Klarinet Archive - Posting 000217.txt from 1996/03

From: Laurence Liberson <hardreed@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Equipment Question (Oh no !!!!)
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 17:53:04 -0500

> On Wed, 6 Mar 1996, Mark Charette wrote:
>
> > I'm thinking about obtaining an A clarinet for my son (since he'll
> > need it relatively soon). He presently has a Bb Selmer Paris 10G.
> > Should I: 1) Stick with the Selmer 10G line (my son likes the feel
> > of the
> > clarinet, the keywork, & the sound)
> > 2) Go with a Buffet R13 (which seems to be the most popular make &
> > model out there, and I'm sure for good reason).
> > 3) Look at other makes & lines.
> >
> > I don't mind spending the money all that much for the instrument
> > as long as it is of professional quality (the "student" lines like
> > his plastic Vito are great for marching band, though). However, I
> > don't want to have to spend another $2000.00 or so in 3 years when
> > he
> p> goes into college (assuming he majors in music/clarinet). Even if
> > he decides to stop playing the clarinet (over my dead body ;^),
> > the resale value of good clarinets is better than the student
> > lines.
>
> You have obviously already thought this out pretty carefully, and in
> your questions you outline some of the major issues.
>
> Rather than tell you what clarinet to buy, I would like to present a
> different aspect of this question. First of all, if your son is
> getting as serious about the study of music and the clarinet as he
> seems to be, it is clear that he does need to get an A clarinet as
> soon as possible. There is a certain advantage to trying to match
> the A and Bb as much as practical, but that may not be the end of
> the story.
>
> There can be another, overriding consideration. Many if not most
> university professors of clarinet would prefer that the student wait
> until he has chosen the college, university or conservatory he will
> attend before making any major expenditures for equipment. Every
> teacher tends to have their preferences, and it can be a real
> disadvantage for a student to have purchased Buffet instruments, or
> Yamaha, just to give two examples, if he then goes to a school where
> the teacher prefers Selmer, or LeBlanc, or whatever.
>
> I know that we all feel we would like to be able to be democratic
> about this, and we like to say that what is important is the final
> result, etc., etc. Still, if the teacher is listening to a student
> week after week, no matter how musical or technically advanced the
> student may be, if the sound is what the teacher associates with,
> say, Selmer, and his sound ideal is really based on the Buffet
> sound, there is going to be a certain tendency for the teacher
> ultimately to recommend that the student change to another brand.
>
> Of course, teachers for the most part don't want to just turn out
> carbon copies of themselves, but on the other hand, teachers can't
> very successfully teach styles and concepts which are diametrically
> opposed to their own approach.
>
> Probably about the best you could do at this point is to try to make
> an informed guess about what would be a good choice. I think you
> should try to find out what is the most widely-used instrument, and
> go with that one for now. That would improve the probability that
> you would have chosen the instrument that your son's eventual
> teacher would be using.
>
> You could also go with a good-quality but used instrument for the
> present, with the thought that he might want to change again when he
> goes to college. In that case, you should try to find an instrument
> which, as you suggest, is of sufficient quality to maintain as much
> as possible of its value for the next several years. That could
> serve to help reduce the impact of the cost of a new instrument at a
> time when you also will have such things as tuition to contend with.
>
> Naturally, I think I know what instruments are compatible with the
> most widely-held concepts of clarinet sound among professional
> players and teachers, but would rather not state that here. This is
> a very emotional issue for many musicians. I'm sure it won't be
> hard for you to find this out - most people will freely give you
> their opinions on this, even before you ask, and sometimes long
> after you wish they would keep it to themselves!
>
> Good luck!
>
> Ed Lacy
> *****************************************************************
> Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville Professor
> of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
> Evansville, IN 47722
> el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
> *****************************************************************
>

Or you might suggest that he speak with his son's current teacher, if
he hasn't done so yet!

Larry Liberson
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
hardreed@-----.com