hello there im the person who started this forum........

i occoasionnally play the E flat contra

...and now to answer some question...........

you can buy one from selmer(check the site)......or wwbw.com........and other places.

when your flat and cant push in anymore......you have to change your obusher...make sure your not biting.....you kinda of have to mess around with your obusher in from of a tuner to get it right

........................................................

last but not least ...there is no such thing as a sub-contra ......if u still think there is one.......find it on the internet and post the address here on this forum
you might just be mistaking a bass-bary sax for a so called
"sub-contra"

where can i rent a contra bass...i dont go to the high school...i play in a college band...but i needa contra..can any one me and tell me wherei can rent one and approximately how much it would be...?

thanks...silverpaw

If you are referring to the Leblanc octo-contralto or octo-contrabass, this is the site:

http://www.contrabass.com/pages/octobass.html

If you are referring to my post about the sub-contrabass saxophone, this is the link:

http://lachesis.caltech.edu/jayeaston/galleries/sax_family/subcontrabass_sax.html

Okay, I just have to ask: Is it just me or is it really hard to finger from middle octave A to middle octave B. I have this written in 16th notes quite a bit in my music and it is very difficult for me to make these 16th note runs. Is there any way around this or is it just that composers don’t know anything about low clarinets? It’s driving me crazy!

I too play the BBb and Eb Cronta Clarinet. I enjoyed it and yes, I got some funny looks because in my whole district there where only 2 of us. I am in the process of writing a free manual on how to deal with the lack of contra music and how to translate Barri Sax or Tuba music for the contras, any suggestions are welcomed.
I really miss playing in high school bands. But I encourage anybody with a loose emborchure and lung power to at least try the contras

please tell me where i can rent one...a contra...

I don`t think renting one is possible; they are simply to rare and expensive. (as in it`d be very rare to find one for rent) If there was one for rent, the rent would be really high im guessing, because the things cost 20 gran. sry

"There are five clarinets that are commonly played. Of course, we also play A soprano frequently, but it`s basically the same instrument as the B-flat soprano. No other clarinets are ever scored for anymore, nor were they ever frequently scored for."

Well :
-there is a (quite rare, but used in UK for bands) very small Ab clarinet ;
-the sopraninos : most common in Eb but sometimes in D (Richard Strauss, Stravinsky) ;
-the C clarinet ;
-the sopranos (Bb, A) ;
-the turkish clarinet in G (straight) ;
-the alto cl in Eb ; and the basset horn WHICH IS A CLARINET !!! it`s an alto in F with extension to low C (like many basses and contras) ;
-the bass in Bb (to low Eb or with ext to C) ;
-the contra-alto in Eb ;
-the contrabass in Bb.

for some XIXth century and many Mozart`s works, you should need a basset-clarinet (Bb or A), which is a soprano clarinet with extension to low C, like basset horn.

Whoever said that the contra alto and Contra bass are the same, is wrong. In fact a lot of music arrangments have seperate parts for them and besides the contra alto is pitched in Eb and the Contra bass is pitched in Bb. And these are the clarinet keys I know of. The A flat clarinet which is almost extinct,the C soprano,the Eb soprano, the Bb soprano, the A soprano,The basset horn in F (which is like a tenor clarinet),an Eb alto clarinet, the Bb bass, the A bass, the Eb contra alto(8 notes lower than the alto and 16 notes lower than Eb soprano.), and the Bb contra bass clarinet. There is also a sub contra bass clarinet in Bb somewhere. Only three were ever made.

I`m thinking about buying a contra alto clarinet.....which one is better...... Selmer 1440 or Vito 7181???

Thanks

The basset horn isn`t "like a tenor clarinet" ! It is a small alto clarinet (in F instead of Eb) with extensed range (to low C instead to low Eb). We can`t compare saxes/clarinets range at all ! remember that bass cl is ONE octave lower than Bb "soprano". Bass sax is TWO octaves lower than soprano !!!!

Jimmy,

I would like to add : the A bass clarinet is not build since a century. That`s why the bass clarinets were early extensed to Eb : the A bass parts in Verdi, Wagner or Mahler are today played with "normal" Bb basses.

The enormous sub-contrabass was build by Leblanc (three were build, yes), and too a sub-contralto in Eb. You can see some photos on an old Leblanc advertissement on Jay Easton`s great site (try on Google for the URL).

And don`t forget the D clarinet : I own one, it is a very different one than Eb or C !

oO ok I understand, oh yeah and is the D clarinet hard to play I`ve never seen one...

I play the contra alto at my middle school band (I have to sit on two chairs)I really havn`t seen the contrabass but my gf told me she saw one for our high school honor band.

I think that the saxophone family and the clarinet family are the best in the woodwinds. Its a lie that the bassoon is the lowest woodwind. Hello? Contrabass clarinet/sax. At my middle school I used to play the alto sax....then I moved to the bari sax. When I go to high school I`ll take the beginner band class to learn the clarinet or take private lessons or teach my self. I`m particularly interested in the alto and contralto clarinets. Has anyone noticed that alto clarinets cost a lot more than bass clarinets? Any of you play the alto clarinet? It and the bass sax have faded into the back light over the years. But I love`em!