Klarinet Archive - Posting 000290.txt from 1998/11

From: "Sherry Katz" <slkatz@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] doubling
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 16:24:17 -0500

Since I also play sax and a bit of flute I'll make some suggestions:

Sax - Alto is a good place to start but you'll probably want to learn tenor
too. The so-called student saxophones are absolutely dreadful. The only
one that's even playable is the Yamaha YAS 23. My suggestion on a sax is to
a:) accept it that a usable sax costs more than a usable clarinet, and b:)
look for a used sax. The Vintage saxes, like the 1920's, 30s and 40s Conns
and some old Bueschers as well as some old Kings sound play fantastic. You
can find a good deal particularly on old King Zephyrs. You need to learn a
bit about saxes first though as there are tons of junky horns with the name
Conn or King or Buescher out there. The older saxes have a slightly funky
key arrangement - the lower left hand spatula is not very ergonomic, they
tend to lack a high F# key (not a major loss I use mine about once every six
months and there are alternative fingerings) and the palm keys also are not
that ergonomic but that can be fixed with some bumpers. The problem is that
while you can get a decent older sax for $600, you can't be sure that the
pads, etc are in good shape. It's a good idea to spend a bit more and go
through a dealer like www.joesax.com or www.usahorn.com or www.cybersax.com
and get one that the dealer has already refurbished. I think you can get a
YAS 23 for around $500 from Joe Sax and if you want to keep your investment
minimal but stick with a modern horn that would probably be the easiest and
safest way to go. You can get a YAS 23 cheaper used from a private party,
but believe me I know from experience, saxophone repads are expensive.
Also, I've found plenty of used saxophones that are unplayable or need a lot
of work and the seller, even the music store selling it, won't acknowledge.

Once you learn alto, it's not a big jump to tenor - you can start either
with alto or tenor but I find that my arms and back get tired less fast
playing alto so I tend to work on that to get strength then go to the tenor.

Flute - As a doubler you'll want a closed hole, offset G, C foot flute. Do
not get a flute that is nickle plated, get one that is at least silver
plated (flutes are slippery, and nickle ones are worse). The most popular
entry level student flute is the Gemeinhardt 2SP, it isn't hard to find one
used for $200-300 and new for $399. In my experience flutes are the worst
of the woodwinds for going out of adjustment, having problems with pads
sealing, etc. and you really know how to play the flute to test a used one.
I think the Gemeinhardt 2 SP is a durable, solidly made flute and you can't
go wrong with it (but the flute mailing list has pretty mixed things to say
about them). For a bit more money - new a bit under $600 you can get a
Yamaha with a sterling silver head and silver plated body. This is where
you can get the most "bang" for your buck in an upgrade. I find that the
Yamaha flutes are a bit easier to play than the Gemeinhardt but, based on a
limited sample, not as durable. My suggestion would be to start out on your
friend's flute and see how you do. If your friend's flute is not a closed
hole, offset G, or if the pads are not in good shape, or if it is nickel
plated, it might be better to buy a used flute in good shape.

My personal experience is that if you play clarinet you'll be able to fake
it on the sax in a very short time. However, getting good on the sax is a
lot of hard work.

Flute I find to be harder because it is tiring to hold it. You don't blow
against the resistance of a reed which takes getting used to. It is
slippery. You have to learn to balance the instrument. Breath support is
critical - you must blow from the diaphragm, you must open your throat (good
practice for the clarinet). The fingerings are a bit wierd - closer to sax
fingerings than clarinet so it might be better to learn sax first since it
is less of a leap.

It took me about two hours with a fingering chart and a sax to be able to
play just about any written music that I had on the sax. I wasn't good at
it, and the sound was not full as a sax, and the playing wasn't fluent, but
I had bought the Rubank Intermediate book when I bought the sax and I could
rip through everything written in it pretty much from day one. That doesn't
mean I could really play the sax though - I'm still working hard on that
(with a teacher).

Flute, on the other hand, has been an entirely different challenge. The
hardest part was getting a sound out of it. I bought a book that tells you
how to hold the flute, how to blow it, etc. On the first day I got one note
out that I could slur to two more notes. Every day I would play about 10
minutes trying to slur to one more note. After a week I could, sort of play
a C scale, and after two weeks I could play tunes out of an elementary
recorder book.

When you pick up another woodwind you've got a lot of advantages, you have
probably got a natural tendancy to keep your fingers close to the keys, you
probably roll properly from note to note, you probably have good air
support, you probably have internalized the tonguing (although I find that I
have to work to get my tonguing right on the sax), etc. You also can read
music, know scales, etc. The fingerings are also similar enough that even
if you don't know the fingering for a note you've got a good chance of
finding it by instinct. But each instrument is definitely different and
poses its own challenges.

However, playing a bunch of different woodwinds can also be a lot of fun. I
just learned that Benny Goodman - who regularly doubled at least for a time
on Alto Sax - also learned to play the oboe early in his career. At that
time a lot of jazz bands liked to add "novelty" instruments, and he could
get more work that way.

Good Luck.

Sherry Katz

-----Original Message-----
From: James Rosen <mgervick@-----.edu>
Date: Sunday, November 08, 1998 5:39 PM
Subject: [kl] doubling

I just asked a friend if I could borrow his (long-unused) flute to start my
(light) foray into doubling. Are there any thoughts as to how to teach
myself flute? I don't really want to take up private lessons for just that,
since I am not even planning on going into music, I just want to be able to
be in the occasional area musical.
Also, what sources might I look at for picking up a _very_ inexpensive (but
playable) sax (alto, I guess), and oboe (or are there other instruments that
I should work on first?).
-James

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