 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Jeff
Date: 2002-09-26 00:18
My 10 year old son wants to play an instrument and chose the saxaphone. His music teacher or school said he should learn on the clarinet first. Does this make sense? If so, can you recommend some clarinets for purchase or should we rent? thanks.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bob
Date: 2002-09-26 01:06
I am a sax player who never took up the clarinet until late in life. I did not regret it and focused on being a sax player. It is a necessity to play clarinet , if a person is serious about being a professional musician or even a semi-pro. At 10 years old ,the odds are not good that a child will continue and be a serious musician. If you know your son to be an exception to the odds, clarinet might be the way to go,as the first instrument. Sax is a less demanding instrument as to fingering and embochure control. That said, sax is said to be one of the easiest instruments to be played wrong.
I was forced to learn clarinet because it is used frequently in big band work,and that is my love. It was difficult for me to make the transition from sax to clarinet,(your fingers have to cover all the holes and you have to blow hard,sometimes). I am not a "real" clarinet player,but do well at doubling to play in big bands and combo work. Tenor sax is my passion.
I hope your son is an exception and continues with music throughout his life. It has been very rewarding for me, especially after retirement.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bob
Date: 2002-09-26 01:13
This is Bob ,again. Ebay is loaded with entry level clarinets ,or you can usually rent from local Music Stores. The most popular brands are Vito, Bundy by Selmer,Yamaha,etc,etc...Good luck.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ken
Date: 2002-09-26 02:29
If it was MY son, and for his own good I'd definitely start him exclusively on the clarinet first for at least two years; then let him move on to the saxophone(s) (or flute/double reed instruments) for pleasure and fun. On sax he could begin the process of learning his jazz doubles, join the school big band to further strengthen his fundamentals...to learn, play and "respect" period and style. Another option is if he's forced to play in the school marching band he could also play the sax for a couple months ONLY to keep his interest. Another reason he should do clarinet is "generally" it's an accepted fact a beginning music student can pick up and learn the saxophone (flute, or even oboe) more quickly and efficiently if they initially started on clarinet.
As for instruments, many opinions and sensible paths. Myself, if you are convinced he's serious I'd consider investing in a "Buffet E-11", new or 1-3 years young. Check the classifieds here on Sneezy before visiting the Ebay black forest. Most of the horns for sale on this site are quality and "FOR clarinet players BY clarinet players". If you think he's just kicking tires rent a plastic Vito, Yamaha or Bundy for 3 months at a local music store. Custom mouthpieces suitable for beginners are Vandoren 5rv Lyre, B40, B45, M13, M15, or Hite Premier. Back everything up with a qualified teacher, if no local professionals are available don't settle for anyone less then a college music major, (education of performance majors are fine) preferably a junior or higher. v/r KEN
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jim E.
Date: 2002-09-26 03:48
Also... The clarinet is less expensive, less than half of the cost of a comparable entry level sax, and may be easier to handle and play in terms of size and weight (and not just playing, but in its case on a school bus or walking as well)especially if the 10 year old is on the small side.
Good luck to him, he is about to start on a great adventure!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: steven.
Date: 2002-09-26 05:07
why force the poor kid to do something that he doesnt want to. you cant make a child do something that he/she doesnt want to. i would suggest letting him play the saxophone, and encourge him to enjoy every minute, then later on if he wants to play the clarinet, fantastic, if not, he will still have the saxophone to enjoy.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Vytas
Date: 2002-09-26 13:53
>>>My 10 year old son wants to play an instrument and chose the saxaphone. His music teacher or school said he should learn on the clarinet first. Does this make sense?<<<
No! It doesn't make any sense. No one has to learn clarinet first. It's pure BS. It seems that school is short for clarinet players and that's the reason why they are telling you this crap.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul
Date: 2002-09-26 21:31
Everyone knows that you start on the clarinet first if later you want to learn other instruments. But chances are he will not want to learn other instruments. So, if he truly loves the sax, let him play sax. I can't imagine anything worse than learning an instrument that the person doesn't like. Paul
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: nzdonald
Date: 2002-09-26 21:36
at 9 years old i was in love with the saxophone
"no you must learn the clarinet first"
well, ok then, so i learnt the clarinet
a couple of years later i bought an alto sax
within 3 or 4 years i was pretty bored an unmotivated by the sax, and found that i was using my clarinet for jazz/rock/alternative + studying to be a classical musician.
Years later i have found the love for the saxophone again (it came and went a few times during the last 20 years) but find that the main problem is NO TIME- i'm too busy learning music for the next concert, practising B flat, E flat and Bass etc.... i probably get about an hours Sax practise a week (usually Charlie Parker transcriptions and Telemann flute fantasias!)
however- i teach Sax for about 8 or 9 hours of my week, so what i'm about to say is based on not only my own experience (as a student, a proffessional musician and a teacher) but also based on what i have seen from literally hundreds of students over the years.
LEARN THE CLARINET FIRST
on the other hand, you can do exactly what you like- and this advice is probably more suitable for those in the 8-15 year old bracket. But i'm no "stickler for tradition", i'm not just saying this because it's what i was told as a kid, but because of a zillion reasons that i don't have time to write down.
donald
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Cara
Date: 2002-09-26 22:18
Well it is easier to switch from clarinet to saw then it is to switch from sax to clarinet or so they say! That's what they told my class 2 but no one has switched yet...
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
