 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Reneé
Date: 2000-05-29 04:16
I'm a flute player, and I'm considering taking up the clarinet, but I've heard that the clarinet is the worse possible instrument for a flute player to play. Is this true? Please respond.
Reneé
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Author: Bill
Date: 2000-05-30 11:42
The flute embouchure is very delicate, and can be disturbed by playing other mouth blown instruments, but many people do it successfully. If you want to become a superb flute player, you should stick with the flute.
I don't think the clarinet is the worst possible instrument from an embouchure perspective. I think, e.g., the oboe and trumpet are worse.
The issue with clarinet is fingering. First, the clarinet is in a different key. Second, and more significant, is when you overblow a low note on the flute you get the same note in the next octave. This is not the case with the clarinet. A saxaphone, altough in a different key, overblows to the same note an octave higher.
So, if you can handle the fingering, the embouchure problem should be minimal.
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Author: Flute/Clarinet player
Date: 2000-05-31 20:36
You must do what you want to do, and if that is playing the clarinet then do it. I started off on the flute and now play the flute and clarinet. You may actually find fingering easier on the clarinet because for some strange reason it is really easy to do an ascending scale or run really quickly. I have been playing clarinet for a year now and I am a grade 5 ( I live in the uk) this is good as it means that I have reached an intermediate standard in a small period of time. I also found that playing the clarinet helped me to control my mouth muscles because you have to keep your embouchure still. I think that it has strenghted my muscles and I have more control of what I want to do. My flute playing has not suffered, but a word of warning, you must practice each instrument and not one more than the other or things might get nasty!!!
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Author: AAA
Date: 2000-06-22 22:28
I play clarinet, flute, saxophone, and oboe and I would have to agree with Bill that the worst instrument for a flute player is the oboe. They are so opposite in breathing and emboucher. It is not difficult to play the clarinet if you are a flute player. I would say the hardest part is the new fingering and if you're used to a closed hole (possibly even open hole) flute the covering of the clarinet tone holes might be difficult.
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Author: Sara
Date: 2000-09-09 17:58
I play all the woodwind exsept english horn and I am now learning french horn and I have not had that much of a problem, just realize there is a differnt emboucher for each one and do NOT get them comfused. Keep them straight and you should be fine.
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Author: Ellie
Date: 2001-04-09 01:45
When my younger sister took up clarinet, I learned the fingerings and everything. Taught myself. The main problems I noticed were that my mouth muscles became very tense from the different position (I have been playing flute for 6 years and it was a major difference) and that I can not, absolutely not tongue clearly. But I only played it for about a week, found the fingerings very easy to learn (i find clarinet fingerings to be simple and easy to understand, while my sister lost her head while trying to learn flute fingerings) and I didn't notice a big problem with the different key.
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Author: Bandturtle4ever
Date: 2003-02-17 19:59
I play both Clarinet and Flute, and I seem to have no problems at all!
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