 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: clarinetbeagle
Date: 2008-06-22 22:26
(I'm going to apologize beforehand about the length of this post...)
Here's my story...
I was hoping to get some advice on learning the clarinet. I'm 23 years old and have just recently stopped playing the classical guitar. I was at the RCM Gr. 7 level (Canada) and after all these years of playing, have decided to stop. It's really sad because it's an instrument I love passionately, however to play, I have to grow my nails pretty long and I can't really have that now that I'm out of school and working. I never thought having long nails to play an instrument would be a problem, it just didn't occur to me while I was growing up that it would stop me from playing.
It's really sad but I'm also excited about learning the clarinet. I just love the sound of it. I don't really know where to begin and what to expect. Since I'm starting an instrument in my adulthood, I'm just wondering what the learning curve is like. It might be a little easier for me in the short-run because I can read music but I'm just worried that it's something you have to learn when you're quite young. Also I was wondering if all clarinets have the same fingerings so let's say if I start with the Bb clarinet I can play other clarinets as well, or are they all different?
thanks,
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Alfred
Date: 2008-06-22 22:31
Yup. For the most part, all clarinets in the family have the same fingerings. The only difference is that some go lower than the Bb clarinet, and so will have an extra pinky key.
Also, there are different key-systems, the most common, and the one you probably use, is the Boehm, or French system. Other key-systems will have different fingerings.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-06-22 22:46
Re the learning curve - as you are already familiar with notes, scores, pitch and tempo, consider the first hurdle passed, something less to worry about (learning, not doing).
I am roughly double your age and learned at the tender age of fourty-one, from square one more or less (if you don't count the tormenting hours with my recorder teacher 30 years ago). Nothing's impossible, and once you get the hang of the fingerings and how to honk into that thing it's a flat (albeit longish) learning curve.
My advice would be to find a teacher and a sturdy (Bb) instrument. Both will be invaluable investments.
And - welcome to the club. :-)
--
Ben
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tobin
Date: 2008-06-22 22:57
You couldn't do the ping pong ball thing instead of growing your nails out?
James
Gnothi Seauton
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2008-06-22 23:27
There is a lady in the adult concert band I play in who began her study of music well after her sixtieth birthday. She wanted to learn to play the clarinet, and she has done quite well for someone who never had formal lessons, and plays solely for enjoyment. So I wouldn't worry that you are doomed to mediocrity simply because you began at the "advanced" age of 23.
I first learned as a boy in school, but took a couple of decades off after I finished high school. What really got me started again was my daughter wanting to learn an instrument. Amazingly, my wife and I steered her to clarinet...after all, we had a nice one in the closet! She is quite good for a high-school aged clarinetist, and wants to make a life of music. Right now, the two of us are section mates in the band.
Now as for your other question regarding a Bb clarinet. The Bb is standard for use in most bands. In orchestras, you will also find music written for clarinets in C, A and D. Not to mention the Eb soprano, the Bb bass and contrabass on occasion. What do they have in common? The fingerings are the same for the same notes on the staff. A G (second line on the treble staff) is always played open, with no tone holes covered and no keys depressed. The resulting note, however, will sound different from each of the horns and will be of different pitch. You can see this by taking a Bb clarinet and playing a note from written music, then playing the exact same note on your guitar or on a piano. The clarinet's "C" is a whole tone lower than that of the piano or the guitar. Its played C is sounded as a Bb. Thus, it's a Bb clarinet.
Find a good teacher in your area and have this individual help you select a suitable instrument for your first one. Then start having some fun! Welcome to the clarinet world.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: pewd
Date: 2008-06-23 00:54
>Find a good teacher in your area and have this individual help you select
> a suitable instrument for your first one.
2nd that. find a private teacher, and don't skimp when buying an instrument ; get a decent one so you won't be fighting the horn. ask here what instrument to get you'll get so many opinions it will be confusing. hire a private teacher to advise you.
as to the learning curve, you can read music so that gives you a big advantage.
how fast you progress is a matter of how hard and consistently you work. your age isn't a barrier.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: NorbertTheParrot
Date: 2008-06-23 09:11
Don't want to discourage you from taking up the clarinet, but are you aware that:
1. It is possible to play the guitar using artificial fingernails, which can be applied and removed quite quickly. Or so the manufacturers say.
2. The lute is plucked with the pads of the fingers, so lute players cut their nails short on both hands. (A problem for people who play both lute and guitar, of course.)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
