 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2021-05-05 02:52
As I age I'm contemplating selling my freestanding home and moving into a living space where one or more of my walls my abuts another person's walls and home.
Whether that's a townhouse, apartment, condo, the point is I still want to practice clarinet and be considerate to my neighbors and family.
I hope this hasn't come up before, but I was wondering what people think of this. I was thinking of making one and seeing for myself how well it works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iBdXdMDmIE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Cqx0mMJOo
It's bound to beat having to pay for one of those sound enclosures like WhisperRoom sells https://whisperroom.com/ not to mention the space it takes up--even if it ends up that cost and decibel reduction here end up closely correlating with one another!
Thoughts?
Post Edited (2021-05-05 02:53)
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Author: bmcgar ★2017
Date: 2021-05-05 03:49
I'll bet you that your hands and your clarinet will be dripping with condensation in very short order.
Post Edited (2021-05-05 03:50)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-05-05 04:08
Ok, I'm not much of a fan of enclosures. It makes more sense to me to play softly (I have even gone to a whisper mode sort of thing that I use at four in the morning in the apartment). When playing with a bit more amplitude a good technique is to have your television on as well with the volume up a little bit. Neighbors are much more inclined to "understand" noisy entertainment than clarinet playing (and usually after ten in the morning and no later than nine at night).
As for the condensation. The real culprit is your internal body temperature and the corresponding temperature of your breath in relation to the ambient temperature in you space (the colder, the more condensation) as well as the relative humidity. Your hands aren't going to create much of a heat source within the box.
Good luck either way.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2021-05-05 05:19
I've thought about "soundproofing" a room using foam, carpet, and blankets hung from the ceiling and/or walls.
- Matthew Simington
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-05-06 18:06
I use the Best Brass e-Sax Whisper Mute for alto and tenor saxes which works really well if you want to play at full volume and not disturb your neighbours. It also has a built-in pickup with headphone sockets as well as line in and out so you can plug it in any audio source or backing tracks and play along to it and hear exactly how you'd sound when playing at concert hall level volume.
http://www.bestbrass.com/stf/e-sax.html
But it's a shame there isn't (from what I understand) anything on the market like that for clarinets or oboes. I'm sure there would be a market for one designed for both clarinet and oboe (and even soprano sax) with the various adaptations included to suit both instruments so players can practice at a good volume instead of having to nervously subtone everything in fear of annoying anyone which does no good at all.
The first example could be made much bigger and with more sound absorbing material for much better sound deadening.
The downside with the Whisper mute is it does get very warm and humid inside the box and the lowest notes are very tricky. I'd suggest only using this with a plastic clarinet because of the increased humidity and sudden temperature differences especially if you're living somewhere cold and dry which could be a risk for wooden instruments.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: JTJC
Date: 2021-05-07 00:12
The Freedom Player seems to be a new and digital approach to muting the clarinet. It has its limitations but so does everything else, so choose your poison.
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2021-05-07 01:05
After everyone's input I'm thinking that this needs to be some box which sits on the floor, in which the sitting player places their instrument and hands: with mouthpiece coming out of the top, with grommeted (noise suppressed) inputs for electric that might not only pick up sound, but permit the presence of a dehumdifier!
Maybe it can be positioned on some sort of tripod to meet the needs of the standing rehearser.
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