 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Maruja
Date: 2011-05-16 15:58
I am a small person and would prefer a light clarinet. Is there much difference in weight between certain models? a friend and I weighed our respective clarinets and found that mine was more than 100 grams heavier than hers (mine is wooden, hers is plastic/resin). Is it usual that the plastic ones are lighter than the wooden?
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2011-05-16 16:22
The main difference in weight between instruments is going to be the body material. Plastic clarinets will generally be the lightest followed by wood and hard rubber. Some clarinets are known to be heavier than others due to having thicker bodies (the Selmer Recital comes to mind) but most Bb clarinets made from the same material and similar keywork (i.e. same number of keys) will weigh about the same.
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Author: Bob Barnhart ★2017
Date: 2011-05-16 17:31
I had a Ridenour Lyrique (hard rubber) and it is noticeably lighter than wooden clarinets. I play Yamaha CSG-Hs and they are lighter than most wooden clarinets, possibly because their smaller bore allows a smaller body diameter. Nonetheless, they have great tone, response and comfort--all for less $$ than other "pro" horns and perhaps some intermediates.
Bob Barnhart
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Author: gwie
Date: 2011-05-16 19:54
I'll second Bob on the CSG weight as well.
I play a lot of chamber music with strings, and usually on A Clarinet. My previous instrument sounded great but it was quite heavy and I had some wrist pain issues. Since changing to the CSG A my life has been much easier.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2011-05-17 02:10
On a related note, do you play sitting down? If so, another option is to rest the bell on the knee (forward enough that it doesn't severely block the noise from a low E or B) or to grip the bell between the knees. You'll hear a lot of people who say not to do it, and a few that say it's ok, but according to my tuner and someone I took a few lessons with recently, it didn't cause any negative issues for me to grip OR rest the bell on my knee as far as tone production and sound goes. But it WAS a lot less load on my wrist.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: jack
Date: 2011-05-17 05:00
Cocobolo wood makes for a very light clarinet. Maybe Rossi will make one for you. I have one. Sweet.
Jack
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Author: Maruja
Date: 2011-05-17 11:03
Thanks for those ideas. Partly I brought this up because I have a new teacher who was horrified when I said that when I sit to play, I rest the clarinet on my knee! I have tried various types of sling - the best was a sort of coat hanger contraption which the owner of Wood, Wind and Reed (Cambridge, UK) told me he had developed. It certainly did take the weight off my wrists, but because it sits in the middle of the tummy, it got in the way of certain movements - so I stopped using it and went back to the Kooniman thumb rest. This I think I prefer to all others...
Buster - tienes ganas de jugar o tocar?
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Author: Bob Barnhart ★2017
Date: 2011-05-17 20:38
Actually, I recall that there was another thread on resting the clarinet on your knee in which Gregory Smith commented that Robert Marcellus not only rested the clarinet on his knee, but was a master at exploiting the technique to augment/enhance sonority.
Perhaps this is another aspect of technique that should not be dismissed out of hand.
Bob Barnhart
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2011-05-18 13:06
One of the lightest clarinets I ever played was the all plastic model of the BLISS Bb. Honestly I liked it a lot, and I even liked the sound more than the wood model.
Other options to reduce weight would be to "move" to Eb or Bass clarinet- although the bass is heavier, it is supported by the floor and not your arm.
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Author: kilo
Date: 2011-05-18 20:43
Anyone ever consider doing calisthenics and moderate weight lifting to increase arm strength? A clarinet isn't that heavy. If you don't have elbow or wrist problems perhaps simply building up a bit and muscling into it would be the best solution.
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2011-05-18 21:10
kilo wrote:
> Anyone ever consider doing calisthenics and moderate weight
> lifting to increase arm strength? A clarinet isn't that
> heavy. If you don't have elbow or wrist problems perhaps
> simply building up a bit and muscling into it would be the best
> solution.
Usually the complaint has more to do with the contact point on the thumb becomming sore rather than an inability to support the weight of the instrument.
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Author: kilo
Date: 2011-05-19 10:54
Quote:
Usually the complaint has more to do with the contact point on the thumb becomming sore rather than an inability to support the weight of the instrument.
Yeah — but in this case, the thread opened with someone who was concerned with the heaviness of the instrument because she felt that a three ounce difference between two clarinets was substantial. Nothing was said about thumb pain. Strength building could be as easy as wearing a weighted wrist cuff. Sheesh!
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Author: Maruja
Date: 2011-05-21 16:31
Takes more to scare me off than that! No, I don't have any real wrist or thumb issues - I just like light things, like a netbook rather than a laptop and so forth... I picked up a fellow bandsman's oboe and was amazed at how easy it was to hold. Only problem - I couldn't get a note out of it....
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Author: Joanna
Date: 2011-06-01 17:42
I think that it would help to use a neck strap while practicing to reduce the risk of straining the wrist. While my Bb clarinet doesn't really give me trouble, even after a long practice session, my A clarinet (Selmer Recital) tends to strain my wrist if I play for a long time. The strap really saves me.
If you have a wooden clarinet, it will definitely be heavier than a plastic one, and from my experience, even the wooden ones vary in weight.
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