 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Paumartin
Date: 2007-08-09 05:56
If you were a high school freshman with a Yamaha student clarinet and have $200. What would you use the money for... a good new or used mouthpiece...ligature...private lessons (say private lessons from a good teachere is $50 dollars an hour), tune up of instrument (about $30-$40) CD's or others (even another new or used clarinet.) and why?
Please include suggestions where to buy such as specific stores, pawn shop, or auction, and how much would you expect to pay for what.
If you had $300 what would you get? How about $500? or $1000.
Your answers will help those that are starting in my sons high school and others who are starting in this forum
Thank you so very kindly
Peter
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Author: pewd
Date: 2007-08-09 06:20
1. fix the instrument first - have a shop check it out
i have students at 10 schools - including 3 high schools - the biggest issues i see are with instruments that don't play correctly - bad pads, bent keys, missing key cork, etc. a brilliant teacher, hours of practice, or a great hand made mouthpiece are worthless if your horn doesn't play properly. a couple of torn, leaky pads can really ruin your day. if it hasn't been serviced in more than a year, that needs to be top priority
2. decent mouthpiece - M13L or similar wwbw.com weinermusic.com musiciansfriend.com coupled with a good ligature - watch out for old generic metal ones - which tend to get bent up and not play correctly as a result. a fabric ligature is hard to damage - you can drop a rovner, step on it, etc and it will not get bent up like a metal one will. avoid the newer bonades - somethings fishy at the factory - the last batch i've seen are bent, misaligned, etc. and play improperly.
3. lessons
4. upgraded instrument - consult your private teacher. see #3
buy an instrument from auction sites and you'll more than likely need a $300 overhaul - be careful out there
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: kev182
Date: 2007-08-09 06:51
1. Lesson - The teacher can advise you if your clarinet needs repair.
2. Mouthpiece - Play several in your lesson so he/she can help you decide/ give you recommendations.
3. Repair your clarinet if the teacher has found some problems.
4. Buy some recordings of truly great players
5. Upgrade instrument if you have extra cash and know you want to continue clarinet.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2007-08-09 07:29
I second the ordering pewd suggests. Get to #3 ASAP.
Buy everything new unless you really know what to look for. Online stores are fine for stock items, or go to a shop to try things out. If at all possible, avoid the shops that are 80% guitars, drums, and keyboards. There are a few good ones, but lots of them don't know a clarinet from an oboe.
No rush buying a new horn. I played my student Yamaha into college (granted, I hadn't declared a music major yet). If you have more money, just keep getting lessons until it becomes obvious that a new horn is necessary.
When you get it repaired, be sure to take it to a good repair shop. Quality varies widely from one to another (some do an excellent job in a day or two or even while you wait, others will ship it out for two months and it will still be broken). If you're in Irvine like your thing suggests, Horn Improvement is just around the corner in Mission Viejo.
Bang for your buck, head over to Amoeba Music in Hollywood (perhaps make an evening of it and see a concert at the Bowl). Decent selection of used classical CDs.
<full disclosure: good friend of a tech at H.I.>
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2007-08-09 11:07
Just to chime in positively with things said above!
Presuming your instrument is in good repair (which is a big presumption adequately addressed above):
The closer it is to your face, the more important it is to your playing.
Lessons with an excellent teacher, however, those are really about affecting what's in your head. The most important of all.
As far as equipment goes, having an experienced teacher to work with will save you time and money in amounts that are hard to describe.
Being taught how to problem solve, how to practice, how to fix fundamental flaws in your playing, as well as being challenged "musically" is where you want to spend your money.
Good luck,
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: joeyscl
Date: 2007-08-18 00:53
If you have "everything you need" (lessons, good instrument in good condition, etc etc)
Get REEDs! You can never get enough of them
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Author: OmarHo
Date: 2007-08-18 03:30
Just don't be too concerned about equipment at first. Of course, you probably need to lose the stock mouthpiece that came with your clarinet, and get decent reeds but that should probably be about all for a while. You don't need to get leather pads, a new bell, or everything under the sun.
Listening to great musicians is definitely a must, but to save money, you don't need to buy them. You can just borrow them from a friend, relative or teacher. And you may want to check out your local library's classical CD section, or save tons of money by getting a membership to Naxos' Music Library.
You also need a good teacher so you're doing things right. If you can't afford the rates that a teacher is charging, then let them know. Maybe they'll consider bringing it down, if you negotiate with him/her.
You kind of need everything, but you have to be smart with your money.
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Author: Katelyn
Date: 2007-08-18 21:30
1. Lessons!!!!!!!!!!!!
a. get it to a good mech if something is wrong with it.
2. A box of reeds. You will go through them like oxygen.
3. Music (to play)
4. Good mouthpiece
5. Ligature (get a Rovner. A fancy metal one WILL get bent!)
6. Music (to listen to)
Lessons can make all the difference, and help stop bad habits from forming. I can't tell you enough how much I wish I could have had some my freshman year. I did the above without the lessons, basically teaching myself beyond the beginning stages, and my senior year I found out that my right hand position was a bit off. At Beacock's, the local music store where I used to live, they were about $30 an hour.
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-08-19 01:46
1. learn to fix your clarinet yourself save some dough
2. buy a mouthpiece from a reputable mpc maker
3. box of reeds/ ligature
4. music lessons
5. sheet music.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-08-19 06:17
One thing I don't think has been mentioned- go to a few LIVE concerts of NON-clarinet things. Orchestra, string quartet, vocal recital, Opera...
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