alittlestar
CarynLynn
alittlestar
I'm a young clarinetist, who has been playing for many years now. I enjoy playing this instrument, but I'm looking for a challenge. I have auditioned for many competitions, but I still want something more. Besides that, I also believe that I should get a new clarinet, but am not too sure which to get. Last night, when browsing online, I saw a beautiful Selmer, professional-grade. I have a student Vito at the moment. What do you reccomend for new challenges and instruments?
I have also thought about getting lessons on two new instruments: the flute and the saxophone. I can play guitar, piano, clarinet (obviously), and enjoy singing in my school's Madrigals and Glee Club. My friends said they would teach me those other two instruments.
What do
you think?
if you are going to be a really serious clarinetist you do need a serious clarinet, Selmers are really good, i would recomend them, is it wooded or plastic, i prefer the sound of a wooden one but they take more care and cost more, i would suggest learning something comlpetely different though, like a low brass. playing more than one similar instrument can mess with your lips, if you want to be a really good clarinetist i would shy away from the flute and sax, but that kinda hypocritical coming from me lol i play the french horn and fife too. if you think you can mantain your clarinet lips and play a flute or sax more power to ya! when you pick up a new instrument though you have to really focus on your lips so you dont' play both of them wrong lol. i sometimes spit all over my fife cause i just played the horn, i go back and say ok how and i supposed to hold my lips to play the fife and it usually works after that.
good luck!
Thanks. I thought the ambiture necessary for clarinet and saxophone were similer. The only difference to me is that the clarinet has a straight mouthpiece while that of a saxophone is bent. I've only seen the instruments, and haven't played them. For band, I've only played clarinet. In fourth grade, however, I learned how to play Here Comes The Sun on violin.
K, I learned them the other way around, from sax to clarinet.
Put your mouth on your clarinet then tilt it up so its angled higher up than you normally would have it, not quite 90 degrees, but maybe closer 70 or maybe less.
The mouthpieces are shaped differently, but I hope that should give you a better clue.
Your lower lip juts out while playing clarinet. Slide it back and bring in the sides of your lips.
Think, "O"
Nice round embouchure. That's the trick. You should feel like you're just wrapping your lips around the mp, instead of clamping down like with clarinet.
Ok, so jaw back, and corners of your mouth in.
Sax embouchure is really loose and mellow. There IS tension, but not as much as your clarinet. Remember that, and by softer sax reeds than you might expect, based of your clarinet reed sizes.
Lower register is SO much harder on sax, I'm pretty sure its cause of the conical shape. Just remember that, and don't try playing too low to begin with. The range goes down to Bb below the staff, everything below E, or so I would try to stay away from until you are comfortable on the horn. Maybe even as high as G...
As for the whole, "I play clarinet, let me play tenor sax now, thing"
Nearly every clarinet player I know plays tenor sax. Imho I don't really see what the appeal is of the tenor to the clarinet player. All saxs have the same fingerings (cept for bari only in that it has an extra extending the range down to A on most horns, and some of the older saxs that have strange auxilliary keys and that whole fork Eb thing...)
The only reason that wouldn't be true is if you try reading things by concert pitch, which no one does.
Middle clarinet and sax registers are near identical. B down to D match perfectly.
At that point, on the sax, you drop the register key, which is an even octave.
No keys down = C#
Left middle finger = C
That's the weird part, then it's 1 for B, 1 and 2 for A, 1 2 and 3 for G...
Because the sax register key is an even octave, the fingerings between the middle and lower register is very similar.
You can figure out the fingerings pretty easily once you get used to it, worked for me when I picked up 'net.
Also, the flute has no octave mechanism, you change registers by blowing overtones. That just means you blow harder and pull the register up that way, instead of adding keys. You must have accidently pulled a note up a 12th accidently cuz you tightened your throat too much, right?
It's just like that.
Oh, on flute, the thumb hole alone does nothing, its just C#, to play C you have the first finger alone, instead of just the thumb hole on clarinet.
Besides that, its pretty much similar with sax, the Bb key by the thumb is reminiscent of the Bis key on the sax. I started using my bis key a whole lot more after starting flute.
Also, if you look closely, becuase I believe sax fingerings were based off of the flute, you can see how Alternate C was made. That key on the side opens the tone hole that corresponds to the thumb key on the flute.
On flute, that thumb key and the first finger make a B
If the thumb is openned, its a C
On sax, the first key makes a B, but adding that one side key opens that, hole, making a C
Learning the other two will help your fingering and basic understanding of your horn greatly.
