NationStates Jolt Archive

Would it be possible to learn the bass clarinet and the bari sax (at the same time) to a 9th grade level of proficiency in a year?
I already have woodwind experience on the bassoon and clarinet and I'm a relatively fast learner (according to my music teacher, I am at a slightly higher level on the bassoon for my experience playing).
So can anyone give me an educated guess on if it would be possible?

Well, what do you mean by "9th grade level?" There are people in the 9th grade that have been playing for years, but there are also people in the 9th grade who have just started.

9th grade level as in enough proficiency to play pieces in a ninth grade band

you could try.

I learned the alto sax in like 3 days, it's only taken me 10 years to get to a point where I think I am actually good enough to play in public......but I have self confidence issues and perfectionism to deal with.

Here's the thing-the saxophone is bone damn easy. It's the Slacker's Band instrument. It's part of why I like it so much.

The thing to do is to focus on the bass clarinet, which shouldn't be that hard if you already know clarinet, and then once you're comfortable pick up the bari. I can't remember which octave it is, but the sax has the same fingering as one of them on the clarinet. Whichever on has three fingers down on the left hand is G. The bass clarinet will also help you bridge to the bari's mouthpiece.

Getting the sax under your fingers if you already know other woodwinds is going to be cake.

I knew people in high school who switched to bari sax from alto sax with no preparation for the bari before the school year started and did okay. "Okay" meaning that they were good enough so that they could play what they needed to for the concert in December.

I knew people in high school who switched to bari sax from alto sax with no preparation for the bari before the school year started and did okay. "Okay" meaning that they were good enough so that they could play what they needed to for the concert in December.

Switching between the saxes doesn't take anything, really. The fingering is the same on all of them. Once you can play one, you can play them all. It just takes a minute to adjust to the mouthpiece size.

And say 'No' to soprano. So few can play that well that it's really not worth it.

Switching between the saxes doesn't take anything, really. The fingering is the same on all of them. Once you can play one, you can play them all. It just takes a minute to adjust to the mouthpiece size.

And say 'No' to soprano. So few can play that well that it's really not worth it.

I tend not to be that fond of even the alto... there are those who play it well, but oh so many who play it so badly. And it's high enough in pitch that when that happens, it's painful.

Sure, you already play clarinet so switching to bass cl. or bari sax would not be difficult. But be warned, your bassoon playing will suffer if you are playing more single-reed instruments.

You can learn almost any instrument to grade 9 levels in a year, so long as you practiced regularly.

I brought a ukulele last month, my advice is give up whilst you can still claim you couldn't be arsed :p

The bass clarinet has the same fingering as an alto clarinet if I recall correctly. I learnt how to play it in less than one year. Well enough to play in the high school band the next year. I had no experience with a musical instrument before and I have awful pitch.

You'll be fine. I am sure that if you absolutely had to, you could do it in a month.