Author: OneWatt
Date: 2021-01-10 02:39
Part 2: I decide this "clarinet thing" is becoming a real joy. It can sound so beautiful and I can foresee years of enjoyment.
The embouchure is coming along nicely (notwithstanding the long trek that awaits for mastery!) and these confounded fingerings have become more intriguing than overwhelming (disproving my initial fear).
And during this past month of playing my LJ Hutchen MKII, I've stayed busy on related fronts...
The Vandoren B45 mouthpiece had felt challenging for a while regardless of reed (Vandoren/Lurie/Rico reeds, at 2.0, 2.5, 3.0). I found a Legere Euro 2.75 to be better, which also speaks to my inexperience in skillfully adjusting cane reeds. But I'd read that the B45 can be tough for some "young" players from the outset.
So I buy a much cheaper Yamaha C4 - figuring it's a beginner's MP so perhaps it'll blow easier. It sort of does, but not all that much.
Then, further down the rabbit hole, I take yet another plunge and buy a Ridenour RE10 mouthpiece. Actually, I tried to buy the Encore but Ted Ridenour said they were out of those at the moment.
Meanwhile, I'm having breakthroughs making surprisingly good progress on my embouchure (surprising, at least, to me!). The double-lip approach feels great - can't imagine why teeth would belong on top of a mouthpiece ;-)
And by now all three of my mouthpieces are becoming quite playable. Different, but all comfortably playable depending on the particular reed match. When the combo is right, I'm feeling great control and tone/pitch playing across the first two registers throughout all the most demanding passages in my Snavely and Longenus methods. And scales/arpeggios/diatonic runs are sounding better all the time.
Now I'm hooked.
I read about Ridenour's clarinet Lyrique 576 Bb model. And based on all the posts offered here on this forum, I convince myself (with some encouragement from my loving wife) that the price point/quality/value is worth it. I take the plunge.
Ted Ridenour has been a marvelous guy to speak with and, after Tom just put the finishing touches on a new 576, it shipped out yesterday and is due to arrive next week.
Needless to say I'm extremely excited. In the meanwhile, I'm continuing to get great joy and satisfaction playing my $69 gently-used LJ Hutchen. But for the price differential, I'm hoping the Lyrique will blow me away.
If my experience thus far is useful as a recommendation to anyone coming along after me who is also new to the clarinet (and/or wants to arm their kid with a decent student model), I can highly recommend Paul Effman's "LJ Hutchen" Bb clarinet. I can attest that, with this clarinet in hand, it's clearly possible to learn a great deal about the instrument and to build meaningful skills without it getting in your way. After all, that's what a solid student instrument should be all about and I feel that Paul Effman's student clarinet fits the bill beautifully.
No doubt when the Ridenour 576 arrives, there'll be more to share. And I'm eager to hear any comments/suggestions from those on this forum.
This BBoard has been a phenomenal resource for me - and I remain greatly indebted to those who share their insights and rich experiences around here.
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Israel = Ancient Hebrew for "Wrestles with God"
Klarinet = Ancient Greek for "Struggles with Reeds"
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The Clarinet BBoard
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