 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Andy Brendler
Date: 2000-09-11 03:30
After reading a lot here and getting many helpful suggestions, my son is now the proud owner of a very slightly used Vito 7212. I took a chance and found the clarinet on eBay from the parents of a girl who promised she'd play. It was just checked out by a friend who is a music director at a local school and player of many instruments, and he declared it to be tight and with excellent pads. He said it had hardly been played. It looks great and the case is in perfect condition, too. Not bad for $70! Cheaper than rental for 9 months ... until he breaks something.
The clarinet came with a nondescript Selmer mouthpiece, but I had already purchased a Fobes Debut mouthpiece and Michell Lurie 2.5 reeds. My son puts the clarinet together himself and actually gets some pretty tolerable sounds out of it. I've only heard him squeek on two occasions. (Good mouthpiece? Good reed? Child prodigy?) His school lessons don't start for a week or so, so my wife (a former clarinet player) has been just helping him get started with basic fingering, mouth position and the like. We may also look into professional lessons if he seems to be really committed.
We also picked up a CD with Mozart's Clarinet Quintet (Anthony Pay playing) and Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (a bit too much static, but fun).
Thanks again to all for your advice and great BBoard questions and answers. If I had one more question it would be regarding reed strength. Should he be starting with something lower, even though he is doing well with the ML 2.5's? (Then again, I doubt anyone's still reading, so I won't mind if that question goes unanswered.)
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-09-11 10:15
If the ML 2.5s sound good, stick with them. I started both my daughters on the same brand of reed and reed strength.
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Author: William
Date: 2000-09-12 00:49
Most beginning band methods now have CD accompaniments that are available for home practice. I highly recommend that you purchase one when your 4th grader begins school band lessons. Makes practicing a lot more fun and reinforces lots of harmonic and rhythmic concepts which may be a bit confusing at your childs young age. Good luck.
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Author: Sam
Date: 2000-09-12 01:38
I'm glad to hear the success your having. It sounds to me like you got the right clarinet for your son, and for $70.00!!!! What a bargain.
I would usually start a student off with a lighter reed, but if he is doing fine with the 2 1/2 then don't worry about it.
By all means, get him listening to really good clarinetists. The two CD's you purchased, static or no static, are fine examples. Here
Sam
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Author: Sam
Date: 2000-09-12 01:38
I'm glad to hear the success your having. It sounds to me like you got the right clarinet for your son, and for $70.00!!!! What a bargain.
I would usually start a student off with a lighter reed, but if he is doing fine with the 2 1/2 then don't worry about it.
By all means, get him listening to really good clarinetists. The two CD's you purchased, static or no static, are fine examples. Here
Sam
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Author: Andy Brendler
Date: 2000-09-12 06:01
Thanks for the continued advice and support. I'll look into the CDs, and I'll wait for comments from the music teacher regarding reed strength. In the meantime, how should my son best moisten his reeds. Should they be soaked in water overnight, or in his mouth for a few minutes, or both, or neither? He is showing uncharacteristic patience with his clarinet, but I'm not sure he's taking the time to best prepare the reed.
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Author: Eoin McAuley
Date: 2000-09-12 07:35
I'm sorry but I can never remember how your grades correspond with age. What age is a 4th grader? My two daughters are nearly 10 and nearly 6. They're both learning piano but I keep thinking I might teach them clarinet on the side. I'm interested to know how other children are doing and at what age they start.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-09-12 10:53
4th grade students are approximately 10 years old. Some students will be just a little over 9 years old depending when their birthday falls and the local rules for starting school.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-09-12 10:54
Soak for just a couple of minutes either in his mouth or plain water. Basically most of us soak the reed just long enough to get the clarinet together. i.e. We start the reed soaking, assemble the instrument, then put the reed on the mouthpiece.
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Author: William
Date: 2000-09-12 16:17
Moistening reeds: If the reed is fresh out of the box, I like to soak it in water (tip first in an old film canister or shot-glass) until thoroughly saturated--until you can see the butt-end of the reed becoming wet from capillary action. This way, the new reed will play more closely true to character as if thoroughly "broken in" from use. Play for a few minutes,then let the reed "cure" or dry out for a couple of days before you play it again. After the reed has been played or tested for the first time, then a couple of minutes (the time it takes to put the clainet together) in water or in your mouth will do. At this time, most pros begine the "balancing" process which adapts the reed to your own personal mouthpiece. This breaking-in and balancing process may require two to five playings periods ( an estimate only) before the reed is ready for "top performance." Experts say that reeds should last for about ten hours of quality playing time before deteriorating--but with beginners, usually the reed is broken long before its time. Careful moistening will definately get more playing milage out of your reed. IMPORTANT--be certain to take the reed off the mouthpiece when finished playing and put it in a reed holder--inexpensive plastice holders may be purchased at any music store that sells reeds. And, always remember to SWAB YOUR CLARINET AND MOUTHPIECE before putting them away in their case. Good clarineting and good luck!!!!!
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-09-12 16:36
William wrote:
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And, always remember to SWAB YOUR CLARINET AND MOUTHPIECE before putting them away in their case.
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Make that _rinse_ your mouthpiece. Swabbing a mouthpiece is generally considered not such a good thing to do. Gregory Smith - do you recommend people swab out a wood mouthpiece? A bit of water isn't going to do rubber or plastic any harm, but what of wood?
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Author: Gregory Smith
Date: 2000-09-12 18:22
Mark Charette wrote:
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William wrote:
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And, always remember to SWAB YOUR CLARINET AND MOUTHPIECE before putting them away in their case.
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Make that _rinse_ your mouthpiece. Swabbing a mouthpiece is generally considered not such a good thing to do. Gregory Smith - do you recommend people swab out a wood mouthpiece? A bit of water isn't going to do rubber or plastic any harm, but what of wood?
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At the end of a session my customers and I clean out our wood mouthpieces by stuffing the cloth end of the swab into the bottom (bore) end, pulling it partially through the top (window) and then pulling it back out of the bore end again.
This helps keep the mouthpiece from needlessly absorbing more moisture.
Greg Smith
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Author: Andy Brendler
Date: 2000-09-12 20:54
First, a clarification for Eoin. My son is 9 1/2, going on 15 ... and 5 ... and sometimes 10.
Now for mouthpiece swabbing. The clarinet came with a swab and a mouthpiece mouse. (I suppose I should replace both. It is kind of grotesque to think of using used swabs.) Should the mouthpiece be stored with the mouse inside after rinsing, or is it just a special swab that perhaps I should use, or perhaps I shouldn't?
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Author: joevacc
Date: 2000-09-12 21:39
My 2˘... The mouthpiece mouse will work if they are used very carefully! The metal that binds the fibers together will mar the facing if pulled along the rails or the tip. I like to use a plain old cotton handkerchief. They are inexpensive and they can be washed easily and frequently. Just twist the end and run it halfway through and back out again. As far as soaking your reeds, it has been mentioned on this BB before that the plastic film canisters may contain harmful chemicals that can not be washed out! I like to use a vitamin container because it enables me to carry some water around with me. I would stay away drug bottles as well. Good luck… jv
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Author: Andy Brendler
Date: 2000-09-13 02:55
"What's a mouthpiece mouse ?"
I'll admit that I didn't know what it was until my wife named it. (I was impressed!) I confirmed the name in a Woodwind and Brasswind catalog. (Highly recommended, by the way.) It's about 3-4" long and looks kind of like a grey rag mop on wire.
When our band director friend returned the clarinet after checking it out, he had left the mouse in the mouthpiece. Is this for wicking out more moisture? (May make more sense for a wooden mouthpiece.) Or was it likely an oversight?
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Author: Nate Zeien
Date: 2000-09-13 04:01
Hello everybody, I have a few caveats about mouthpiece mice. They also make the mouthpiece mice in longer versions to put inside the clarinet. They call these "Pad savers". Two things to watch out for with these, they do have a metal winding inside. There are little rubber ends on these. When they fall off the ends are sharp, and can easily damage your clarinet. Second, after a while these things get gross and dirty. At that point, every time you put them in you clarinet, you can get that gunk on the pads. After a while, it pretty much wrecks the pads. They aren't washable like swabs, either. Once they get dirty, good luck. They aren't so bad for mouthpieces if you are careful, as long as the rubber caps stay on, and you take extreme care that the metal inside does not touch they mouthpiece when removing it and inserting it. This will actually grind away the plastic wherever it touches - not good. Also, when these get dirty, germs accumulate in your mouthpiece. Nobody wants this, yuck! I recommend getting a good swab. And take the mouthpiece off when you swab it, it can cause wear on the mouthpiece. You can wash the mouthpiece, but don't use hot water! This can warp the lay. To put it simply, it is best to - swab clarinet, wash mouthpiece. -- Nate Zeien
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