Klarinet Archive - Posting 000922.txt from 2004/07

From: "Shaw, Kenneth R." <krshaw@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Choosing a New Clarinet
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 18:54:52 -0400

A few weeks ago, Jon Scott Higgs asked about things to look for when
choosing a new clarinet.

There have been several good threads on the Clarinet Board about this
subject, for example,
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html=3Ff=3D1&i=3D41632&t=3D41584
and
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html=3Ff=3D1&i=3D149356&t=3D149342
.

When you evaluate an instrument, you have to go in a certain order.

(1) INTONATION. This is by far more important than everything else
combined. A clarinet that plays out of tune is useless, no matter how
=66ine its other characteristics. While intonation is of course affected
by mouthpieces and reeds, and slight errors can be adjusted, the
intonation of an instrument has to be very nearly perfect to begin with.
Bring an electronic tuner and a friend to watch it, so you won't make
adjustments to accommodate flaws in the instrument. Be ruthless. If you
have a dozen new clarinets in front of you, you can probably eliminate
half of them on this criterion alone.

(2) EVENNESS OF SCALE. Each note must be just as loud and have the same
color as the ones on either side of it. You must be able to play without
notes popping out or being dull. Test by slowly playing small segments
of a chromatic scale -- 4 or 5 notes at a time. Again, after-market
tweaks can make small improvements, but it has to be right at the
outset.

(3) QUICK RESPONSE -- the ability to make wide slurs without blips,
begin any note cleanly and move from note to note quickly and
seamlessly.

(4) OTHER QUALITIES. Only when you eliminate instruments that don't have
the first three qualities can you go on to the rest. In no particular
order, I think of beauty of tone, flexibility of tone (i.e., the ability
to make many good tones), a comfortable amount of resistance and
physical ergonomics.

(5) FINAL DECISION. Finally, you depend on gestalt -- how well the
instrument accommodates to how you play -- how much it lets you find new
ways to play. An instrument can have every quality described above and
still not reach out and embrace you. You need to feel good when you play
it. It needs to feel like an extension of your body and breath.

Best regards.

Ken Shaw

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