 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: aerostyc
Date: 2011-01-20 00:23
Started clarinet at 7th grade, and now I'm freshman in high school.
Does anyone have suggestions on what I should purchase, because my current clarinet is a cheap clarinet my parents bought and thought it would "last through high school."
However, I want to make myself the best as possible, and that includes me upgrading and using the best equipment available.
What mouthpiece and brand should I get that's compatible with marching and concert?
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2011-01-20 00:44
Since you didn't say anything about price and you want something to last through HS, try out some of the student Buffets and the Yamaha's.
What kind of mouthpiece are you playing on? Sometimes mouthpieces are more important then the clarinet.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-01-20 00:59
Vandoren 5RV Lyre and a used Buffet R13 perhaps for about $2,000.
Anything less for a used horn and you might be looking at needing further repair work. You might as well go for a concert horn and keep it for a good long time. New clarinets are anywhere from $3200 to $8,000 for the mass produced models that are readily accessible (Buffet, Yamaha, Selmer, Leblanc).
Good luck,
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2011-01-20 02:33
Use whatever you have now -- you say it was a "cheap" clarinet -- for marching band, and do what Paul says for your "real" (concert) instrument.
DO NOT march your good clarinet! Marching band is deleterious to good clarinets and other lovely things.
Susan
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2011-01-20 02:38
Also, DO NOT march with a good mouthpiece!
As to what mouthpiece to select, that is something nobody here can really tell you. It would be better to have your teacher guide you in this search. If you don't have a teacher, consider investing in a few lessons, at least, to get you a good setup.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
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Author: Joseph Tomasso
Date: 2011-01-20 07:38
If you are looking to try instruments and do not have a teacher, send me a message or check out my website. I teach at the University of Florida as a visiting lecturer this year and I won the second clarinet position in the Gainesville Chamber Orchestra last year. My name is Joseph and I live right in Gainesville Florida. We can get together and you can see what my setup is, try my instruments/mouthpieces, and also get your hands on some other brands of mouthpieces so you can start putting together an idea of what sounds the best and feels the best to you. Even though you are young you should be able to tell right away what equipment you prefer with a little guidance. I don't have a lot of space for regular students right now between the university, orchestra, and my private studio, but if you don't already have a teacher I might be able to find a way to work with you. If you do have a teacher but they aren't much help with equipment we could at least get together once!
-joseph
Bachelor of Music, Sax/Clarinet Performance (2005, 06)
Master of Music, Multiple Woodwind Performance (2008)
Master of Music, Oboe Performance (2013)
Gainesville Chamber Orchestra (Clarinet)
University of Florida 2010-2011(Visiting Lecturer in Woodwi
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-01-20 12:10
Find yourself a good teacher and take their advise once you're comfortable with them. Make sure they are experienced and well respected. Which clarinet and mouthpiece to buy is a matter of opinion and everyone has their own. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-01-20 17:29
aerostyk -
If your clarinet is plastic, it's fine for marching. Get a Yamaha 3C plastic mouthpiece, which is inexpensive ($27) and perfect for marching. If your clarinet is wood, get a used plastic Bundy, Vito, Noblet, Buffet or Yamaha. Avoid the other brands. They're available at giveaway prices on the auction sites, particularly the Goodwill site http://www.shopgoodwill.com/search/SearchKey.asp?itemTitle=clarinet&catid=0&sellerID=all&closed=no&minPrice=&maxPrice=&sortBy=itemEndTime&SortOrder=a&showthumbs=on. An auction clarinet will always need work to make the pads seal right, so figure that into the cost.
When you think about improving your clarinet, you go from the top down. Your tongue, soft palate and jaw are by far the most important, followed by the reed, mouthpiece, barrel and so on down.
Yourself you improve by constant practice. A professional player can sound great on any equipment.
You improve your reeds by getting good quality ones. The plastic Legere reed is by far the best choice for outside. They're also good enough for indoors, and several professional players use them at all times. If you prefer cane reeds, there are many good ones. I like the Rico Reserve Classic reeds. They're expensive, but all of them are perfect and play well out of the box. Every cane reed changes with use, so you will need to learn how to balance and adjust them.
The first part of your clarinet to change is the mouthpiece. You can sound excellent on a plastic Yamaha, but a step up, to, say, a Vandoren 5RV Lyre can help you a lot. Many fine professional players use Vandoren mouthpieces. If you can afford it, a handmade mouthpiece will be even better, because the maker will work with you so that the mouthpiece fits your clarinet and your way of blowing.
At this point, don't worry about the ligature. There are many with outlandish prices and claims made for them, but inexpensive ones (e.g., Rovner, Bonade) are perfectly good. In fact, the best ligature is a couple of feet of stout string.
The next part is the barrel. A barrel with a reverse taper (getting narrower toward the bottom) plays with better intonation and sound than the cylindrical ones that come with student clarinets. Buffet makes two models, the Moennig and the Chadash. However, hand-made barrels are, in my opinion, well worth the extra expense. As with the mouthpiece, the barrel maker can tweak it for your particular mouthpiece, clarinet and way of playing.
In fact, a mouthpiece and barrel can be all you need. I put my handmade mouthpiece and barrel on my nephew's plastic Vito, and no one could tell the difference between it and my hand-tweaked Buffet. Even I was surprised at how little difference there was.
This is by far the most cost-effective way to improve your equipment. You can get an excellent mouthpiece and barrel for around $500, which will make a lot more improvement than the finest clarinet made with a student-level mouthpiece and barrel.
And oh yes. Having a concert career means much more than having a good clarinet. It means natural talent plus thousands of hours of hard practice. As Ed Palanker says, it's important to find a good teacher as soon as possible. As a high-level intermediate player, it's nearly impossible for you to recognize your weaknesses and areas that need improvement.
I hope you have a successful concert career. Very few players make it, but you may be the one. Always remember that success lies within you, not your equipment.
Ken Shaw
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