 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: SusanSolo
Date: 2014-12-15 03:02
I played the clarinet from age 9 to 16, and was first chair the last four years of playing, but then had other priorities and totally quit playing. In recent times I have been thinking about how nice it would be to play again (now age 56). I still can read music and finger most of the notes (without an instrument in hand!), but when picking up a niece's clarinet several years ago, I could not get any sound out other than a squeak, so I realize learning the proper embouchure again will be a challenge. Do you have any tips on buying a decent clarinet for my purposes, without overpaying or ending up with a garbage instrument? Any tips or encouragement on pursuing this endeavor again? Feel free to email me directly at Susan.soloway@comcast.net
Susan.Soloway@comcast.net
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2014-12-15 03:12
I'll just encourage you, since I restarted clarinet 4 years ago after 38 years off. You'll be glad you did.
I hope it takes you fewer clarinet purchases and trades to get settled than it took me. It would have saved me a lot of $$$ to have started where I ended up, with new Ridenour clarinets. Anything they're making today will play great for you. Call and talk to them- they'll make it work.
And even if you buy something else, first go watch a bunch of Tom Ridenour's Youtube videos about- what's important in a clarinet, playing and maintenance tips, mouthpieces, reeds, how to cut through the nonsense- and on and on.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: TomS
Date: 2014-12-15 03:32
I quit from 1970 to 1981. In may ways, it actually helped me. I reset many of my bad habits, mostly due from lack of proper training in my teenage years.
Also have had some other absences for a year or so at a time (mostly due to job/family issues). Each time, I try to come back with a fresh outlook and to seek and digest better information into my restart.
Ditto on the Ridenour clarinets ... I use them and they have definitely facilitated big improvements in my playing. And, half the price of the popular brands!
Tom
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Author: kevinbarry
Date: 2014-12-15 13:46
My story is similar - teenage player, worked up to 1st clarinet in the King's Dragoon Guards, then gigged around for a few years - and stopped! I am now 77 and took up the clarinet once more a couple of years ago.
My first purchase was a second hand Buffet B12 on that well known auction site - it was in good nick and I still have it. This was inexpensive and my thinking was "What if I am past it and waste my money? I'll go for a good beginner's cheapo". I decided I was not past it and I should move upmarket a bit.
I then bought a Yamaha 625, all wooden, and a very nice instrument indeed. I got this secondhand on a site in the UK called "Preloved". it was heavier than the B12 and my thumb got too sore so it became time for a rethink. Without the thumb issue I would have stayed with this instrument - it is very good.
Finally I bought a brand new Ridenour Lyric Libertas - the latest model. It was lighter than the Yamaha but marginally heavier than the B12. I fitted a Kooiman thumb rest which took care of the sore thumb problem. I am playing in a local concert band and insisted on starting on third. Frankly, I could play first (well more or less, I think!) but the existing first clarinet really is better than I am.
My major problem was not fingering or breath control but the discipline of keeping up, as the bars flashed past. Playing on my own I just stopped and did it again if a few bars were not all that good. In the band the darn piece just goes on at the same pace. Most challenging! I also found that coping with complicated rests and also counting long rest accurately were both more challenging than playing the melody line! Laboring on third is doing me good, I'm sure. Hope that story helps.
So in the end, I too am a Ridenour fan and highly recommend the Libertas.
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Author: Dibbs
Date: 2014-12-15 15:04
I have very similar story too but I started playing again in my mid thirties so not as long a break as you. Like TomS, I've had had odd years off since then for similar reasons (I'm 58 now).
I suspect it will come back to you quicker than you might imagine. It isn't all that hard to get your embouchure back. I think it's more important to know how to hold your mouth than to build muscles so that will probably come back to you once you get started.
The biggest difficulty I remember was to do with intonation. Having only played the piano in the intervening years (and never sung), I seemed to have lost the ability to tell sharp from flat! I'd hear a note was out of tune and try sharpening it and if that made it worse try flattening. Now I usually go the right way without thinking about it.
Good luck.
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Author: Buster Brown
Date: 2014-12-15 18:47
I started playing again 10 years ago after a 40 year layoff (I was 65). I spent all summer working to get my chops and stamina back, then started playing with the local community band. Shortly thereafter, a local big band needed an alto player, so I dug up my alto and started playing with them. My biggest problem was sight reading. In the old days I was pretty good. When I started again, I didn't recognize the patterns like I used to. It took about a year for the sight reading to come back.
Currently I play1st clarinet in the community band, lead alto in the big band, play in several small groups, at local churches, and in the pit. I love it (all but my flute playing. I stink as a flute player, but we do what we must). Only drawback is music has cut into my golf time.
I'll never stop playing again. I love it too much. Besides, I'm a better musician than I am a golfer.
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2014-12-16 01:51
Sounds like there are lots of us in the same boat. I put mine down and, except when my high school physics classes got to the unit on sound, didn't touch it for about forty years. Then my older brother (who had remained active) informed me that we would be playing for our mother's memorial service. Fortunately, I had kept my old instrument (still have it in reserve) which is quite good quality. We did the service, I loved doing it, and I haven't looked back. I am now involved in two very good community bands. Be patient with yourself, don't expect to pick up where you left off, and you'll have a blast.
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Author: CarlT
Date: 2014-12-16 02:44
My story is a bit different from the above. I didn't play in H. S. band, but at age 40, I did take some piano lessons, having made it to the 3rd book, which helped me with reading music. Being an engineer, I had a very tight schedule then, so I stopped with music altogether.
At age 70 and retired, I thought I would learn to play some instrument that I could play with a group (and not piano). I debated between sax, trumpet, oboe and clarinet. The clarinet won out, for I loved the sound (second would've been oboe, but check the price of those suckers!!!). So at 70 I rented a clarinet for 3 months and took lessons. Had I not taken those lessons I don't think I would've stuck with it. They got me started on the right track and prevented me from developing some bad habits.
At any rate, I bought a Selmer Signet Special from a regional tech on the advice of my teacher. It is certainly a decent instrument, but I paid way too much for it ($500), I could've got it for less than $300 even with new pads, etc. I found out later. At any rate, I ended up buying a brand new Buffet R13 and haven't looked back except for regreting the SSS purchase.
Had I to do it over, I would at least try the Ridenour clarinet referenced above before I would spend 2 or 3 times the amount for an R13.
I'm now 77 and enjoying the heck out of our community band.
I'd advise you to 1) get some lessons if possible even though you used to play, 2) try out the Ridenour clarinet, and 3) practice, practice, practice.
Good luck, and stick with it. You won't regret it I bet.
CarlT
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Author: TomS
Date: 2014-12-16 02:57
My mechanics of playing comes back quickly after an absence ... but not reading and counting. I've always been "drain bramaged" about translating printed notes into proper musical sounds.
The clarinet is not too difficult to pick up where you left off, in most cases. Takes about a month of good practice to get 75% back ...
The important ingredient is proper practice fueled by love of the clarinet.
Tom
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2014-12-16 03:21
I quit for 33 years. When I started again 8 years ago, I figured I could get back to where I was in two years. Wrong. You never get back to where you were. You're not that person any more. You have different experiences and priorities, a different body and a different mind. Maybe you'll become as good a clarinet player, or better, but the combination of skills and musicality will be different. As will be your reason(s) for playing.
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2014-12-16 03:37
Find a New Horizons band in your area, join in and play music with others who have gone through the same thing:) I found a great Selmer Signet clarinet at a little town pawn shop (they had no idea as to its worth), began taking lessons, and the rest is history. It's been a blast!
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Author: BflatNH
Date: 2014-12-16 07:29
I played again after 43 years and made more progress than I could have imagined, with a major contribution coming from this bboard.
I asked around for a Bundy in someone's attic (I borrowed one in a week). In a couple of years, I tried different horns and knew better what I wanted, made friends among some pros and found a great clarinet that supports (encourages!) me as I make progress.
So I would suggest to get a reasonable 'starter' clarinet and expect to out grow it in a year or three. Meanwhile your embouchure, and reed and mouthpiece preferences will evolve quickly.
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2014-12-16 08:52
This thread warms my heart. As a former middle school band director I always thought that the music education we were providing as a country (USA) must not be very good based on how few people kept playing their instrument after high school. It's good to know that there is a number out there that eventually come back to it.
As a clarinet teacher, one of the things I'm proudest of is that all my recent high school graduates are playing at their colleges. Most aren't music majors, but they are playing and enjoying themselves. That's among the things that matter most to me!
Anders
Post Edited (2014-12-16 09:50)
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Author: GeorgeL ★2017
Date: 2014-12-16 18:57
nellsonic - One thing every school band director should point out to their students is that band people are doing an activity that they can pursue over their entire life, or return to to after a break at any time during their life. In my case, the break was 15 years.
Athletes may be the big people on campus during their school days, but how many school athletes are still participating in their sport at age 60 and up?
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Author: Mcrill
Date: 2014-12-16 20:28
I just joined, as I'm looking at starting to play again in a local community band. It's been about ten years since I last played in college. I currently have an old (1921, if My research is correct) Boosey & Hawkes 2-20 wood clarinet. Unfortunately it always had some problems playing consistently in tune, and although it looks to be in decent condition after sitting in storage for many years, I'm not sure how well it will actually perform. In college I played on a school-owned R13 and loved it, particularly compared to my B&H, but such an instrument is not at all in my budget.
Anyway, does anyone have suggestions worth considering that are in the sub-$1000 range, but which should perform reasonably well?
Post Edited (2014-12-16 23:08)
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2014-12-16 22:01
As I get 50+ years away from my high school experience, I realize just how fortunate I was. Every year, our high school band director required us to write an essay on care and repair of our instruments. He actually read and graded them taking into account our experience level. He got me hooked on learning basic repair. In college, I talked my way into using the instrument repair room as my darkroom provided I would do photography for the band and throw in some basic instrument repair. When I started playing again after 40 some years, it didn't take long to get my repair skills back. My pre-WWII Kohlert was still in great shape, so I started buying Vitos and such off that auction site to restore and donate to local schools. I then added some older Selmers (Centered Tone, Model 55, etc.) for my own collection. I eventually came across a NOS Series 9 with a damaged case that I was able to get very reasonably from a music store that went out of business in 2008. It is now set up with Roo and cork pads and a Portnoy BP02 mouthpiece and I am absolutely in love with it. My gig bag also includes my Centered Tone as a backup/loaner and a small repair kit. I have not had to resort to the CT myself, but I have loaned it out during a concert or two. I have also been known to do some emergency clarinet repairs during an intermission. At one point, one of the bands I am in shared the stage with a youth orchestra. As they were getting ready to go on, the clarinetist in the youth orchestra discovered that his clarinet had developed a problem. I didn't have time to work on it, so I handed him one of my clarinets. I could not believe the smile on his face as he came back off stage. It did us both a lot of good.
I am now playing in two community bands. Membership in the second is largely by invitation and includes many members of the first. The second includes members from some amazing high school students to one member in his 90s. I can only hope to still be around in my 90s in order to still be playing. As a high school teacher, I learned that doing something you really enjoy and surrounding yourself with young people will help you stay young. KEEP ON PLAYING!
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