 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: bwilber
Date: 2005-12-21 19:22
I played clarinet in school 45 years ago and it was not fun for me. My parents bought me a plastic clarinet and it was very difficult to play. It wasn't until this last summer that I bought an old plastic Bundy at a rummage sale for $20.00 that I could see that that a clarinet isn't all that hard to play. I realized then, that it wasn't me, but the clarinet that I had (in school), that made playing it so hard. After finding out that it would cost me about $200.00 to put my Bundy in tip top shape, I decided to try and fix it up myself and ordered a bunch of supplies and got started. It was so much fun for me to make a clarinet work that before, was not working, that I got addicted to Ebay, ordering clarinets that were inexpensive and some that were not so inexpensive and fixing them up. I love them all and probably have over 20 at this time, some very expensive ones and some "cheap" ones. I have learned a lot about clarinets with all of this, such as that there are a lot of really nice sounding plastic clarinets that supposedly aren't supposed to play as well as a wood clarinet that play better than some wood clarinets that are supposed to really great. Another thought: I think that it's not fair that music teachers have the kids with the poor instruments having to play harmony. I found playing harmony to be very difficult for me, especially with my terrible clarinet and now that I can play the melody I can see that it's easier to play the melody.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2005-12-21 19:49
Thank you for sharing your thoughts/observations, B. I was about to offer to fix your Bundy for you, then as I read further I see that we're on a similar path; reviving and playing horns just for the delight of doing it 
Thank you for your warmhearted and inspiring post.
- r![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) n b -
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-12-21 22:02
You need a different bait for ice fishing.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Carol Dutcher
Date: 2005-12-21 23:26
This story reminds me of the first bike I ever had. It had big fat balloon tires. I couldn't ride it without nearly collapsing. I was 9 years old. I have hated bikes ever since. Oh what our parents do to us.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2005-12-22 07:11
> Oh what our parents do to us.
No pain, no gain. The motto here was: if it doesn't kill you it makes you strong.
What really is disturbing, discomforting and demotivating for a child is to see that all the other ones have better, shinier, easier to use gear...
--
Ben
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2005-12-22 11:48
BWilder,
I'm not sure I understand your comment "I think that it's not fair that music teachers have the kids with the poor instruments having to play harmony." Why would a music teacher do this?
Usually the stronger players are on the upper parts which are usually the melody line; players that are not as strong are on the lower/harmony parts. Have I missed something here?
You seem to have made a leap in logic that I am not following.
HRL
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Author: bwilber
Date: 2005-12-22 13:53
Hi Hank. I took clarinet for about 6 years in school and I can remember practicing for hours every night and all I ever was given to play was the harmony and I always sat in the back while all of the "stars" got to sit up front. I think is that it's actually harder to play harmony because you not only have to be reading your own notes, but also the notes in the melody so that you can keep up to where you are supposed to be playing. But I did not have a very good instrument and I remember it was very difficult for me to play my clarinet. I think that my band teacher evidently didn't think I was capable of playing up front and that maybe I wouldn't do as much "harm" if I played harmony. I never had a chance to play anything else. Now that I am older and have some nice sounding instruments and I can actually play the melody, I see that I am and probably would have been back then too, perfectly capable of playing the melody. I think that if the situation is the same today, that some kids are not given the chance to "shine" like others are. I think that people who play the harmony should be given more credit. Yes, it is a necessary part of music, but it is not easy either because of having to follow 2 sets of music. The "stars" are given the easier part to play in my opinion. In my day, I would never have been given a chance to go to state competitions and I am sure that there are a lot of kids today who are in the same situation, but being young, they don't know how to stand up for themselves and they probably are too poor to afford really nice sounding instruments. Thanks, Bonnie.
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2005-12-22 15:22
Well, there was no end to the things I felt inferior about, as a youngster.
(Hair, clothes, coolness of parents, money, popularity, privileges, clarinet -- you name it, mine was "not as good").
We feel so helpless, as kids and sometimes as adults, when we WANT certain sorts of success, and can't figure out why we aren't getting the respect or position or results we believe we deserve. And we internalize and generalize our experience, so that instead of concluding, "This didn't/doesn't work. How can I change it?", we conclude, "I'm a failure. I'm not good enough."
Sometimes those hurts stay with us well into adulthood, coloring our expectations and experiences and attitudes and becoming self-fulfilling prophecies. The surest way to stay stuck in our old failures is to presume that they are indications of our intrinsic worth, instead of problems to be solved.
What's done is done, but you CAN change how you feel about it today, and you CAN change your results going forward. If something didn't work for you, figure out why, and take steps to make it work better. Get help, if necessary. Getting better is an exercise in problem solving, not breast-beating.
Susan
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Author: bwilber
Date: 2005-12-22 17:30
Susan, I agree. It is a proven fact that kids who play a musical instrument do much better in life. It gives them a sense of self-worth. It is a shame when everyone isn't given an even chance at music and by that, I mean that the poorer kids don't get the same opportunities as the richer kids. I think that for kids to be put on an even keel, they should all be made to play the same make and model of an instrument. If a child would like to play an instrument, but the parents can't afford one, it would be so nice if there were people around who could help them out. The music teacher should pick out a good, affordable instrument (in this case, I hear wonderful things about the Forte clarinet) and see how they do. A teacher shouldn't expect a child to perform as well on a cheap imitation instrument as one who's parents can get them a good instrument. It makes such a difference when you are practicing, if the sound that you hear coming back to you sounds sweet. If the sound you hear coming into your ears is harsh, you feel ashamed for your family to be even hearing you practice. You wouldn't feel good about performing in front of an audience either. But if the sound you hearing coming back to you sounds sweet, it is actually a pleasure for a person to practice, not a chore. I think that if kids were given nice instruments to play on, that there are many who would go on with it and even perform professionally, that now will never know their full potential. I know that school band teachers aren't going to change their practice of letting the kids that can afford the better instruments, have all the opportunites, but I can't help but hope for it. Bonnie
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The Clarinet Pages
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