Klarinet Archive - Posting 000310.txt from 1996/03

From: Walter_Quan@-----.CA
Subj: E-flat clarinet for tiny clarinet players
Date: Mon, 11 Mar 1996 17:09:00 -0500

When I was looking to buy an E-flat clarinet a few years back, the folks at
the store brought out an interesting version of an E-flat...

The case was built into a nice-coloured knapsack-type of strapping system,
and the clarinet itself was a simplified-key version.. i.e. there were no
alternative fingerings possible for various notes - just one way to play
E-flat (no l/h ring finger key), and I think it was only possible to play a
'naturally-fingered' low B (i.e. middle finger, no r/h ring/"forked" key.)

The use of this version was apparently for Suzuki-style clarinet training -
what I saw was a prototype, I think, and was meant to entice someone into
getting a class of tiny clarinet players together. I think the maker was a
Japanese company (Yamaha, presumably).

I was intrigued enough to consider it as a cut-rate clarinet (the sound was
okay for a cheaper-student-model-plastic-tiny-beastie-with-missing-keys)
but decided I'd go nuts feeling for keys that weren't there...

I've never seen them anywhere else and don't know if it was an idea that
missed its calling, but the case was cute and it was an intriguing idea...

Walter Quan
Victoria BC