 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: incy
Date: 2002-08-01 20:33
My father in-law is an accomplished clarinet player. He has recently been very ill, and is now much shorter of breath than he used to be.
Is there any change he could make to his clarinet to make it easier to blow, and require less breath
Looking forward to your reply
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-08-01 20:44
Probably too obvious a suggestion, but - what about the possibility of playing Eb clarinet? ...GBK
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Author: Dee
Date: 2002-08-01 21:11
As a smaller instrument, the Eb tends to have more resistance not less making it harder to blow.
Switching mouthpieces to a more open one and combining it with a softer reed makes a clarinet easier to blow.
Also make sure that the clarinet is in tip top shape. NO LEAKS. Even the smallest leak can have a major impact on how easy it is to blow.
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Author: Kat
Date: 2002-08-01 21:49
Dee's hit it on the head. Last week I tried a guy's horn, with his mp and reed on it. I wish I could remember the brand of mp, but Balkan Camp made my memory all mushy! At any rate, the reed was a #1. All you needed to do was whisper into it and a great sound came out. I do know the mp was very very open, and with that soft reed, it was BEAUTIFUL!! I really had a hard time with it...I'm used to 3's on a Vandy B45dot!
Katrina
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-08-01 21:50
As we all know, the older we get the slower our recovery time. Your father-in-law should follow his doctor's advice about exercise and getting back in shape - and not overdoing it.
Dee is absolutely correct about having the instrument in tip-top shape too - but, please don't try to change anything; it won't help. He's become used to his instrument; it's 'part of him'. Even so, for an accomplished player it can be an agonizing and frustrating road back. The best medicine, many doctors agree, is lots of loving moral support.
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Author: Jean
Date: 2002-08-02 12:29
I would definitely not switch to Eb. It may be smaller and easier to carry around. I just got done playing that little beast at music camp the past four days and I can tell you it is a beast to play. I feel less resistance on my extended range bass.
I do a fair amount of swimming and find this to be the best thing I have done for my playing.
Having had a c-section when my son was born I can empathize with anyone who is getting back to playing. You don't say what the illness is so I can't be more specific. I know how I wanted to play again but had to take it easy. In my case even carrying the bass clarinet around was a no-no according to my doctor. They recommend not carrying anymore than a few pounds after a c-section. My son weighed in at 9 pounds and I wasn't even supposed to carry him.
Sorry I went on longer than I had planned.
Best of luck to the recoveree.
Jean
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Author: David Dow
Date: 2002-08-06 16:37
Last year I had major surgery and had to stop playing for about 6 to 8 weeks...and man was I bored. Anyways a free blowing set up is good but do follow the Doctor's advice and only return to playing when your practitioner allows!
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-08-06 21:38
Why I think I just might be right: I've got thousands of hours on Eefers, many more thousands of hours on B-flat soprano Clarinets, and several hundreds on bass clarinets.
The only way an Eb clarinet would be harder for me to play than a Bb would be if I tried to use perhaps a number 8 reed, or some such. With the proper reed and mouthpiece, playing the Eb has always been a snap to me, requiring a whale of a lot less wind than the big bore of a bass Clarinet. And even significantly less breath effort than a Bb soprano. To me, an Eb Clarinet can and should blow almost as easily as a Tonette. Okay, so that's an exaggeration, but not by much.
I have noticed that one of the worst things about playing an Eefer is that a lot of times, you're playing someone else's instrument. Bad, bad, bad. Especially if you are not an experienced player of the little darling, you just don't know if the thing is in good shape. There might be a tiny leak somewhere that's causing you to blow your abs into knots.
If your experience differs from mine, well, what do you know.
Regards,
John
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