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30-Year Gap

Author: Stacie S.
Date: 2018-12-28 22:59

I am new to this board, but here is a little info about myself (sorry it's so long): I started playing clarinet in 6th grade (1980-1981) and played for 4 years in school. I was at a level where I beat out a senior for first chair when I was a freshman in high school, which shocked me because I thought for sure I would get 2nd or even 3rd clarinet. I quit band when we moved and I changed schools because it just wasn't cool to be in band at the new school. However, I continued to play/practice on my own for 6 more years (bought sheet music and made sure to keep my clarinet in perfect condition during that time). I had to sell my beloved clarinet when I was 20 due to financial reasons.

Now, less than a year before my 50th birthday, I have taken up playing again. It has only been a week, but I was lucky enough to have a neighbor loan me their daughter's Selmer (cannot remember the model # off the top of my head right now). I bought reeds (2.5 and 3.0) and a book to help me remember how to read sheet music and that contains a fingering chart. My husband told me that I wasn't too bad after having not played for 30 years, minus the squawks/squeaks at first. I will say, I still hate/despise the higher notes, as I always had.

My problem is, I broke the bone below my right little finger (the metacarpal) when I was 20. Well, it didn't heal straight, and my little finger turns in a bit (making a fist, the little finger goes under the ring finger a bit instead of directly next to it). I have found this to make hitting the lower keys a bit difficult. I know the left little finger keys do the same thing (minus one of the right ones). Anyone able to play without any problems after a hand injury? I also found that my hands were killing me after practicing for about 2 hours the other night. That may just be age (arthritis runs in my family, but I don't really have any symptoms of that right now).

Other than that, I have set a goal for myself to get to where I can audition for the local concert band. I have not set a time-frame because I can't practice every single night after I get home from work, but I would like to do that within a year (which may be a little aggressive). I also plan to buy my own clarinet once I get to where I know for sure I'm going to stick with it (looking at the Yamaha YCL-550AL as my first choice, but not sure I can afford that).

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