 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: bmidontcare
Date: 2014-08-23 19:22
Hi peeps! I played Clarinet years ago, starting at primary school and continuing on through high school. I practised religiously for at least 30 minutes each day, and played in 2 high school bands weekly.
After I had been playing for 6 years, 5 in the bands, I started having trouble with...I don't know what, actually. All of a sudden, whenever I tried to play, it was all upper register without doing the appropriate fingering. At first I found it just difficult to stay in the right register, but it soon became impossible. I was too embarrassed to say anything to the conductor, and I wasn't actually attending the high school whose band I was playing with, so I just stopped going. I did take my clarinet to the shop I bought it from - he had come very highly recommended when I first started learning - to ask him what the problem with my clarinet was. He gave it a try himself and declared it was absolutely fine.
It took me years to realise that around the same time I was apparently losing the ability to play, I gained a much stronger singing ability. 13 years later I've had many compliments on my singing, but have sold my clarinet because it was so frustrating and upsetting that I suddenly couldn't play.
So - marathon post aside - is that actually a thing? Can puberty change your playing? Is/was there a way I could've gotten through it? Am I even making sense?
Thank you very much in advance for any answers
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Author: pewd
Date: 2014-08-23 19:58
Almost certainly a problem with the instrument, bad pad,leak somewhere.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2014-08-23 20:32
I agree with Paul. I wish you'd tried some other clarinets when you first had the problem. The tech being able to play it OK was not an absolute test.
Never too late- try some horns now! And even if you discovered you had the same issue, surely it's something a competent instructor could identify and fix pronto.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: pewd
Date: 2014-08-23 21:23
> Can puberty change your playing?
No.
It can change attitudes, level of concentration, focus, effort, etc., but not in the manner you suggest. Bad technician.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2014-08-23 21:36
I agree with the other responders. However, there may be another possibility, which I've observed before on growing students. During the 6 years that you were playing it is possible, even probable, that your hands grew in size. This would alter the relation of your fingers to the keys and could result in you inadvertently pressing a sliver key unintentionally. This is the sort of adjustment that any tech should be able to recognize. It's a great pity that you didn't persevere with this problem, as whatever the cause its an easy fix.
Tony F.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2014-08-23 22:06
It was a hardware problem, 100% sure. It could have been a leaking joint cork or a crack (particularly in the barrel) as well as a pad problem, or maybe a nick along the lay of the mouthpiece. It's really easy to bump the corner of a mouthpiece, creating a leak, which produce unstable registers as well as whistles and squeaks.
Get a leak-free clarinet (and a new mouthpiece) and rejoin the clarinet world. Everything comes back quickly (within a month or two). It'll help your singing, and the singing will help your clarinet playing.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-08-24 00:40
I third that opinion.
I was just badgering a student about her altissimo and finally said, "this MUST be mechanical" and grabbed the clarinet. It was as simple as the ring being to high on the LH second finger......the tone hole was not sealing.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: NB
Date: 2014-08-25 01:55
Well, I have recently had a completely similar problem of switching the register
without using the register key (after a 6 years break).
My technician explained to me that the reason was that when you didn't not play for a long time, the instrument may had dried out and changed its dimensions so that pads (which themselves may also dry out) didn't not seal properly. I was told to never leave my instrument just in its case when I interrupt my study for months or years, but to properly oil it to keep it from drying out.
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Author: bmidontcare
Date: 2014-08-25 05:35
Oh my goodness, you've all made me feel both better AND worse, LOL! Better that it wasn't me, that I hadn't suddenly become an idiot, and worse because I sold the darn thing a few years ago in disgust!
Although after reading further through this forum I'm learning that there's so many different types of clarinet. I agree, it's time to rejoin your world!
Thank you so much, it's actually a real weight off my mind
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