Klarinet Archive - Posting 000194.txt from 2007/03
From: "Keith Bowen" <bowenk@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Suspicious about an item proposed in Ebay...
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:19:54 -0400
Thanks for the full version, Juanfran, that seems a very rigorous and
interesting approach. I take you point about the $120 clarinets! Thanks =
for
the explanation.
Keith Bowen
-----Original Message-----
From: klarinet-return-90340-bowenk=3Dcompuserve.com@-----.org
[mailto:klarinet-return-90340-bowenk=3Dcompuserve.com@-----.org] On =
Behalf
Of Juan Francisco Vicente Becerro
Sent: 13 March 2007 22:35
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Suspicious about an item proposed in Ebay...
=20
I didn't intend to criticize plastic bodied clarinets, just the one my=20
pupil bought. At my "very beginning" I owned an Amati, and it did a good =
work, and several of my pupils own a Buffet B12, also with good results.
When I wrote about "the chef's recommendation", I did it "the short=20
way". Let's please go with the full version: at my school pupils begin=20
at three, doing what we call "initiation on music", trying to develop=20
those skills needed to, in their future studies, learn and write music.=20
So they practice, -in a recreational but pedagogically studied way- ear=20
training, improvisation, movement, fine motor skill coordination, etc,=20
trying to find a natural way from life music to abstract music.
After that, and before beginning "music training", where they begin with =
instrument, musical language, choir and orchestra, they last one year=20
doing monthly workshops. There, pupils, parents and teachers try to show =
all the instrument we teach at our school, so that the teacher looks for =
problems or advantages of each pupil, pupil choose the instrument they=20
want to play because they know the instrument, and parents are informed=20
about which skills are needed in each instrument, and so on. At the end=20
of that year they have to choose, and we talk to their fathers, among=20
other things, about "how to" buy the instrument.
Each instrument has advantages and disadvantages. Plastic ones are=20
cheaper, better for careless boys. Wood are "durable" if well cared for, =
and better sound. Yes, at the beginning there is no difference between=20
wood an plastic in your pupil sound, but for me, maybe, it's better buy=20
a wood one that lasts seven, eight years, than a plastic that do it only =
three or four and then another wood one. I don't push them, since I=20
don't care plastic or wood, but good tuning and keywork, so I have=20
several B12, several E11, and some Yamaha or Amati.
The subject of my previous email was in reply to another message about=20
an odd item in eBay, so all my comments about "plastic sound" where=20
about a particular pupil's clarinet, bought at eBay, for 120$ (new, not=20
second hand). Mouthpiece is Selmer C120 (not included, I told them to=20
buy it in a local store). The sound is poor. I know there isn't a lot of =
difference between plastic and wood in a pupil, but, that third year=20
pupil plays his clarinet and really sounds "more" plastic than usual=20
(when he plays with his mouthpiece in other plastic clarinet it sounds=20
much better). Poor keywork (same length screws for different length=20
keys, for example, so if you want to unscrew it you have to make same=20
"speleology"), bad pads, bad springs, bad corks, with no brand, no=20
serial numbers, nothing. Believe me, it's a "piece of art".
Anyway, the point was not convincing anyone about plastic or wood, I=20
have a general rule, plastic is good at the beginning, but if you can=20
afford a wood one, do it. BUT, every pupil is different, and if=20
individual problems, or individual situations, individual solutions and=20
individual choices are needed. The point is that, even when you have to=20
buy with your incomes in mind, and you may not be able to choose a wood=20
one, there is a limit, in my opinion far way from "120$ including =
shipping".
Juanfran
Keith Bowen escribi=F3:
> Juanfran,
>
> Exactly what make of instrument was it?
>
> I don't believe there is such a thing as "plastic sound" and I am sure =
Dan
> will back me up! There might possibly be a very small difference, but
surely
> nothing indiscernible at the student level. Would you reject a Buffet
> Greenline? A plastic bodied clarinet can be an excellent student =
choice.
You
> probably should consider recommending a new mouthpiece, though.
>
> There are some excellent inexpensive plastic-body instruments =
available in
> Europe. I have an Amati C clarinet, with plastic body. The keywork is =
very
> good, and though the tuning was poor when I got it, a couple of days =
work
on
> regulating and tuning it made it very acceptable (no more than 10 =
cents
> deviation overall and <5 between adjacent notes). At our recent
Kammermusik
> workshop, several people played both this and a Buffet E11 (quite =
hard, on
> works like Beethoven 7 for octet) and preferred the (tweaked) Amati - =
Joe
> Fasel can confirm. It was probably the cheapest horn in the room. =
Yamaha
is
> also good at this level, I believe.
>
> And I am not just cheap; I own several very good and expensive horns
> (Leblanc, Fox and Wurlitzer).=20
>
> Keith Bowen
>
> =20
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