doubling for jazz

[saxmasta89]

if i ever decide to double on anything(i'm an alto sax player) for jazz, should i do flute or clarinet...i've heard that clarinet fingerings are similar, but i haven't tried it.

[JoeV]

If you can, I would try and do both. Though the clarinet may be seen more often, flute is seen, and the more of those three [Alto Sax., Clar., Flute] you play, the better off you'll be. :)

[Benny]

Play the one that appeals to you the most but it wouldn't hurt to also have some chops on the other in terms of having the skills for other gigs. Once I started to get work in big bands towards the end of my college degree someone would ring to book me to play say 2nd alto and the last thing you'd hear before they hung up the phone was "oh, and throw in you soprano, clar and flute."
There are lots of grear examples of both clarinet and flute improvisers - benny goodman, buddy defranco, eddie daniels (clar), Bob Mintzer and Chris Potter (bass clar), James Moody, Joe Farrell on flute. Even guys like lovano play quite a bit of flute.
As for fingerings, yes clarinet is close to the saxophone but you'll probably be nowhere near as fluid without some serious work, especially around the break, the 3rd register and te alternate options for low e-g# and middle b-d#.
Flute is harder with tone production, but with a good teacher and instrument you can get some excellent colours that will be very differant to what you play on your alto.

[saxmasta89]

should i try to get a soprano for doubling too?..i think i've seen a lot of lead alto pieces doubled on soprano.

[Benny]

Soprano is a difficult horn, I love playing it, but how well you do it will be determined by well good your alto is. Soprano really didn't feel fluid and integrated for me until my alto was really coming together and now that I'm a bit older and have played and lived a little more I can see just how much there is to learn on it.
If you want a horn that is a practical doubling horn, get a clarinet, then goto flute. If you want it purely as an improvising tool, play whichever one appeals to you the most.
The doubling thing never ends. Once people realise you can play the clarinet well, they ask you to play Eb and bass. Once they hear you're a good flutist, you'll need a picc and an alto flute.
Eventually it will come down to being a truly great doubler vs a truly great improviser. Not many do both. Jo Lovano is an awesome improviser but can't play the clarinet or flute as well as people like Andrew Sterman, Dave Toffani, Dan Higgins etc. The reverse applies too.

[saxman124578]

I double quite a lot, I play Tenor and i use the flute on some ballads at quieter gigs. I found that you can get your clarinet chops up real quick if you play classical music, I play in my schools wind ensemble...and have made first chair and can now play any jazz song on clarinet, sing sing sing, south rampart street parade, rhapsody in blue etc.....

[sinkdraiN]

Good question.

The answer depends on what kinda stuff you play
In Bigbands- the lead alto sometimes picks up a flute while the tenor players double with a clarinet. The bari maybe a bass clarinet.

If you play plan to do pit work you better know clarinet.

I double in both pits and big bands and my clarinet gets MUCH more mileage. I spend a lot of time working up my clarinet and very little time on my flute. Once you get a nice tone on flute its easy to play. Clarinet requires a lot more attention. I say work up the clarinet and spend a little time on the flute.

SAXMAN brought up a good point about classical. I joined a community orchestra pretending to be a "clarinet player" to work up my chops and absorb from the great players around me. It was a real blow to my ego at first. I really struggled in that section. But after a lot of hard work I feel that I am at a point where I can honestly call myself a clarinet player. I enjoy playing with the symphony because its a nice break from the jazz work I usually do. It keeps me grounded

[wrightam]

Big Band doubling depends on what style you are playing. Most of the older big band charts (Benny Goodman, Ellington, Henderson, etc...) you will need clarinet more than flute. But once you get into later big band works (Thad/Mel, Nestico, Jones) you will need flute more and even soprano for the Thad/Mel charts. In the 2 years I have been at UNT (playing lead and 2nd alto) I have yet to play clarinet.

Anything you can do to play the instrument more will help you get better at it. And getting a good teacher will help too.

[swingerini]

Soprano is a difficult horn, I love playing it, but how well you do it will be determined by well good your alto is. Soprano really didn't feel fluid and integrated for me until my alto was really coming together and now that I'm a bit older and have played and lived a little more I can see just how much there is to learn on it.
If you want a horn that is a practical doubling horn, get a clarinet, then goto flute. If you want it purely as an improvising tool, play whichever one appeals to you the most.
The doubling thing never ends. Once people realise you can play the clarinet well, they ask you to play Eb and bass. Once they hear you're a good flutist, you'll need a picc and an alto flute.
Eventually it will come down to being a truly great doubler vs a truly great improviser. Not many do both. Jo Lovano is an awesome improviser but can't play the clarinet or flute as well as people like Andrew Sterman, Dave Toffani, Dan Higgins etc. The reverse applies too.

Good points, for the most part .

The Lovano example might not be the best one, though I know what
you mean, I think .

It really depends on the setting, ultimately.

The smartest thing you could do would be to get a good teacher and deal
with basics particularly in tone production/embouchure/breathing when
it comes to flute and/or clarinet.

to play those instruments you'll want to spend some time on the dealing
with the basic/essential literature that's been developed around those
instruments.

It won't hurt, and can only help in the long run.

Good teachers intially are critical in learning to play either.

If you can become relatively fluent in basics on clarinet you will have
very few problems playing the saxophone(technically) .

I would take a look(listen) at Eric Dolphy as a superb example of what
is possible as a triple threat on fl/as/cl .