original music and arrangements of popular songs. Many of these pieces can be found for purchase here.
- Freedman, Lori: Lori Freedman is a multi-faceted bass clarinetist, commissioner of new music, and improviser.
- Hemken, Volker: German bass clarinetist Volker Hemken is an active soloist and performs with the Gewandhaus Orchestra. He has several fantastic albums of solo bass clarinet music.
- Horák, Josef: Czech bass clarinetist Josef Horák was a major figure in the development of the bass clarinet as a solo instrument. Known as the “Paganini of the bass clarinet,” he is credited with presenting the first-ever solo bass clarinet recital and commissioned an enormous number of works for solo bass clarinet, and bass clarinet with piano.
- Lowenstern, Michael: Michael Lowenstern is one of the most recognized bass clarinetists today. With his online blog, website, and YouTube channel called Earspasm, Lowenstern has brought the bass clarinet into the digital age. Lowenstern is also a composer and arranger with numerous original works available for purchase on his website.
- Parisi, Rocco: Italian performer Rocco Parisi is a noted performer and recording artist, with several wonderful albums to his name.
- Rosman, Carl: Member of the Elision Ensemble and MusikFabrik, Carl Rosman performs on several instruments and specializes in low clarinets. He is an excellent resource for experimental contemporary music.
- Russell, Jonathan: Jonathan Russell is the founder of the Boston-based Improbable Beasts bass clarinet ensemble, a member of the Sqwonk Duo, and is highly regarded for his original compositions for both clarinet and bass clarinet.
- Schouten, Fie: Fie Schouten is a Dutch performer specializing in low clarinets, and she has several albums of solo and ensemble music.
- Sparnaay, Harry: Harry Sparnaay was a Dutch bass clarinetist. Influential as a pedagogue, performer, composer, and commissioner, many of the world’s most prominent bass clarinetists today studied at some point with Sparnaay. He is featured on several albums and commissioned hundreds of works for bass clarinet solo and ensemble. (I also wrote my dissertation about him!)
- Sqwonk Duo: The Sqwonk Duo (Jonathan Russell and Jeff Anderle) is the world’s best recognized bass clarinet duo. With several original albums, and a shockingly successful transcription of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue for Organ, this group is essential listening for bass clarinetists.
- Stephens, Suzanne: Suzanne Stephens is known as both a bass clarinetist and basset hornist and is recognized for her collaborations with Karlheinz Stockhausen.
- Stump-Linshalm, Petra: Petra Stump-Linshalm is an Austrian bass clarinetist, known both as a soloist and for her duo with clarinetist Heinz-Peter Linshalm.
- Watts, Sarah: Sarah Watts is one of the world’s best-recognized living bass clarinetists. She has several original compositions and albums, including her fantastic new work, Multiphonic Miniatures.
- Ziporyn, Evan: Evan Ziporyn is a clarinetist and bass clarinetist known as a former member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars. He appears on a number of recordings, including This is Not a Clarinet (essential listening for anyone interested in contemporary clarinet music). His original compositions, including Press Release, are frequently performed works for both clarinet and bass clarinet.
Method Books
Below is a list of method and etude books I use regularly for teaching and practice. There is a great (and comprehensive) method book resource created by Jason Alder available here.
Beginner Level
- Voxman, Himie: Introducing the Alto or Bass Clarinet. This is a solid book for beginner bass clarinet players and includes a mix of etudes and technique studies. That said, in the spirit of the Rubank books, it is quite boring.
Intermediate Level
- Rhoads/Weissenborn, Advanced Studies. This is a very standard etude book for low clarinetists, and is often where high school state audition material is drawn from. There is also another Rhoads book, the Foundation Etudes, which has similar etudes for intermediate players. The 35 Technical Studies focus on specific technical difficulties of bass clarinet.
- Rhoads, William: Baermann for the Alto and Bass Clarinet. This is an adaptation of the Baermann clarinet method specifically for the range of bass clarinetists, organized by key.
- Denny-Chambers, Kristin: Finger Fitness Etudes. These books of fantastic etudes are a fun supplement for high school and early college students on B-flat and bass clarinet. Some of the etudes are specifically intended for low clarinetists, and a few are arranged for low C instruments as well.
Advanced Level
- Berti, Sauro: Venti Studi. This is the best etude book for advanced and professional bass clarinetists! It includes specific work on bass clef reading and altissimo, and the etudes are both practical and musically engaging.
- Drapkin, Michael: Symphonic Repertoire for the Bass Clarinet (5 volumes). These editions cover many of the standard bass clarinet excerpts.
- Volta, Jean-Marc: The Bass Clarinet. This is an underrated method which has the best altissimo fingering chart I have encountered for bass clarinet. The text, translated from French, can be difficult to comprehend, but many of the exercises are very useful.
- Hudson, Andy and Roger Zare: Space Bass. These etudes cover advanced bass clarinet techniques like slap tongue and altissimo playing. They are musically rewarding and extremely challenging, even for the professional performer.
Bass Clarinet Repertoire
Below is a list of repertoire options for intermediate-level bass clarinetists. Please keep in mind that this list is not (and could not be) comprehensive. These works are a starting place for those looking to develop a library of music for bass clarinetists. Bass clarinet solo music can be very technically difficult, so please use your best judgment (and consult your private teacher, as applicable) to find appropriate music to play.
There are a limited number of transcriptions in this list. While it is valuable for bass clarinetists to gain experience performing works written for other instruments, the purpose of this list is to showcase high-quality works written specifically for bass clarinet.
Intermediate Level Solos (with piano)
| Composer | Title | Publisher | Notes |
| Bennett, David | Deepwood | Carl Fischer | |
| Bozza, Eugène | Ballade | Southern | |
| Davenport, Michael and Kimberly (ed.) | Album for the Young Bass Clarinetist | Alea | Arrangements for early intermediate players |
| Davenport, Michael and Kimberly (ed.) | Contest Album for Bass Clarinet | Alea | Arrangements for more advanced players |
| Desportes, Yvonne | Andante and Allegro | Southern | |
| Dykestra, Brian | Two Rags | International Opus | |
| Klughardt, August | Romanze | C.F. Schmidt | |
| Lamb, Jack (ed.) | Classic Festival Solos (two volumes) | Alfred | Volume 1 starts at a much more basic level than the Concert & Contest Collection. |
| Russell, Jonathan | Sonatas (2) | Jonathan Russell | These are for more advanced players. |
| Voxman, H (ed.) | Concert & Contest Collection | Hal Leonard | Various works, easier than clarinet version and less appropriate for college students |
Intermediate Level Solos (unaccompanied)
| Composer | Title | Publisher | Notes |
| Davidson, Robert | Jump | Alea | |
| Dorff, Daniel | In a Deep Funk | Presser | This is for a more advanced player. |
| Dorff, Daniel | Flowers of St. Francis | Presser | This is intended for more advanced players. |
| Bach, J.S. | Cello Suites 1-3 | Public domain (available on IMSLP) | Bass clef. Some are more difficult to perform due to scordatura. I read off of the cello version, which requires a low C. |
| Thomas, David Bennett | Paws | David Bennett Thomas | |
| Loudova, Ivana | Air and Aulos | Alea | Air is unaccompanied, but Aulos is performed with piano. The music available for purchase is not transposed for bass clarinet. |
| Montilla, Jorge | Introduction and Joropo | Woodwindiana | |
| Auerbach, Lera | Prayer | Boosey & Hawkes | Calls for growling |
| Schocker, Gary | Weird Little Pieces | ALRY |
Online Resources
- Earspasm: Earspasm is the online website of bass clarinetist Michael Lowenstern. It contains a helpful blog with commonly asked questions about the bass clarinet, as well as instruments, accessories, and music for sale (and some freebies!). Lowenstern also has a fantastic YouTube channel as Earspasm Music.
- Heather Roche: Heather Roche’s website contains a wealth of information about extended techniques for clarinet and bass clarinet. It is also a great resource for composers looking to write for bass clarinet or other low clarinets.
- Clarineat: Sean Perrin hosts this fantastic podcast about all things clarinet, and each episode features a new guest interview.
- Alea Publishing: I may be a bit biased, but Alea is my favorite source for new music specifically for bass clarinet. Most works in the catalog are also available for PDF purchase.
- CIRCB (International Bass Clarinet Research Center): This website, translated from French, offers catalogs of works, research, recordings, patents, and historical bass clarinet images. It is a playground for the nerdy bass clarinetist!
Erin Cameron 