 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: quilter_gal
Date: 2005-06-22 23:45
My daughter (almost 12 and entering middle school) has just begun lessons with a new instructor. The instructor has told us that our daughter is a better player than we realize, but she can't show it on her current instrument. He would like her to upgrade to a wood clarinet in the next few months. (No, he does not sell instruments, and he has a very good reputation).
Sarah is currently playing on a Forte with the Gennusa mouthpiece and Vandoren 5V 2 1/2 reeds. She loves her clarinet. When she auditioned for County Band she was told she had excellent tone (and she got in); the judges at the Solo/Ensemble Festival commented on her excellent tone; the middle school band teacher auditioned her for next school year and said her tone was very good (and placed her in the advanced band). Even the new private instructor has said she has very good tone.
If her tone is so good, why does she need a new instrument? Wouldn't a new mouthpiece be a better option? Which mouthpieces should she try? Is there really that much of a difference between the sound of wood vs. plastic? Isn't it really the difference in sound between high quality and low quality?
I'd appreciate any help/direction/advice you all can give this poor mom not blessed with musical ability.
Janet
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Author: ClariBone
Date: 2005-06-23 00:22
Janet
My opinion would be to follow the advice of your daughters music teacher. See if the teacher can direct you to a source (either a person or music reail store) that offers used wood clarinets for sale. Bring your daughters teacher along and have him/her help your daughter pick one out (make sure your daughter likes it). You can usually find a decent one for a couple hundred dollars. Then send it to a reputable woodwind repair tech (your daughters teacher can direct you to several people I'm sure) and have it overhauled (if it needs it, again the teacher should know). However, if money is too tight, a better mouthpiece may be all you can do right now. I'm unfamiliar with the Gennusa mouthpiece. Have the teacher accompany your daughter to a local music store and try out several different mouthpieces and find a good one. If you have any additional questions, feel free to e-mail me!!!
Clay
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Author: quilter_gal
Date: 2005-06-23 01:22
Curious - why do you feel it is early for an upgrade? I know nothing about this - I am, unfortunately, a "non-musician". She's been playing for two years and taking private lessons that whole time. She's far from exceptional, just a bit above average because she has worked at it.
Janet
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Author: mkybrain
Date: 2005-06-23 01:34
Ah, I thought she was a little newer than that. Well, I really think it depends on how good she is. However if she has been taking 2 years of private lessons, and her new teacher(who you say is reputable) believes she is ready for a better clarinet, then maybe she is ready. You should talk to her teacher more about it. I mean this is also money you are dealing with here. Whatever you purchase shoyuld be worth every penny. Discuss brands, used or new, etc... with the teacher. I started in 6th grade and started taking lessons in 8th grade. I started on a plastic buffet b12 and moved to a buffet r-13 vintage when I entered high school. I am about to enter college as a freshman now.I had tried out several clarinets sometime during my 8th grade year and chose that one as my favorite. However i ordered a different clarinet of the same type off woodwindbrasswind.com and I honestly just got lucky that I got a really good clarinet. I have had professionals try it out later after I had purchased it and they really liked it.
There are a lot of things to consider when purchasing a new instrument, but her teacher should be able to adress most of those problems.
By the way, I think when they comment on her tone, they mean for her age and skill level, her tone is very good, which obviously is a very good thing. It sounds like she has a very good future musically, even if it is just for her own personal enjoyment.
Post Edited (2005-06-23 01:36)
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Author: John O'Janpa
Date: 2005-06-23 03:21
I wouldn't be quick to change mouthpieces, if she is getting comments on her good tone. Usually if a person has good tone their current mouthpiece is working well for them.
The new instructor evidently sees promise in your daughter's future as a clarinetist and feels it is time to move to a clarinet that will get her through the
next ten or so years. If you have confidence in the instructor, you should follow his advice. I would also ask the instructor before changing mouthpieces.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-06-23 03:54
The mouthpiece is fine - don't change it.
The Forte clarinet (which I am an endorser of http://www.forteclarinet.com/promo/kantor.htm) comes with a Gennusa GE*S mouthpiece. It is very reed friendly, excellent for young players and is equal in quality with the other 2 most recommended student mouthpieces - the Fobes Debut and the Hite Premiere.
The Forte clarinet, as you probably know, has received rave reviews by the clarinet community. It is quickly becoming one of the most recommended beginner instruments by clarinet instructors. It is a clarinet which a student can play for the first years of study and later use for marching band, when the need arises.
Eventually, students who are serious about playing, do need to upgrade to an intermediate level or pro instrument as they enter high school.
At the age of 12, your child should be fine on the Forte clarinet and the Gennusa mouthpiece for a few more years...GBK
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-06-23 04:57
I got my intermediate wood clarinet when I was 12 after I had been playing for 2 years. It was a Yamaha 52 (later replaced with a Yamaha Allegro) and they have both worked fine for me these 5 years. I am now about to be a senior in high school and have just purchased a Yamaha CSG (I tend to like Yamahas if you couldn't tell already).
If your daughter is really serious about clarinet and shows talent/dedication, then I'd say to go ahead and follow her teacher's advice. It will encourage her if she gets a new clarinet. The mouthpiece she has right now seems fine and probably will be fine for her for a few more years. I played on stock mouthpieces for 5 years until I got a good mouthpiece (M15). My tone sounded good, but it sounded even better on the new mouthpiece. Granted, I was the youngest clarinet player in our school to get a wood clarinet besides the very rich girl (who was a pretty good player). Maybe she could wait 1-2 more years. Just research the possibilities, and know your budget. www.wwbw.com is a good source to look at clarinets. I'd probably stay in the big 4 (Buffet, Leblanc, Selmer, and Yamaha). Check the reviews and look at the BBoard search engine about different models.
Good luck to you and your daughter!
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Author: D
Date: 2005-06-23 07:26
It is possible that what the new teacher is concerned about is that your daughter can finger and tongue fast and well enough that she is being hampered by a delay in the response of the clarinet. Pro model clarinets supposedly have keywork which responds faster, and indeed these are generally wood. However, if you do a search on this board for wood V plastic then you will see that the jury is still out on whether material itself can make a difference to the sound or if it is just the fact that more care goes into the making of pro clarinets means they sound better, and that these are generally wood. (The Buffet Greenline which is plastic with a wood fill is a pro quality clarinet and there is still argument on whether it sounds any different to the equivilent wooded instrument).
Whatever happens it is good to have a plastic clarinet for back up if you damage your primary instrument, and also for use if she has to play outside, or somewhere she is concerned about security.
If you do feel that you want to make an investment at this time, or even think about it, then you could always take your daughter to try out a load of instruments (using her mouthpiece and reed to get a good comparisson) and try to get her to be honest about if she feels a difference on any instruments. If she is not feeling that yet then you should leave it until she is able to select a clarinet that compliments her individual playing. However, if you can take a 12 year old to a music shop, get them to try stuff and then walk away with no instrument and no tears then you should be renamed SuperMum!
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-06-23 08:00
D wrote:
> The Buffet Greenline which is plastic with a wood fill
Not correct...
The Buffet Green Line clarinet is made by blending 95% of ebony powder with carbon fibres...GBK
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-06-23 11:44
> Grenadilla powder
I know -
Actually I had first written Grenadilla (African blackwood), but then intentionally changed it after looking at the web site description by The Music Group.
http://www.buffet-crampon.com/instruments_details.asp?ID=108
I can only assume it's a French (?) translation problem.
Or, they need a science lesson ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif)
BTW - The brochures distributed by Buffet carry the same description (ebony) about the Greenline clarinet.
Anybody want to break the news to Francois Kloc?...GBK
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Author: Chris Hill
Date: 2005-06-23 14:58
My advice would be to trust your daughter's teacher. You are paying for that teacher's expertise, as well as his general approach to clarinet playing and music making. A reputable teacher, as you say this one is, will listen to your daughter play, and recommend equipment which is best suited to her as an individual. While there are many wonderful musicians on this board, no one here knows your daughter or her abilities.
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2005-06-23 16:36
I must agree with Chris Hill's advice. I would suggest taking her teacher along to go pick out an instrument.
Christopher Nichols
1st Infantry Division Band
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Author: quilter_gal
Date: 2005-06-24 21:35
So here we have... "the rest of the story."
The band director recommended we look at Buffet E11, E12 or R13 (if we think she will play past high school). He added that he knows the private instructor doesn't like E11's. With that information, and a general consensus not to change the mouthpiece, we contacted the music store recommended by the teacher, band director and two neighbors. They gave me the prices on the E11 and E12, and they happened to have a used R13 on hand. I compared their prices to other prices online, and they were by far the best. They also have a great reputation in this area. So we made the drive to have my daughter play all three. The difference between her current instrument and the wood was obvious, even to her young ears, and the difference between the E11 and E12 was significant. The difference betweent he E12 and the R13 was much less significant, but with safety net of taking it to the instructor for final approval, we nabbed the used R13 for $995. We did have her play on a brand new R13 to see what the difference was, and we noted none.
Next up, he had her try a few different mouthpieces, despite the fact that her current Gennusa is quite good and is working well for her. The first two made no differnce in sound quality, and felt exactly the same to her. The last one sounded much better, but felt the same to her. We are taking that for approval, too. It is a Vandoren Lyre. Until the teacher can give it his stamp of approval, I've asked her to practice on the new clarinet with the old mouthpiece.
Thanks once again for all your help. This is a great place to get information, opinions, etc.
Janet
Janet
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Author: Ben Redwine
Date: 2005-06-24 22:27
Hello,
I'm relatively new to this forum and hope I'm not stepping in where I should not, as the mouthpiece in question is one that I have made. My only comment is that recently, I have had several people try my mouthpieces that were formerly playing VanDoren products. In each case (one was a colleague of mine, one a student of Ricardo Morales, and one an acquaintance with whom I play gigs with in D.C.) they all reported that the VanDoren "felt" better, but after recording themselves, they said that the Gennusa sounded better. I do find that the VanDoren products, for the most part, have a somewhat smaller sound than most other quality mouthpieces, and the depth is just not there. I am also a firm believer in each person playing whatever works best for them. I do not think that any one brand has all the answers, mine included, and I hope that if the VanDoren mouthpiece works best for you that you use it! Remember, feel is important, but, in my opinion, what the audience hears is really the most important. I'm glad to help out in any way, if needed. Thanks.
Ben
Ben Redwine
RedwineJazz, LLC
410 798-8251
clarinet@redwinejazz.com
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Author: ClariBone
Date: 2005-06-25 05:51
Janet
Congrats on the purchase of a wonderfully reliable, widely accepted horn for your daughter!!!
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