 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: DSquires
Date: 2009-05-31 05:19
I'm an oldish guy who woke up one day and decided I Had to learn the clarinet - (mostly to play klezmer, btw)... So I bought $125 clarinet, a box of vandoren 2 1/2 reeds, watched a 10 minute dvd, found a finger chart online and bought a book of simple klezmer tunes. That was about a month ago - and now I'm completely addicted and am loving it.
So since it looks like this hobby is going to "stick" I thought I'd ask some questions of people who might actually know something about this thing.
The mouthpiece - if I'm interested in klezmer and jazz what would something like a "Vandoren 5JB" do for me? I understand that it is a "more open" mouthpiece - but what does that mean exactly? What will that do for my sound?
Are you supposed to take this thing apart and clean after every playing? Hehe. I've take to just pulling the "rag on the string" through it.
What difference would a wooden clarinet make? This thing is clearly plastic - and I actually like the sound of it - but I also don't know any better. If I went into a music store and tried out some higher end models would my head explode from the difference or would i hardly notice?
I guess most importantly - if you can think of any pointers that someone told you (or that you wish someone had told you) when you started playing this thing I'd love to hear them.
Thanks!
Doug
doug (AttyAt) somewhatfriendlygames_com
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2009-05-31 06:00
You will be a lot better off if you have a good swab. If you are using the very small tan square on a string that typically comes with rentals than I'd advise getting a good swab such as the Hodges or the Gem Swab. They are about $10.
Swab your clarinet each and every time that you play so that it will stay dry when you aren't playing it - you will save a lot of $ in pads not needing to get replaced often. Also the instrument will smell a lot better - they can get quite rank after a while without swabbing every time.
A better instrument can make a difference, but you haven't played long enough to really need nor even tell much of a difference - if the one you have is ok. A bad Clarinet will just slow you down.
What make (brand) did you get?
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-05-31 14:52
I'll let someone else respond about a mouthpiece choice - most of my playing is symphony work. For the rest of your post:
It isn't critical that you always take it apart, although it's probably better to disassemble it overnight. If you leave it together for very long periods of time (days), the corks around the joint tenons will tend to compress permanently and eventually not hold the joint together firmly. I would also at least pull the barrel out slightly if you leave it assembled overnight so it doesn't get stuck (more likely with a wood clarinet, but still possible with "plastic"). I second David B's suggestion to get a more effective swab - most cloth ones (cotton or silk) are more absorbent and larger. I prefer silk because it slides through more easily. Wash the swab out every so often.
At this point you probably won't notice an important difference with a better clarinet, provided the one you bought is in excellent condition. As your technique and control mature, you might begin to find better clarinets make playing easier for you. That said, if you have the cash to spare, a top-of-the-line clarinet will certainly never hurt your playing. Whether or not your head would "explode from the difference" can only be discovered by trying some better ones to see for yourself. I would suspect, like David, that you wouldn't find enough advantage yet to justify the price.
However, you don't say how you got your $125 clarinet. Unless you bought
it from a well-respected repair technician (they'll sometimes sell instruments on consignment for clients/customers), then one piece of advice I'd give is to bring it to a good repair tech and make sure it's in good condition. If you don't know who to go to, post your general location here (the location of your ISP may or may not be an indicator) and someone in your areas will know whom to recommend. A lot of really top techs won't work on a rental-level plastic model, but getting someone to look at it who is competent can save you a lot of frustration.
Good luck!
Karl
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Author: sdr
Date: 2009-06-02 00:26
Doug-
This story is very similar to mine 10 years ago. I had been playing Irish folk music on the concertina and penny whistle and decided to get back to my own roots. I got a plastic clarinet and honked away for about two years -- until my wife basically said, "take lessons or take a hike." I took lessons from a very fabulous klezmer clarinetist for the next 18 mos, until I bumped into the fact that the operational word is "clarinetist". I couldn't really play klez until I could really play the clarinet. I got a much better instrument. But the clarinet is highly unruly instrument -- different notes have different loudness, different timbre, and different deviations from accurate pitch (a.k.a. intonation). At the beginning it was easy to jump to the (incorrect) conclusion that bending a few notes and making some chirps and squeaks made it klezmer. Sorry. Not so. Until you have some modicum of control over the intrinsic features of the horn, you will not be able to bend it to your will for expressing your inner Chasid. There is no clarinet, mouthpiece, reed, ligature, swab, or tune book that will get you where you want to go.
I am now taking "real" clarinet lessons --- scales, etudes, Klosé, Baermann III, Bona, etc, etc, etc. -- two years of this and no end in sight. I still play klezmer for recreation and I am slowly feeling/hearing progress. As I am becoming a better clarinet player I am becoming a better klezmer clarinet player.
-sdr
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Author: DSquires
Date: 2009-06-03 23:09
Thanks all for the sage feedback!
David and Karl - This is actually, I'm ashamed to admit, a Brand Spanking new clarinet from Amazon. Something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Austin-Bazaar-Student-Clarinet-Accessories/dp/B0007WDRQU/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1244070165&sr=8-9
...But I don't even think the model I got is still available. It says Hisonic. I'm sure that says everything to you about it's quality! 
Sdr - thanks for relating the story... It's really all about the journey for me in everything I do. So if I'm feeling like I'm still learning from people (in all my endeavors) when I'm 90, I'll call myself successful. So far - it really is a joy of an instrument. The meditation of it - great.
Anyway - one more question I thought of since I wrote this email: How about "thumb protectors"? I can barely ever feel my thumb anymore. I'm hoping those help.
Doug
doug (AttyAt) somewhatfriendlygames_com
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Author: DSquires
Date: 2009-06-05 14:17
Thanks again for the good info, guys!
David - I checked out your site... Beautiful recordings!
doug (AttyAt) somewhatfriendlygames_com
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2009-06-05 21:02
There is much info available if you Search for Thumb Rest in our archives. My partidular solution to "fatigue" is simply accomplished by reversing the T R, to raise the position of the thumb to a "pinch" location, freeing the RT ring and little fingers for better access to the ring and low E/B touch. Luck, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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