Author: jordan.1210
Date: 2018-04-15 23:09
I'm 20 years old and have played clarinet for almost 11 years (4th grade up to 2nd year of college). I'm a non-music major but I play in a clarinet group I'm trying to start, a sax quintet, an online orchestra, and pep band. From 4th to 12th grade I was also in my school's symphonic band/wind ensemble. I never had a private teacher and everything was learned personally or with help from peers. Out of the 3 clarinets (2 Bb, one bass) and 3 saxes (sop, tenor, bari) that I have, only 2 could be considered pro horns. My main instrument has been a Yamaha YCL-200AD with a 4C mouthpiece, generic metal ligature, and a Vandoren traditional reed (2.5-3 in high school, 3.5 or 3.5 V21 in college) since middle school. My bass is a Bundy and my sop and bari are Chinese. I don't need the best gear, just give me something that works and I'll play it to the best of my ability.
Although my groups nowadays aren't the most demanding, I still take pride in having good technique. Tone has always been a major focus for me. Whatever instrument I am playing, I really work on getting a good tone even if I'm just playing on the streets. This being said, I could definitely work on my sight reading and runs, but I think that just comes down to practice. Recording for an online orchestra has helped my playing too by showing me exactly how I'm playing and what I need to improve on. Funny enough, pep band has drastically helped my altissimo playing (I often take the written part and play up an octave).
I agree that the best equipment isn't necessary (I mean look at my equipment), take what you have and make it sound good. It has always annoyed me when someone blames something as basic as tone on equipment. There's been a couple people in my sax group that have blamed their bad playing on their reeds, only to switch them out and continue playing badly. I can understand messing up on hard runs or difficult passages, but tone should be natural.
Post Edited (2018-04-15 23:14)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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