Coming home to the clarinet.

Rosemary

Rosemary

Hi,
I am new to the forum and I guess new to the modern clarinet. I played in my youth and got to what here in the UK we call grade 7/8 but when I left school for college at 16 I just gave it up. Not sure why now, but who understands 16 year olds. Recently I decided to look out the poor old liquorice stick and give it a go again. Ouch, reality stinks, age has not improved my ability on bit. Still I am not going to defeated. At the moment I am working on Mozart Clarinet concerto and it is sort of coming back. I have a Boosey and Hawkes Edgware clarinet, in good condition and it sounds sweet, well to me and the repairer who serviced it for me.
The thing that I find strange is I last played as a child, and knew very little about the technical side, questions like what ligature or mouthpiece were unheard of back in the 1960's in my world. Also now riddled with artritis I am having great trouble bearing the weight of the instument in my right hand. In desperation I have tried to use a neck strap but I hate it, It forces me to hold it at a very uncomfortable angle. Back in my day (Did I really just say that) no one used a a strap, how times change. I am gradualy building up my stamina, but can after 40 minutes or so my lip and hands are hurting way too much.

One question I have for you, I work in a music shop (Heaven) and other staff members consider old wooden instruments to be inferior to not only the new ones but even modern plastic ones. I have played a few of the new wooden ones and yes they do sound good and they are technically comfortable but then so does my of B&H.
Would you recomend to a new player to buy a new plastic, lets say Yamaha or Buffet e12 or renovate an older, sound instrument.
 
um
Yes !?

First, let's face it. Young students normally like new instruments.
When I bought my first clarinet it was a brand new Normandy 4 for $400ish. I wonder if back then what i could have bought used ? An R13 maybe ?

But with clarinets there are certain clarinets that people love to play.
Then there are emotional value to a clarinet. Where one may have had it forever and it's emotional value far outweighs it's actual value. Example, I still have my Normandy 4 even though I may have an R13 and other much better clarinets.

Now if we are talking about a new, brand new young player. It may be better to just rent a clarinet just in case they stop playing.

But after that is a used vintage professional better than a new intermediate ?
It depends.

Technology and the knowledge of making the clarinet better in tune and better keywork is what one gets with a high quality brand clarinet.

Also student instruments may have smaller toneholes so that they are easier to cover up with smaller fingers. So there's some reason behind the "evolve" from a student to a professional instrument.

For example, A new Yamaha 34 is an exceptional high quality clarinet all around. Compare it to a vintage Selmer Signet.

Money no object, I'd probably prefer the new Yamaha.
Money an object, I'd probably prefer the Selmer.

As to your B&H they never caught on in the US. In the UK though they have a big following and seem to command twice the price than in the US for the pro models.

I've noticed that young students like the new instruments. And older new players like the older instruments as those would have been the ones they would have played in their youth.

It also depends on how much more profit a retail store will get selling a new instrument versus a used one.
 
Hand hurting

I highly recommend the Ton Kooiman Maestro thumbrest to overcome right hand problems. It has made a world of difference for me on my R13: not only greater comfort, but higher fingering speed as well. It's expensive, and should be installed by a tech, but well worth the expense, IMO.
 
Suzy and I purchased these thumb savers for all of our clarinets. It's not expensive and after a year or so back on the instrument your thumb will toughen up. But you will have a callus on the right thumb; that's the nature of the beast. After a ~30 year break Suzy required a neck strap for her clarinet, but within a few months got stronger enough that practicing 20+ hours a week didn't become a debilitating problem.

Many, many, many... okay you get it, many people purchase a cheaper instrument than what they really want. The concept of saving up for what you really want is not very popular in the instant gratification generation. No one can recommend an instrument for you as good as you can by play testing them. There are way too many variable to consider.

So recommendations vary wildly from inexpensive but nice Noblets to the insistence tha you must have a Buffet R-13 instrument. I wanted a Buffet R-13 Festival (used) so I bought one. It is my favorite instrument of any I've tried so far. But my wife prefers the Leblanc Symphonie VIIs. Both of us prefer wood instruments. But with the news I hear about the Buffet Greenlines, the line on quality based on the material is blurring.

The neat part is you get to try a lot of instruments out. The even harder part is that 80 to 90% of your sound comes from you, the reed, and the mouthpiece. To me that means there are a lot of right choices out there, not just one.
 

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Gandalfe said:
Suzy and I purchased these thumb savers for all of our clarinets.

...snip...
Click to expand...
Those aren't bad, but the Yamaha ones are MUCH better. Only cost a couple bucks more too. Get your store to order you one. I've got both and the Runyon sits in the closet while all my clarinets (except the basses) wear the Yamaha.
 
It's simple, don't push too much too fast. Like corset training, if you pull the laces too tight too fast you can hurt yourself.
Re-build your stamina and don't stress yourself over it, it's possible and you will succeed.

I like vintage horns, and most of them are far superior to many modern instruments (this is not to say there are not a few exceptional instruments out there, the LeBlanc family, The Bliss series, Yamaha, and a nice reference to SteveSklar's post).

I like neck straps but I tend to hold the instrument very vertical by nature anyways so the position doesn't bother me.

Don't forget to try and "lubricate" your muscles and joints before playing, move your wrists and fingers around smoothly and gently for a while before playing the best you can. If it hurts, slow it down and even stop.
Take breaks, there is no need at all to practice for long hours straight.
For every 30 minutes of practice, have 10 minutes or so of rest, allow your muscles and stamina to rebuild themselves as a natural pace.

Oh, and. Never, ever, ever play through pain. I've seriously injured my poor little right thumb from playing through pain, and I learned the hard way.
Most of all, relax the best you can, it's the trick to everything.
Don't bite too hard, and don't use too hard of a reed. Concentrate on letting your lips seal around the mouthpiece, and let the clarinet come to you.
It's all about relaxation as I said, and re-learning the basics of embouchure and clarinet position are usually as important now as they were in middle/high school. As important as the right horn.
 
Thanks, great advice. I just hope my fingers don't bend any more with arthritis. I do have a new "problem" well actually I have several. I have a habit of making a silly low bid on things on e bay- sure that I will not win but hay you never know, then somtimes the silly bid worls and I but something I really am not even sure I even want or need. This time it was for http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160538003603 Now I really don't believe it is that old, and I am sure it's not a particuarly good instrument but does anyone know anything about Emil-Lyon clarinets. All I have to do now is tell hubby that I have purchased yet another unplayable insttument that will need over haul. If it's not a worthy instrument i may use it as a learning tool on how to re-pad etc. Your thoughts.
 
PrincessJ said:
It's simple, don't push too much too fast. Like corset training, if you pull the laces too tight too fast you can hurt yourself.
Re-build your stamina and don't stress yourself over it, it's possible and you will succeed...
Click to expand...

That is a correlation that I will never experience ... :p
 
Easy there boys. :geezer1:
 
Suspenders? I don't mind people wearing those as long as it's the right outfit and place. Other than that I recommend you simply buy pants that fit and a belt to match that.
:emoji_smile:
 
I'm thinking suspenders will be cool in another ten years. But corsets and clarinets, they are always hot. Sounds like the start of new blog!

So I'm thinking poor Rosemary is probably wondering what she has gotten herself into. ;)
 
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