 The Fingering Forum
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Author: ~Heather ~
Date: 2004-02-10 22:33
I play the clarinet, flute and piccolo. My theory used to be that the flute was the easiest instrument to learn how to play and the clarinet/oboe is the hardest to learn how to play in the band. I think the clarinet is a hard instrument to learn becasue of all it's alternate fingerings, and I learned how to play the flute really fast and quite well. And all the flutes in my band are good(so it must be an easy instrument, right?) and only 1 or 2 clarinets are pretty good(clarinet must be hard, right?). But lately my theory has flipped flopped, people have been saying that the clarinet is easy and the flute is really hard to learn beacuse the way you have to breath into it to get the notes(ie-same fingering for the first 2 octavtives, different air). NOW to my question, are there really any *harder* insruments out there, or does it just have to depend on each individual and what makes each instrumet hard.....what do you all think? PLEASE REPLY!
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Author: d-oboe
Date: 2004-02-10 23:29
All instruments are equally difficult. Some instruments, like the oboe, require a little more time to get up and running, to the point where they don't sound like crap. Clarinets have 1000's of fingerings to remember. Flutes run out of air. Tubas fart their way through a march. Every instrument has it's difficulties, though not always in the same area. No instrument is harder than the other, however much players insist on boasting that one may be.
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Author: Gnomon
Date: 2004-02-11 08:19
Some instruments are much more capable than others. A flute, clarinet or violin can play amazingly complicated stuff that would be impossible on a tuba, bassoon or french horn. So composers, knowing what the instrument is capable of, will write music which really exploits the abilities of the instrument to the full and as a result will be difficult to play unless you are a world-class player.
But having said that, all orchestral players agree that French Horn and Oboe are particularly difficult and temperamental instruments.
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Author: Rubber-Ducko
Date: 2004-02-11 08:51
I agree with d-oboe... but HEY, don't make fun of my TUBA :-D I play Tuba, Sax and now... ehh... flute... yes.... I must say, I played Trumpet before i converted to Tuba, which was pretty simple, and the Tuba is no match... Then I started to play sax a while ago (6 months) and plays in a band and stuff. It goes really well, and kind of needed a new instrument that I could work with. I found the flute, I must say this is far the hardest instrument I ever has played. The sax and the flute is not extremely different when looking at the fingerings. But I still have VERY BIG problems with my blowing on the flute, its kinda not naturly to me to blow like that, and I'm getting frustrated when blowing away so much air... (on the tuba at lest uses all the air)... The hardest of Sax and Flute = No doubt the Flute, in my case at least
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Author: JfW
Date: 2004-02-11 15:57
I don't buy into the "equally difficult" theory. Each instrument does have it's idiosynchrocies and difficult spots:
Flute
pros: Easy fingerings, light action.
cons: tone production method is difficult to master
Clarinet
pros: easy tone production.
cons: difficult fingerings.
Saxophone
pros: easy fingerings, easy tone production.
cons: tone quality issues, stiffer action on lesser horns.
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Author: Gnomon
Date: 2004-02-11 17:13
Wow, I've been playing the clarinet for years and never knew that the fingerings were considered hard. I thought they were the easy bit. The hard bit is the embouchure.
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Author: oboe
Date: 2004-02-11 21:32
well,
~i think that oboe is pretty tough too. even if you've been playing for a while (and i know 4 years isn't nearly long enough!) being able to control the tone and everything (especially on a double reed that can have it's own tone), and skipping through fingerings that are totally different and crossing the break can still be difficult.
~i think clarinet is a *bit* difficult. i just started clarinet b/c i'm gonna teach my sister how to play it. it wasn't hard to get a sound out and i thought the fingerings were quite easy to master, besides a few wierd ones here and there.
~then the flute. i don't play it much at all, but changing the octave with the same fingerings isn't too hard, it's actually quite nice and simpler (?) to do b/c you don't have as many fingerings and it's not as hard to change air pressure and velocity when you have as big a space to blow air through; and in my opinion a nicer amount to play with than oboe *or* clarinet.
~but all things considered, it, i think, *majorly* depends on the musician and how easily or not music comes to them. someone who starts out non-musical and/or *forced* to play by their parents or something is going to have a tougher time learning an instrument than someone who is just a natural. patience also helps, w/o patience, BOY can't it get tough to learn something; expecting it to come to them and it not happening (not me, lol, i am *too* patient :P )
~anyways, that's my view on the matter
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Author: Theboy_2
Date: 2004-02-12 01:07
why do we seem to go to this more and more? every instrumetn has it's own little perks that give it that flare of challenge. i'm sure we cold all write a 10 page essay easy on the challenges of our instruments. but the biggest thing it boils down to is practise. i know a lot of people who say an instrument is hard, but if you look at their practise time and habits, they aren't very strong. it also depends on if the person likes playing that instrument. if they don't like it, they'll end up not playing their full potential. and vice versa, if a person loves that instrument they will play with passion, with their heart. hope this helps.
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Author: Musical Mind
Date: 2004-02-12 01:59
Learning an instrument, I believe, needs a lot of patience. Some people cannot be patient enough to practice every day efficiently; asking what's wrong and analyzing it to fix it. Some of them don't have time because they have other extracurricular activities or working. And for some people, some instruments don't fit to their aptitude. So, they try other instruments, choose one that they can play the best, and continue to play. But, not all of them will be aiming to be professional musicians. Just for hobby, perhaps.
Well, here's my short musicianship story.
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Author: Musical Mind
Date: 2004-02-12 02:34
I'm sorry, I accidently clicked the post. Continuing what I said, I listened to a lot of classical music when I was a baby. Then, I started to play the piano when I was five years old. It didn't come naturally for me to start playing the piano. My brother played the piano because my parents made him to do so, I think. So, I was curious and eager to play the piano. But, after two years, I quit. I didn't like to play the piano. I cried and complained. My brother did also. He quit playing the piano after six years, after he graduated from an elementary school. Then, he had to study a lot and quit music. However, I didn't actually quit music from my life.
In the fourth grade, I had a best friend who was active. He told me that he was having flute lessons. Again, this didn't come natural for me to start playing the flute. So, I asked my parents to buy a flute for me. And they did. Its brand was not well known; Blessing. It's plateau (closed hole) flute. I had flute lessons and continued to play ever since. My first flute private teacher said that I was good at it, although I didn't know why. I probably played that flute for five years, and I never have taken it to a repairman, lol. Last year on February 10th, 2003, my parents bought me a Yamaha Allegro flute for me because I continued to practice well, a quite expensive flute. It's been one day and a year I have played the flute.
Now, to the conclusion. I am thinking about aiming to be a professional flutist, and my fear is that it doesn't seem natural for me, because looking at my past I have looked and listened to someone playing that instrument, and then I played it. Miraculously, flute is the best I can play. I practice every day except when I am very sick and try to be patient. And I do kinda good on competitions. I didn't make rating 1 at State Music Festival, yet. Maybe this year or next year. But most importantly, I love music.
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Author: d-oboe
Date: 2004-02-12 22:37
Well, JFW...what I meant by "equally difficult" is that although, relative to each other in certain areas, some instruments are more difficult than others, every instrument takes just as much time and effort to truly master; the only difference is where that time is spent.
For example... tuba players spend a great deal of time increasing their lung capcity to have enough air to sustain long phrases, whereas as an oboe player wouldn't spend much time on that at all, because they use relatively little air.
Trumpet players, *in general* don't have to worry about tuning so much: for them it is essentially objective; they push in or pull out. For oboe players, it's a constant battle to find and maintain a true pitch, and is something that a great deal of time is spent on.
So my point is that any instrument is difficult, just not in the same areas.
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Author: ~Heather ~
Date: 2004-02-12 22:59
Thanks you all, this really helped!! :D
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Author: TONY
Date: 2004-02-16 16:13
Have yiz ever tried to play a set of uilleann pipes, (From Ireland)
a full set consists of 1 chanter (melody), 3 drones (like scotish bagpipes) and 3 regulators (closed end pipes for playing chordal acomp) you play these by using a bellows keep the bag inflated.
quite a hard instrument to play, but well worth it....
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Author: Duston Smith
Date: 2004-03-30 13:12
The hardest instrument in the world would have to be the banjo, it is a very interesting instrument, and there is more to it then just the basic three-finger Scruggs style banjo picking. But yeah, that is by far the hardest instrument to play.....
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The Clarinet Pages
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