 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: dhertig
Date: 2006-10-25 16:46
Clarineteers,
As a serious amateur I'm off to the music retailers in the area (Washington D.C.) to try out clarinets and am asking the best method in "test driving" horns? For example, I would assume that for each "test" you:
1) Play music and listen for "weak spots" in intonation (the same music would be used for each horn as a baseline);
2) Run through scales, arpeggios and chromatics a number of times to get a sense of "feel";
3) [Fill in the blank!]
Since High School I've played the same horn (1970s vintage Selmer Signet 100) and now need to step up to a low-end professional/very good intermediate horn. Since I've only owned (and played) one clarinet to serve as a reference point, I'm certainly stepping into unknown frontiers in buying a new horn. So any suggestions as to the "How" to best try out horns would be greatly appreciated. And I apologize in advance as I know this question must be frequently asked!
Thank you (and yes, I'm relatively new to this electronic message board communication technology)!
Don
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2006-10-25 17:00
Actually good question.....it can be easy, and hard. If you have a good chromatic tuner (or can use one from the respective shop) USE IT !!! This is an invaluable tool since intonation will be a huge deciding factor. So I suggest hitting the main intonation spots, open G, down to throat F and C, clarion C (third space), the octave and select altissimo. If those are good, start going one note at a time throughout the horn.
The other aspect is "how it plays" (resistance, ping, depth and loudness). Chances are, if it's just darn fun to play, it's a good horn - just balance that out with the pitch thing and you'll do fine.
.......Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2006-10-25 21:39
Bring your current instrument, and have the friend bring their clarinet and mouthpiece as well.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
