 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ElizabethMH
Date: 2023-11-13 17:31
Hi all,
My practice room has bad lighting (single ceiling light in the centre of the room). I practice in front of a desk and I do have a rechargeable small 'desktop' light but this doesn't project well onto the stand. I can take the bulb part off and clip it to my chair so that it projects onto the music, but it is still a little dim. I've not had success with clipping it to the stand (there's no elevation and it gets in the way with the sheet music). I could invest in a more powerful desktop or floor lamp, but I'm worried that even a 'flexi' type lamp won't project onto the stand in the way that I'd like.
Anyone have experience with those lamps that clip onto the stand itself? There are loads out there on amazon, but I'd hate to get one only to find that it's not all that.
(Just to add - I do use my laptop computer and pad for sheet music at times, but I do have lots of printed books and sheet music too.)
TIA.
Elizabeth
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Author: MarkS
Date: 2023-11-13 18:01
I purchased the Glocusent 57 LED ($29.99) from Amazon six months ago, and I am very happy with it--though I have not used the multiple choice color feature. I was not nearly as happy with the one I had before. This one provides a great amount of light and it does not need to be charged very often.
Mark
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Author: prigault
Date: 2023-11-13 19:06
Another voice for the Glocusent here (I bought four for my clarinet quartet, after having used the Profile for a little while). The light is nicely diffused and the colors (at least two of the three) and levels are very useful.
Importantly, the Glocusent's plug is USB-C, which means faster charging and ubiquitous cables (some of the others like Profile have either ancient or less common adapters like micro-USB or mini-USB). And it can be used while charging (unlike the Profile).
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2023-11-13 19:48
Attachment: digital.pdf (208k)
I generally don't like offering suggestions that differ from an OPs original request.
You asked about stand lights, and I'm going to suggest something different: a tablet computer.
I picked mine up for about $100. Its backlit nature obviates the need for stand lights. It's pretty easy to scan sheet music into it, and almost every etude book I own either didn't take more than 15 minutes for me to scan in, or find a pdf copy of it on the internet to download.
In the width and weight of less than a small etude book I carry every piece of music for clarinet I've ever played and haven't come close to storage being an issue. I don't contend with stand lights or wind clips when playing outdoor concerts or page turns.
I've attached a pdf write up and how to get started in this space.
Post Edited (2023-11-13 19:51)
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Author: ElizabethMH
Date: 2023-11-13 20:02
SecondTry -I do use my iPad (sorry I mean tablet when I wrote pad). I haven't scanned my music into it (I don't fancy scanning my Klose -but yes, I know that there are digital versions out there of the major course books, concertos etc). I also do like that I can zoom in on the music - however, some scanned music is blurry and I'm then straining to see it, even zoomed in.
Besides that, I'm old fashioned and like print.
Thank you Mark and prigault for the suggestion of Glocuscent. It's too bad that the 57 LED is not currently available in the UK (at least on amazon). I'm going to try to find an equivalent with a fairly high LED if I can.
Elizabeth
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2023-11-13 20:26
ElizabethMH wrote:
> however, some
> scanned music is blurry and I'm then straining to see it, even
> zoomed in.
were I to use the camera built into my tablet: an Amazon Fire, I too would be unhappy with the music's visual resolution.
I take pictures of music with my iphone (13 mini) whose camera is far far better than the one on the tablet, and then transfer those images from my phone to the tablet. 
To each their own but I do not miss having to flip pages. In my writeup I discuss foot pedals: which IMHO are not hard to get use to using.
There is just something to be said for me about scanning a folder of ensemble music once, and returning it near immediately to the provider in pristine condition, and putting all the digital notations my heart desires on my copy.
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Author: m1964
Date: 2023-11-13 21:06
If buying a light, I suggest buying one that takes standard AA (or AAA) batteries.
I am using rechargeable AA batteries in mine, and when it gets dim, I just install another set of pre-charged batteries.
It eliminates a problem of potentially not being able to use the light because it needs charging. Of course, one needs to have (or buy) rechargeable batteries and charger, and remember to charge those depleted batteries you just took out of the light.
Was not a problem for me because I have been using re-chargeable batteries for a few years now in all our devices.
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-11-13 21:48
Hi Elizabeth,
I'm guessing that like me, you want LIGHT. As it's for your practice room it can be a plug in music stand light. The bar kind with a good line of LEDs that will throw a generous, even light on your pages.
There are some great cordless stand lights, but I don't think that you need that feature, or the likely extra cost.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: lydian
Date: 2023-11-13 21:51
For gigs, this Vekkia light from Amazon is fantastic. It's just as bright as the Glucosent but more portable since it folds.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BDDDFFY2
For use at home, seems like a battery powered light would be inconvenient and costly. I'd just go with a traditional plug-in stand light:
https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Kliplite-Attaches-Lightweight-Adjustable/dp/B092SP1JVH
(just an example or the type of light, not necessarily recommending this specific one since it's just cheap plastic with no reflector)
Personally, I hate dealing with batteries. I've had many battery powered lights over the years, and I often have the light die on a gig because I don't know the battery level, and the light often gets turned accidentally in my case. The rechargeable ones have a level indicator and are less likely to turn on accidentally. I'm never going back to the replaceable battery kind.
I'm also a big fan of using a tablet. But I understand it's a hassle to scan lots of printed material, especially books. So we'll probably never be able to eliminate paper entirely, at least from a practical standpoint.
Post Edited (2023-11-13 21:58)
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Author: kurth83
Date: 2023-11-14 01:00
I also use a vekkia from amazon, long battery life - can be left on for hours, nice and bright, multiple brightness settings, and I like the slightly warmer color temperature (not stark white). I never leave home without it as I am blind in the dark now that I am older.
Aging classical trumpet player beginning to learn clarinet as a second.
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2023-11-14 01:54
Hi Elizabeth,
If it's for use only at home, might it work to have one of these?
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4329426?clickSR=slp:term:standard%20lamp:9:524:1
I use this for my playing and it's lovely and bright.
Jennifer
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Author: Johnny Galaga
Date: 2023-11-14 05:01
Attachment: 20231113_194008.jpg (942k)
Attachment: 20231113_194045.jpg (394k)
I have the Glocusent 57 LED which was $29.99 - $9 in coupons = $20.99 from Chinazon, I mean Amazon. It's not a bad light and the gooseneck is sturdy and stays put. A perfectly good unit for $21.
I have reservations about irreplaceable batteries and actually tried asking on there what type of cells they use. 18650s or 14500s? The seller replied and said it's their own "special" non-standard cell. So they're vague about the batteries. This is something about these modern Chinese gadgets that I'm not a fan of. Batteries should be a standard size/voltage that can be replaced.
I'm also not a fan of rapid-charging. Rapid-charging makes batteries hotter and heat is BAD for batteries. So anyways, here's a couple photos (attached). You can see one small minor disadvantage is how the thickness of the clip causes your paper to curve slightly.
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Author: ElizabethMH
Date: 2023-11-14 16:06
Wow, many thanks to all for the many suggestions here. I will have a good look around at the options.
Elizabeth
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The Clarinet Pages
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