Advice please - Clarinets

[orlacarey]

Once upon a time (about 10 years ago) LLT played the clarinet. While we were at the Inner Vagabond at Pennsic there was a group of people playing middle eastern(?) music and they had a clarinet. At which point LLT said that she would love to pick up her's again if she could play music like that. Only problem is that it is in a box somewhere. So

Comments

[cariola]

Hey goldenhonu, I think you should field this question.

[feymaker]

I don't know anything about them, but I think its a lovely gift idea!

[weebaby]

I haven't played in 10 years. I used to use a #5 reed (one of the hardest), but if I were to start back, I would use a #3.

Bundy is a good basic "starter/student" clarinet. I have a top-of-the-line Buffet, but if you can find a cheap one on E-bay or something, that's definately the way to go!

The only place I know of with a large selection of music is Foxes in Falls Curch (?), VA. Let your fingers do the walking on that one!

[orlacarey]

I think is main question was along the lines of the types of clarinets - when I briefly searched I quickly got confused with the whole B flat etc seperations...how much does that matter?

[orlacarey]

Thanks...I'll mention to frederich. I didn't ask for anything other than a hardness level for the reeds so you are probably right about them being B flat. On the other hand I spent less than $15 dollars on reeds so if he ends up getting her another type I'm not out that much money.

[luscious_purple]

Gee, I always thought that the clarinet as we know it today (Boehm system) was primarily a 19th-century creation. Does anybody try to play period music on them? Maybe William le Younger could shed some light on this. (And I do realize that the clarinet makes some lovely non-period music!)

Of course, I think sskipstress gave you some excellent advice. I tip my hat to weebaby for being able to use a #5 reed! I was up to a #3.5 or #4 when I was in high school, but that was all I could manage.

Yes, I played the clarinet from age 8 to age 17, and yes, I still have my wooden clarinet, but it's not for sale (and would need a lot of pad replacement work anyway). I don't remember what brand it is -- the little labels from the manufacturer wore off a long time ago.

[orlacarey]

I want to say that LLT was up to a #5 from what she was telling me when I went reed shopping. She did say however that she would need to go back to softer reeds since it's been so long since she played.

To give you an idea of when I went reed shopping, it was the first Saturday after school started in Charles County. Just about every kid taking an instrument in the school system seemed to be in Waldorf's one and only music store that day. Of course that was before we realize we'd lost her clarinet in a box...