Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2014-07-31 18:58
Majestas wrote:
>
> 1) Is there anything else I can do to improve my tone without
> it being overly expensive?
>
Well, it depends on what it is about your tone that you want to improve. So much of the tone quality comes from the player that "improvement" beyond a certain point becomes a subjective thing. As Paul suggested, you can control a good deal of what determines your tone quality - the shape inside your mouth, the way you use your tongue to separate (articulate) notes, the amount of lip you use to cover your bottom teeth, the ways you use breath support. The trouble is there's no one way to do any of these things. What you do with breath, with embouchure, with oral shape depends on what you want to sound like in any given situation. A good clarinet with a good mouthpiece and carefully chosen reeds (not just the first one you grabbed out of the box) will make controlling the sound easier, but will not make you sound like a virtuoso by themselves. IMO, replacement barrels and bells are things that someone should experiment with who already can produce a high level sound and wants to see what subtle difference a bell or a barrel might make. Ligatures can have a muffling effect on the sound, so if you feel that your sound is dull, a ligature may make a difference, but you won't know without trying them. I guess you'd need to decide more specifically what not "overly expensive" means to you. I certainly have a current preference for a specific ligature (a Rovner Light), but that's only in combination with the rest of my set up. I own a dozen different ligatures and have tried more. I've never played on one that really ruined my sound.
One important point that you may be missing is that your teacher has placed you at the top of the section, wooden clarinet or not. She placed you above those other wooden clarinets presumably because you are the best player in the clarinet section. Her wish for everyone to have a "wooden" clarinet is, hopefully, mis-stated and what she really wants is for everyone to have a "good" instrument. IMO, you should begin to look for ways to build the needed funds to buy a _good_ clarinet instead of looking for the cheapest _wood_ clarinet you can find.
I'm assuming from your post that you aren't studying with a private clarinet teacher. If you are, the teacher should have a good deal to say about all of this.
> 2) I am looking into wooden clarinets and the most inexpensive
> one I can find is the
> Jupiter
> 737NTO Intermediate Bb Clarinet. Is it any good?
First, consider what has been said about wood - that by itself it doesn't make a high quality instrument. Well-regulated, your current instrument could easily be a match for many inexpensive wood clarinets. Consider that back in the 1960s (only 50 years ago) when I began to play, all the entry-level student clarinets were made of wood - plastic clarinets were uncommon if they had even been invented at that point in history.
Years ago my answer about any Jupiter instrument would have been - stay away. Tuning was awful across their entire line. Over the past 10-15 years, I've heard many brass players praise their trumpets and low brass instruments as excellent school-level instruments, much improved over the earlier ones. I don't hear similar things about their woodwinds, but then I don't hear much about their woodwinds at all. There are other relatively inexpensive (compared to the big French names) clarinets on the market that do get high praise from lots of people - the Ridenour line being one. Stick with reputations. Don't buy just because it's wood and it's low-priced.
>
>
> Side note: The clarinet I do have, I have had for 7 years. I
> have only had 3 pads changed since I got it and some of the
> pads seem to be sort of fraying. Should I get maintenance on
> it?
>
Meanwhile, I don't think having your present instrument brought up to good condition is a bad idea at all - replace worn pads, adjust spring tensions *as needed* for best seal and comfort, clean the rods or screws anyplace a key is sluggish to make sure the key action is the best it can be, replace any wobbly corks, etc. I personally would stay away from a packaged "overhaul" offer. You probably don't need every cork or every pad replaced, and an "overhaul" generally doesn't tell you what specifically will be done. Look for a repair technician who will tell you what he or she thinks the clarinet needs and will estimate a price for those items. The estimate will be based on materials and shop time needed to do the actual work that's necessary and no more. If something unexpected comes up, a phone call is always possible to get your permission to do work beyond the original estimate.
Karl
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