Author: allencole
Date: 2003-08-31 05:42
The clarinet has the advantage of over an octave of strong range in the lower register with practically no fingering or blowing complications. If a student's fingers seal the holes okay, and there isn't an inordinate amount of problem making a first sound, a kid can leave the first lesson with a major scale under his/her fingers, and playing a song like Joy to the World or The First Noel. It is not hard to have a beginner playing songs of this complexity in F, G and B-flat in just a few weeks, even if they have difficulty crossing the break.
Contrast with the flute. Its most logical scale is the C scale, but it's impractical in the bottom octave in terms of blowing. Other scales of any ease at all tend to cross the octave break making fingering less logical for a beginner. At best, a flute player might play Mary Had a Little Lamb, Twinkle Twinkle, or at best My Country Tis of Thee. Full scales in flat keys require some fingering practice. I generally combat this with 5 'quick start' exercises which are played over a couple of weeks. Embouchure endurance is also more of an issue.
Sax is easier IMO to begin fingering than flute, but the variations in blowing resistance really throw in a monkey wrench. Most of the easier-blowing scales cross the break, and thus have less obvious logic for the rank beginner. The biggest drawback that I see, though, is its image and the expectations it generates. Clarinet players have few expectations and can be made to pleasantly surprise themselves. Sax players often have great expectations, and it can be hard to keep these intact while players are trying to tame it physically.
Barring any difficulties in covering the holes, I can have clarinet players playing and transposing substantial songs in the same amount of time that I need to get flutes and saxophones playing those songs at all. Clarinet combines three elements that are hard to beat:
1 - A fundamental scale (Low F) that's even easier and more logical than the recorder
2 - Even blowing resistance and--barring squeaks--a fairly mellow sound
3 - A lack of Kenny G. type expecations in most beginners.
Allen Cole
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The Clarinet BBoard
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