Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-09-29 03:59
Eric: Isn't it nice to have so many good responses? And now, as Monty Python would put it, for something completely different. Adult beginners have no one to thank but themselves for wanting to play any musical instrument, and those who select the Clarinet surely deserve our assistance and best wishes. But adult beginners are not pre-adolescents, hence they should not be treated the same.
You will get no mockery,.sympathy, or advice from me. But I will offer a suggestion that many may think ridiculous: for starters, go buy yourself a cheap plastic instrument. No, not a Clarinet -- a $5 recorder will do just fine, or maybe a Tonette (are they still around?) or even an eight-fingered ocarina. And do get a fingering chart. While you are playing around with this thing (whatever it is), accustoming yourself to the differences in sound you get by changing the finger positions, maybe even fingering it based on funny-looking marks on a page, buy yourself a Clarinet book and start reading it. Y'see, I'm the sort of person who learns almost anything much easier by reading about it first, then consulting an expert. So when you're ready to see a teacher, you can go there with several things that will be good for you. One is an open mind, because you seem to be smart enough to realize that reading one book will not make you an expert. But your teacher *is* an expert. You'll see to that by selecting a really good teacher. Another is that you will have some concept of transforming music into fingering something that has lots of holes to be covered. (But do remember that fingering patterns of the instruments I mentioned and the Clarinet are *not* the same... they're much more like a saxophone. But dn't let that worry you.) Just begin accustoming yourself to the idea that the note position on the staff tells you which fingers should cover holes.
You may be able to consult with your teacher even before you begin lessons. Like the "ground school" approach to learning to fly an airplane. Learn something about the Clarinet before even holding one. You could get a recommendation from your own teacher regarding what instrument to buy/rent/put on your gift list. Maybe even assemble it for the first time with your teacher.
If the above does not make sense to you, by all means don't do it.
Best of luck/skill/success.
Regards,
John
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The Clarinet BBoard
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