Author: donald
Date: 2018-03-04 00:35
Hi there, you describe yourself as an "aspiring student", and it looks like you mean the "just" to let us know that you're a humble young man who understands you're still making your way down the learning path...
I'd recommend not spending money on an aftermarket bell until you are feeling like an advanced player to be honest. There are pros and cons of the various bells available- but we still end up making compromises, battling the basic foibles of clarinet design, and having to learn what WE can do (rather than our instrument) to improve the result.
OF COURSE (as several people above suggest) check that the instrument is in tip top condition. A leaking pad (even leaking a tiny amount) anywhere on the instrument can have an influence on this note. One thing to check that seems obvious, but I find this on students clarinets all the time, is to check that the right hand rings are closing easily...
The adjustment at the bridge key (connecting upper and lower joints) may be just slightly out of sync- so that you have to push the right hand rings down with a tiny bit of extra pressure to close the top pad (of the lower joint). This can mean that when playing slowly it work fine- you always have the time to just press a little harder- but when playing fast passages there can be a slight delay in the pad closing.
- check for this- when you push down the right hand rings, do you feel the ring under the left hand 2nd finger moving? If YES (even just a tiny amount), then fix it even if it seems like the clarinet is sealing.
Bells? I've owned or borrowed several Backun and played a handful of others. I've put Yamaha bells on Buffet, Tosca bells on a Festival clarinet etc. Once I found a pair of Plastic Boosey and Hawkes Regent bells and tried them on my festival. Oddly, despite being a mass produced plastic product they played differently from each other... I used one of them for my teaching to 3 or 4 days to see how it went- B was greatly improved as a result of the bell, but there were other issues and TA DAH I was happy to return to my stock Buffet bell.
It should come as no surprise that I rejected a plastic Boosey and Hawkes bell, but here the point- it IMPROVED my B, but in the end we judge a bell on more than just one note.
I've been playing clarinet for 38 years and had lessons from some awesome players, had some great success and also bombed more than once, been told by colleagues that I'm an amazing musician and by others that I'm not good enough (though, they still call me when they need someone to sightread a ballet). I won't say that I'm "just a student", but I'm STILL LEARNING.
A couple of years ago I decided to stick with the stock bell and my favourite barrel, and just work on MY PLAYING. And made more progress in 2 years than over the last decade.
As Mr Palanker says, however, "results may vary"
dn
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The Clarinet BBoard
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