Contrabass Clarinet

If I were a wealthy man, I would buy myself a Contrabass Clarinet. 

The Contrabass Clarinet is the largest members of the clarinet family that is in "common" usage. Modern contrabass clarinets are pitched in B♭, sounding two complete octaves lower than the common B♭ soprano clarinet and one complete octave lower than my beloved B♭ Bass Clarinet

As you can see from the top picture, this beautiful beast of a horn is taller than the typical adult and is over six feet tall in the version shown.   The second image shows the whole horn itself so you can better appreciate its beauty. The third image is a variant called the "Paperclip" Contrabass Clarinet (for obvious reasons) which has all of the tubulature of the typical beast coiled upon itself.  All three are masterpieces of complexity and key design. 

I was privileged to get to play one of these beasts during my last year in high school, so many, many decades ago.  Our band director selected me as the one clarinetist/bass clarinetist to get the honor of playing it during that school year.   I do not know the whole story of the beast, but for some reason, it was on loan to our school for that single year.  It came with a special tall stool with a seat almost five feet from the ground that had to be carted around with it to performances so the player could sit and play comfortably. 

I am very happy that the band director selected me for that great experience.   I think he may have selected me because I had a "lot of wind"...... (yeah, he probably thought I was big blowhard, I guess)... but it was so very much fun and so beautiful to play.  And, it received a lot of attention.   It is not usual to see a Contrabass Clarinet in a high school band. 

These beasts are pricey, however.   Even a budget "student" model starts at around $6,000.   A general quality model can start easily at $33,000. 

I keep watching auction sites to find a wrecked, wracked, and ruined one that I could tear apart and put back together all repaired, but I have not had the good luck to win on the one bid I have submitted in the last year or so. 

My own Bass Clarinet is a bit of a "Frankenhorn" itself.   A dear friend (unfortunately now deceased) somehow stumbled across a school band instructor who was getting rid of several ancient old wrecks of instruments that were student horns used by the school for at least four or five decades because the school was able to replace these horns.  There happened to be two bass clarinets that she (my friend) was able to acquire.... neither of which were functional.   She gave them to me, as she knew I liked to mess around with musical instruments, and I was able to tear down the two horns and through careful effort build back together one very nice playing horn from the parts.  I had never owned my own bass clarinet before that.  It was and still is my pride and joy when I play in my community band today.

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