Klarinet Archive - Posting 000661.txt from 2000/11

From: Sterkel Terrance-W15462 <T.Sterkel@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Beginners/Enthusiasts Welcome?
Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2000 16:05:40 -0500

Hi!
At 49 I have just started the clarinet after 31 year hiatus. Feeling =
like a
cicada I cast around for advice. This list serve (klarinet@-----.org) =
is
clearly is a great place. The discussions may get technical, but they =
are
great in explaining for the novice like me. It is here I learned that =
I
learned the clarinet all wrong, that the Junior and High School =
emphasis on
filling the seats with warm bodies taught me many wrong habits. So, =
ask
away!

Also, I would get a good rental and wait it out. After that you can =
either
buy out the rental or "upgrade". (I had to get a rental recently, found =
only
one out of 4 that was acceptable. What is acceptable? To be honest, I
ignored "tone" and simply ran simple scales. 3 were terrible, one was
tolerable. So take your mouthpiece with you and run those scales!)

About "upgrades." There are "intermediates" and there are =
"professional"
and what I call "super-pros" I would highly recommend after your year =
on
the rental, that you look seriously at getting a "used" professional =
model.
In many cases, very serviceable "used pro" instruments are available =
for
less than "intermediate." Both of my "upgrades" were "used =
professional"
instruments. My first and still my favorite was a used Selmer 9 I got =
from
a retiring Jazz player. Nice open tone. My second, is a 47 year old =
Buffet
Orchestral model that has a more even (I would say closed, others say
focused) tone. To be honest, I got it from eBay because it was a full
Boehm, and the church music I wish to play does a lot of that Eb to C
transitions. (That articulated G# is also nice). Oops..went off =
topic. =20

As for eBay and Yahoo auctions, that is definitely buyer-beware =
territory.
One, assume that you will need to take the instrument into a high class =
shop
to get it working great and subtract that from your max price to get =
your
"max bid price." Accept no cracks, dents, chipped tone holes, and
bent/broken keys. That is for people who really know how to buy on the
margin. Two, Get a return guarantee. Three, Use credit card for all
purchases for protection. (I have never been cheated on eBay or Yahoo, =
but
I have over paid, but unlike Florida voters, I hold myself accountable =
for
my mistakes ;)

Welcome!
terry

P.S.
I found the Netnews group *.music.clarinet to be less forgiving, and =
more
iconoclastic.

{*}
Terry Sterkel, P.E.
Motorola Personal Communications Sector
mailto:t.sterkel@-----.com
+1 732 878 8662, fax +1 732 878 8001

: -----Original Message-----
: From: Bilwright@-----.net]
: Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2000 10:28 PM
: To: klarinet@-----.org
: Subject: Re: [kl] Beginners/Enthusiasts Welcome?
:=20
:=20
: <><> Stephanie Davis wrote:
: That is OK for a start, but in a few months
:=20
: <><> Gary=A0Truesdail wrote:
: Sounds like you are serious. [snip] I recommend you wait=20
: 6-12 months
: to make your purchase of the up grade instrument.
:=20
: While I don't agree that the only reason to play music is to
: perform, Gary is giving you solid advice about holding off on a
: purchase.
: Although it's probably not what you want to hear, it=20
: will take you
: at least this long to develop your embouchure and breath and other
: things to the point where you can appreciate how substantial the
: differences between instruments are --- even between=20
: instruments of the
: same model from the same manufacturer.
: When it comes time to buy a professional instrument,=20
: don't dismiss
: the idea of buying a used one. I did (after playing for=20
: 12-15 months)
: and I am deeply grateful that I did.
:=20
: Cheers,
: Bill
:=20
:=20
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