Klarinet Archive - Posting 000066.txt from 2002/11

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl]Returning to the fold
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 18:08:22 -0500

Will Hartung wrote,
>My wife wants to get back into playing the clarinet.
>She used to play in High School.
[snip]
>We've been looking on ebay, but I think that's a dangerous
>place for the uninformed. They should have named it
>CaveatEmptor.com.

I think you think wisely. Some people on this list do buy successfully from
eBay, but they're people who know a lot about the technicalities of what
they're buying.

>There are a LOT of cheap "brand new, top of the line" clarinets being sold
>for ~$120-$150.

Most of those heavily advertised eBay frequent fliers are brand-new, top of
the *crappiest* lines.

>She's not real comfortable getting a used one, mostly because
>we're not knowledgable enough to rate it as being "good" or "bad".
[snip]
> Her birthday is in 3 weeks :-).

That's where a teacher can be a big help, because new clarinets aren't all
that easy to rate, either. Within one brand and model, individual clarinets
can vary an enormous amount. Why not get your wife clarinet lessons for her
birthday, and rent a clarinet for a short term to get her started? Then she
can ask the teacher to check the condition of clarinets she might want to
purchase and help her try them out. Also, a few "starter" lessons make a
better gift than a long course of pre-paid lessons, IMHO, because she may
decide, after the first lessons, that she'd be better off with a different
style of teacher.

You're wonderful to want to help her get back into music, but I think that
buying a clarinet as a gift for someone who already knows how to play is a
high-risk purchase, even if it's an excellent clarinet, unless it's not a
surprise gift and she's in on all the decisions from the beginning. Although
she's not confident about making choices right now, chances are that once she
starts playing again, a lot of memory will come back quickly. If she's like
most clarinet players, she'll be happiest with an instrument that she picks
out herself, with advice from her teacher. Clarinet players are choosy about
reeds, mouthpieces and all the other details that have to fit just right with
each other and also fit with the clarinetist. Needs and preferences are so
individual that it's almost impossible for someone else, especially someone
else who doesn't play the clarinet, to make the choices.

Los of people on this list are comebackers. I quit after high school and
then returned to music years later, and I hope your wife enjoys getting back
into music as much as I have!

Lelia

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