Chapter Text
The first chapter dealing with the actual clarinet was written by co-author omnicron, who has played since he was twelve, on through university.
There were a lot of nifty pics, which I can't figure out how to format into the text here. If you are REALLY interested, comment and I'll find a way to send the document.
Go to Chapter 2 for my comments on how a clarinet and John Watson can be used for fan fic purposes.
How to be a good clarinetist
A good clarinetist must have good technique. And that means hours and hours practicing scales, scales in thirds, arpeggios and stuff like that. Because for some reason, composers seem to enjoy giving the clarinets all of the really difficult technical counter melodies. If you listen to anything by John Williams, you'll hear the violins and the trumpets carrying the melody, and the clarinets are running all over the place with some very technical counter melody.
Clarinetists also have to have very strong mouth muscles (called embouchure ) and very strong lungs. There is a lot of "back pressure" created by the reed and the air column in the instrument.
Usual size, shape, material for case? Compartments?
Cases are usually rectangular in shape, and can be as small as a handbag or as large as a briefcase. Most cases are usually made of plastic but some very expensive ones can be made of wood covered in leather. There aren't usually many compartments (as in a sax case) but there's usually a place to keep your reeds, or a metronome and that's about it.
Larger more expensive / professional cases have room for two clarinets. Why would you need two clarinets you ask? Because clarinets and come in to different types.. tuned to two different keys. The clarinets that are most common are tuned to B flat (also called a soprano clarinet) but some clarinet repertoire is written for clarinets tuned to the key of A. So it's up to the player to either transpose on-the-fly from A to Bb [which is extremely difficult] or pick up the A clarinet and playing like normal. Note: Unless you are familiar with clarinets it would be virtually impossible to tell the difference between the two instruments (an A clarinet is a little bit longer and a little bit thicker).
Reeds
The clarinet reed is arguably the most important part of the instrument. Without a good reed you can't get a good sound even if you are an experienced clarinet player.
Clarinet reeds are all made from a kind of cane plant called "Arundo donax" .
The tip of the reed (the side that goes into the player's mouth) comes in varying thicknesses. A very thin reed is given the numerical value 1or 2. A thicker reed would be given a numerical value of 4 or 5. A thin reed is easier to play, but has a thinner tone and tends to chip more. A thicker reed requires more embouchure muscle strength and more breath support (lung power). I personally play on a thickness of 3 1/2.
Usually as a clarinet players embouchure strength increases they increase the thickness of the reed.. but this is not always the case. I know some very experienced players that play a 2 reed. (I started off on a 2).
Reed Conditioning:
No serious clarinet player will actually take a reed out of a box of reeds and just play on it. Most experienced clarinet players, will adjust their reed somewhat to suit their playing style, or even the individual piece (for very serious performers). A serious clarinet player will have:
1. A very flat surface on which to place the reed for adjustment.
2. Very fine sandpaper.
3. A knife
With time and practice (and a little bit of luck) a bad reed can be turned into an acceptable one, and a good reed can be turned into an excellent reed... or a piece of garbage if you make a mistake.
Neck harness?
Neck harness or neck straps are rarely used.. in fact I've only seen it once.. and that person was playing the Basset Horn (a cousin of the clarinet). I really don't know why you would use a neck strap.. the clarinet is not all that heavy and is easily supported by the thumb of the right-hand on the "thumb rest" on the back of the instrument.
However some bass clarinet players do choose to use a neck strap if they have to stand or march.
Mute?
There is no such thing as a clarinet mute. The reason for this is because the sound escapes not from a single point (like in a trumpet or trombone) but from every open hole along the instrument. The only time you would ever hear the effect of the "clarinet mute" would be when all fingers are down covering holes (lower register E, upper register B).
Humidifier?
I've never heard of a clarinet humidifier. But that does not necessarily mean that they do not exist. I imagine if you had an old wooden clarinet in storage, it might be wise to buy a humidifier to put in the case while it was in storage. "Some wooden clarinets do not respond well to humidity" (read with a Sean Connery accent).
Interesting fact: before the advent of plastic or resin clarinets, in the intense heat and variable humidity of the south Pacific, wooden clarinets would crack and break. So in the years of World War II (when the USO WENT to the Pacific and encountered this problem), a clarinet made of metal was created.. however a metal clarinet sounds a lot more like a soprano sax than anything else.. and is notoriously difficult to play according to what I have heard.
Cork?
Between each joint of the clarinet is a cork. These corks must be greased from time to time (so that it is easy to assemble and disassemble). Periodically the corks need to be replaced, especially the cork between the upper and lower joint (it will happen more often if you don't take the instrument apart for long periods of time).
Upkeep?
You need to occasionally clean the mouthpiece with warm water (not hot water as this will distort the plastic and can alter the shape of the mouthpiece). Also, after every time you play it, it is advisable to swap out the instrument to remove any condensation.. if you don't do this the pads may begin to rot or the instrument just may begin to smell funny. It's also not a good idea to eat something and then play the instrument as whatever you are eating will be blown into the instrument and the last thing you need is to have your lunch inside your instrument.
Anatomy
Look up videos on Youtube for extra help on how the pieces fit together. A clarinetist with quick hands and deft fingers can put the body together in about a count of three.
How is it made? What materials for low to high end clarinets?
Unfortunately, how a clarinet is made is a little bit out of the scope of my knowledge. All I know is that there are 24 tone holes along the instrument in each tone hole must be precisely placed along the axis of the instrument, and be precisely the right size. This (and a few other things) is what differentiates good-quality clarinets from poor quality clarinets.
A student model clarinet is usually made from plastic or resin, where professional level clarinets are made from wood. Boxwood, to be precise... however, now with modern material techniques, some very good instruments are made from a kind of vulcanized rubber.
Good makers?
Buffet (sometimes called Buffet Crampon)
Selmer (French company has recently produced some very good instruments)
Yamaha
LeBlanc
Bundy. Jupiter (every clarinet student is familiar with these brand name as they are very cheap and used in high schools and elementary schools as a student model instrument)
Ridenour (a company that makes very high quality professional level clarinets from vulcanized rubber.. these instruments arguably sound just as good as instruments made from wood).
Cost?
Student model will run you from anywhere between $100-$200. However that $100 clarinet is probably made in China and is a piece of shit.. not even student musicians should be made to play on a Chinese made clarinet.. they leak, they squeak, the pads don't seat right and even if you're good, the tone is generally abysmal.
A professional level clarinets (Like the Buffet "Tosca" ) will generally run you between $6,000 and $7,000.
Repertoire?
Yikes! Repertoire covers about 150 years! And includes everything from classical, Jazz, swing, klezmer and even some appearances in popular music however the instrument is not commonly used in pop music. Klezmer is some of the most technically difficult music to play.
Here is a short list:
Mozart : Clarinet Concerto
Weber : Concertino, Concertos nos 1 and 2, Grand Duo Concertante
Brahms : Sonatas nos. 1 and 2
Rossini : Introduction, Theme and Variations
Carl Stamnitz : Concerto
Aaron Copland : Concerto, Sonata
Leonard Bernstein : Sonata
Malcolm Arnold, Concertos nos 1 and 2, Sonatina
Saint Saens : Sonata
Finzi : Five Bagatelles, Concerto
Stanford : Sonata, Concerto, Three Intermezzi
Poulenc : Sonata for clarinet, Sonata for two clarinets
Stravinsky : Ebony Concerto
Anything played by Benny Goodman or Arty Shaw.
Philip Sparke : Concerto
Jim Parker : Concerto
Crusell : Clarinet Concertos nos 1, 2 and 3
and...the beginning of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue
Other - unusual pieces
I heard of a piece where the performer is supposed to dress up in a clown outfit and accompany himself to the sounds of his own footsteps on a concrete floor. However I have never found this piece or anything to substantiate it. It could have been just the active imagination of a clarinet student.
Techniques of using, handling, playing
When you are putting together the clarinet you have to grip it kind of hard to push it together, so you need to keep your hands off the keys as much as possible (which is quite difficult because the keys are pretty much everywhere) to avoid damaging/bending them.
Basic clarinet technique:
1) blow in one end
2) wiggle your fingers on the outside of the instrument
3) try not to suck
4) ?
5) PROFIT!
What to play?
I always found it interesting to play the pieces that are the most technically difficult. This not only makes you sound cool but also prepares you for those vicious sections that composers like to throw a clarinet players in concert band repertoire (since they don't have violins to cover the part). Also playing in a "clarinet choir" is always a fun experience.
What not to do (Drop it. Freeze it. Whatever.)
If you have a wooden clarinet, it is best that you try to keep it in an environment that is relatively free from humidity or extreme/rapid changes in temperature. I remember marching with a young man that had recently purchased a wooden clarinet, (the director warned him against this) and sure enough, when on parade, the clarinet actually cracked (right on the finger holes of the upper joint). This was due not only to humidity in the air but also to be heat and rapid temperature change going from the case to the environment.
It's also not a good idea to expose clarinet to extremes of temperature.. however plastic clarinets are more resilient to this.
The clarinet mouthpiece is also quite sensitive. When cleaning it, you must never use very hot water, as this can cause small changes in the size and shape of the mouthpiece therefore rendering it useless.
You can drop a clarinet, it's generally not advisable but I've seen it happen with no ill effects… other that a shattered bell or a broken mouth piece. I remember one time on parade, a young child darted out in front of the person next to me. She almost tripped on the boy, but dropped her clarinet and the bell shattered into a million pieces.. Later she was able to finish the parade playing on that instrument.
How to write about playing a clarinet so a clarinetist cries all sad because UR doing it wrong
- Puffing out your cheeks. If you are playing the clarinet like you are blowing up a balloon thing you're doing it wrong. A good embouchure (mouth placement on the instrument) requires that the lips are tight and the cheeks are not puffed out. A good analogy would be if you were to hum the sound "em" keeping your lips tight.
- placing your right hand on the upper joint and your left-hand on the lower joint. That's completely backwards.
- pointing the clarinet out at a right angle to your face. The proper position for a clarinet should be on a 45 degree angle from your mouth.
What is the 'break'? Or the hardest part of learning the clarinet
The break is the most difficult part of the clarinet to master. Crossing the break is a major step in a clarinetist's journey into becoming good. The "break" is the end of the first register (called the chalumeau register) and the second register (called the clarino register). The first necessary thing a clarinetist must do is to know the notes that straddle the break. Basically, you have to jump registers, and typically this means beginners will squeak or honk when doing this. There are videos to help explain better without being technical. You can hear it.
Why do beginners sound like a cat honking?
Some of the reasons why a clarinet can sound like a cat in heat or a goose being pinched:
- The reed. If you have a bad reed (cracked, chipped).. you're going to squeak. Most students don't understand that you just can't take a reed out of the box and play it - you have the condition it and work with it
- The instrument. If there is a bad seal on some of the upper keys it could let air in, causing the instrument to leap up to the upper octave.
- Poor embouchure. If your muscles around your mouth are not strong enough to support the reed, a part of the reed could crash against the mouthpiece causing harmonic vibrations that cause the instrument to leap into the upper octave.
- Going over the break and not blowing hard enough or blowing too hard.
- Blowing too hard. If you try to put too much air through the instrument in the lower octave (with two firm an embouchure) it will cause the air column to become unstable and you'll squeak.