Since the bass clarinet hasn't been in existence as long as the cello or even the clarinet, we simply don't have the volume of solo bass clarinet music that other instrumentalists enjoy. So we steal. . .err borrow. . . Here are my top picks for my own students with at least 4 years of instruction: Eccles: Sonata in G minor, bass clarinet with piano, originally written for cello Bach: Six Suites, Alea Publishing; these cello suites are transcribed for solo bass clarinet; some

I always feel like I have a limited amount of time with my bass clarinet students before they go off to college. Between a busy marching season, learning required pieces for auditions, and the generally packed life high schoolers, there isn't as much time as I'd like to play around with all the great solo literature out there. This list isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list; it is certainly a little more “dead white guy” than I’d like it to be. Notably absent is music from my

Picture this: 37 middle schoolers rifling through a band director's file cabinets trying to find a solo to play. The kids usually have no idea what the pieces sound like, so they pick something with a mildly catchy name that they end up not really liking anyway, losing half the pages during the chaos. This scene is probably familiar to every band director who has ever prepared for solo and ensemble contest. I'm here to help. In this 3 part series, I'll share my favorite bass