 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: rocketmom321
Date: 2008-11-04 15:30
My 11 year old informed us he wants to play the clarinet in elementary band (this is the first year). Hallelujah! We're so excited he wants to enter the world of music. However, we know nothing about clarinet or clarinetists.
question 1: what is the most important thing(s) to know when we go to rent the instrument?
question 2: can someone suggest some recordings, different genres, that an 11 year old might enjoy?
Feel free to add any other insights you might have about supporting a budding musician.
Thanks!
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2008-11-04 15:39
Welcome to the joys of having a student clarinet player in the house.
I've recently rented a couple of "student quality" saxophones and found them to be horrid.
Please, oh please, be convinced that what you bring to your new player is playable! Get someone to play it in front of you and listen to see that every note, every leap comes clearly out of the horn. This will not happen if the mechanism is not working properly.
Ask to be sure that the clarinet's keywork is made of metal that is sturdy --not easily bent out of playable alignment.
Once a reliable instrument is found, the second thing is to at least inquire about the mouthpiece. It should be "reed friendly" and easy to play. If this thing catches on, you'll want to purchase your own "student" mouthpiece. "Student" because it is worthy of use AND not expensive.
Then, take the horn to the school and have the teacher validate your selection.
Nothing is worse than having a bad instrument. Later, the student will learn to recognize flaws; in the meantime, they have to be exorcised for him/er.
best of luck
Bob Phillips
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Author: Nessie1
Date: 2008-11-04 16:25
I would second most of Bob's post above. If you browse this board a bit you will find that there are some very cheap instruments around which are not resilient to hard wear and tear and having an instrument that is constantly developing problems so that no player can make it do what it should is no way to encourage a keen young beginner. If you hope that your son will take to the instrument in the medium to long term, especially if you eventually buy an instrument, it really is worth paying a little bit more. I expect you have thought of this but the band director will probably be able to advise you on what would be a good local store to visit which can advise you properly and allow time to consider reeds, mouthpiece etc. and what would be a good model to look at and so on.
In terms of recordings, there are lots of styles that use the clarinet. You don't say what kind of music your son may have experienced before (e.g does anyone in the family play another instrument? do you go to a church that has good music etc?) but for things that use the clarinet why not buy a few CDs with shortish pieces on in different styles (Classical? Jazz? Klezmer?) For classical players there are lots of good ones on CD, for jazz many would consider Benny Goodman or Artie Shaw the best ever. Also, it is important to listen to all kinds of music, not just the clarinet - see if he will tune his radio to a classical station every so often or have it on in the kitchen over a meal or in the car.
I hope your son enjoys starting to play.
Vanessa.
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Author: Geirskogul
Date: 2008-11-04 16:43
Also, a used, reputable instrument usually costs the same (or less) than a new, crap instrument. A new "Berkely" or "Glenn Edward" (those crap things you find at Hastings, 'bay, Amazon, etc) cost around $80-$150, whereas a used Vito or Bundy would run anywhere between $50-$200, and would be worth MUCH more than the no-names. There's a list on this board somewhere of brands to avoid; most of them are chinese stencil brands that have weak keys and are made to weird dimensions.
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Author: DAVE
Date: 2008-11-04 17:24
Get a well known brand clarinet first. For a recording, you might try and locate "Vicktor's Tale". It is by John Williams and sounds similar to Harry Potter. It's a great tune. You could also assemble a mix of Jazz and Classical. Some Benny Goodman and perhaps the Weber Concertos.
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Author: rocketmom321
Date: 2008-11-04 17:26
Thank you all so much for the great advice. I will take the list of "clarinets to avoid" to the rental store with me, as well as all the other helpful hints.
We've asked our son to commit for this school year and then if he decides to pursue it further (hope, hope, fingers crossed), we'll look into purchasing an instrument. Hopefully by the end of the year, he'll have some feel for quality, and understand the value of purchasing a good, used instrument. You know how it is to be 11 (or 50); new and shiny is soo attractive.
Again, thank you.
Beth S.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-11-04 17:27
Hmm. The length of that list meanwhile outweighs the list of known-to-be-dependable brands.
Wouldn't it be helpful if BBoard members here start a list with *student-grade* *student-priced* instruments they own or have owned and they found "good enough" for the job (a good mouthpiece a prerequisite), provided they are or were in good repair?
That wouldn't automatically exclude "exotic" brands but rather supply a link to "first hand experience".
--
Ben
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2008-11-04 17:30
Looking through what I have, a handful of recordings that might be fun...
Gary Gray: Copland, Arnold, Lutoslawski, Rossini (clarinet with orchestra; classics)
NY Philharmonic/Zubin Mehta, Stanley Drucker: Corigliano Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra (clarinet with orchestra; more contemporary)
Robert Spring: Black Dog (clarinet with band, orchestra; rock and grunge inspired)
Afflatus Quintet: Taffanel, Milhaud, Ibert, Francaix (wind quintet)
Fiedler/Boston Pops: Gershwin - Concerto in F, Rhapsody in Blue (orchestral; Gershwin)
Benny Goodman's Greatest Hits (jazzy)
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: mrn
Date: 2008-11-04 18:33
I think listening to good recordings is an essential part of learning to play an instrument. There are a lot of things about music that you can learn from recordings that it would be hard to learn any other way (other than attending many live performances, I suppose).
From the classical (i.e., non-pop, non-jazz) world, you really should invest in a recording of the Weber concertos. Weber's clarinet music is easy for young people to understand and appreciate (you might even call it melodramatic) and it's fun to listen to. I can personally vouch for Sabine Meyer's and Antony Pay's recordings of these works. Martin Fröst's recording is supposed to be good, too. (Sabine Meyer's name, incidentally, is pronounced "Sa-bee-na," unlike the river in Texas spelled the same way. She's German.)
You also MUST have a recording of the Mozart Concerto, perhaps the most important piece in the entire repertoire. The three clarinetists I mentioned above with regard to Weber all have made excellent recordings of Mozart on the Basset Clarinet (which is a longer version of the modern-day clarinet in A with extra range--or in the Antony Pay recording, an extra-long clarinet of the type played in Mozart's day).
Antony Pay, by the way, frequently posts on this BBoard. In most of his recordings (at least the ones I'm familar with), he plays on "period instruments," meaning he plays on the types of instruments used at the time the piece was composed. In the case of clarinets, this often means clarinets without the usual intricate keywork we're used to seeing.
Sabine Meyer's CD with her student Julian Bliss of the Krommer Double Clarinet Concerto is great, too. I think Mr. Bliss was about 17 or 18 when it was recorded, but I'm not sure--he's quite young, anyway, and very talented.
Incidentally, Martin Fröst (from Sweden) has a very energetic and youthful playing style. I've enjoyed pretty much everything I've heard him play.
Richard Stoltzman's Danza Latina is a good album of Latin jazz done on a clarinet. Also, Buddy DeFranco's jazz recordings are excellent.
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2008-11-04 18:44
A more approachable "sampler" classical recording is "The Magic of the Clarinet." It has lots of classical bits and pieces, and I find this series to be "easier" to take for the rank beginners.
For other styles, it's harder to get a sampler type of thing, but either volume of the Benny Goodman's Greatest Hits on RCA Victor are great (they have Hirschfeld line cartoons of the artist on the front). As far as Latin styles, there's a great recording by Compay Segundo which features clarinet duets along with Compay's incomparable singing. If you're interested in other ethnic music, try Ivo Papasov. He's incredible! Crazy-fast odd meters and rapid improv in the Bulgarian wedding music tradition. Don Byron is another newer jazz clarinetist who incorporates some spoken word artists and even rap on some of his records. "Bug Music" is one of my faves of his (and it's a wonderful collection of older big-band style cartoon music).
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Author: NorbertTheParrot
Date: 2008-11-04 19:56
May I respectfully suggest that the "list of brands to avoid" is worse than useless.
New brand names are coming out all the time. The list merely engenders the a false sense of security - if it isn't on the list, it must be OK.
There is a short list of brands that are known to be good, and stocked by most reputable stores:
Buffet
Jupiter
Leblanc / Vito
Selmer / Bundy
Yamaha
You might argue that there are a couple of other reputable brands as well, but why bother. Just get one of the five I've listed. A store that doesn't stock any of them is unlikely to be worth doing business with.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-11-04 21:07
NorbertTheParrot wrote:
> May I respectfully suggest that the "list of brands to avoid"
> is worse than useless.
>
> New brand names are coming out all the time. The list merely
> engenders the a false sense of security - if it isn't on the
> list, it must be OK.
Obviously with the seemingly endless parade of new, low priced, imported clarinets appearing, no list can possibly be complete.
However the list you refer to, which I was able to compile from a number of sources, is constantly being updated.
In fact the last update was less than a week ago...GBK
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Author: weberfan
Date: 2008-11-04 21:44
As for music, lots of good suggestions mentioned above.
You might also find out what the high school concert and/or symphonic bands and orchestras are playing, to get an idea of what your young player might eventually be asked to perform.
You might have him listen to some well known wind ensembles, like Eastman or Dallas, or anything conducted by Frederick Fennell. These tend to be arrangements for wind band, but they include marches and opera and light opera classics (Gilber & Sullivan), as well. Usually an interesting mix.
Large doses of straight classical may be too heavy a diet for your child at this point, though I second previous encouragement toward a little Mozart or Weber, just to hear what the instrument can do.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2008-11-04 22:12
Have them put the Clarinet together and look inside it holding the instrument up to the light.
Look inside the bore and it isn't jagged or not perfectly smooth you don't want to have anything to do with it.
Lots (most) of the junkers have hanging "chads" inside.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Claire Annette
Date: 2008-11-04 22:17
May I also throw in a suggestion (actually three) for later?
At some point, the "newness and fun" of having a clarinet will start to wane and you'll wonder how to keep his interest up. (Not being a wet blanket here but with some kids, when they see how much hard work goes into playing well, they lose their initial enthusiasm.)
1. Expose him to live music: high school/college concerts, clarinet ensembles, solo recitals, etc.
2. A good teacher will also be able to encourage him as he progresses.
3. Competition was the motivating drive that kept me practicing all throughout high school and college...and even now! I always wanted to be the best and was not afraid to challenge someone for a higher chair. Honors band and all-state auditions also kept me hard at work.
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Author: Shi-Ku Chishiki
Date: 2008-11-06 04:15
My suggestion is to go to "You Tube"....
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22Pete+Fountain%22&search_type=&aq=-1&oq=
and do a little listening to my main man "Pete Fountain".
It's not the clarinet that makes the player, but the player that makes the clarinet!
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2008-11-07 12:29
All of the above are good suggestions.
I would add Peter & the Wolf to the list of those pieces that will give a child some encouragement. It is a cool piece and really shows off the clarinet well. If you can find a live performance with a good narrator that would be even better. We did it in the symphony a couple of years ago. Then, the next day, we did an education outreach to the public schools doing a pared down version where we just told the story of how the instruments represent the various characters and did. The kids loved it and I think we did a lot for increasing enthusiasm for instrumental music. I played oboe in this one (OK don't throw stones) but I told them they needed to learn clarinet first.
My teacher had me sit in with a community band early on in my training too. That gave me a lot of exposure and encouragement.
Eefer guy
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2008-11-07 12:43
I liked Benny Goodman at that age.
Live music is also an excellent idea.
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