New beginnings, the clarinet

My first Clarinet

When I was a kid I was sent to do clarinet lessons. I survived those for about a year and then quit. But my love for the instrument never went away. I don’t know what set me off. But I have been meaning to pick it up again for quite some time. years a go I got an old clarinet from a fair but the mouthpiece was broken.  I nagged my family for years that, what I really wanted was a mouthpiece  to try if I could  still play.

Then about 4 years ago they gave me one for my birthday. When I tried to play the instrument all it did was squeak. Of course at first I thought I’d lost my touch and the thought of playing again faded away again. Then last year I tried it again. Squeak again! I still wasn’t totally convinced it was all my fault. Specialists ( my brother and sister) told me that it was a crappy instrument anyway and that it wasn’t much good except as a wall decoration.  Stubborn old me of course wanted to make sure.  A month or so later the ghost of the clarinet visited me again in my sleep. And the next morning I remembered.

Mouthpiece

I Googled a bit and found a Youtube lesson on basic clarinet blowing techniques. They told me to first get the mouthpiece off and get a sound out of it. So I did and what do you know, a sound. Not just any sound but the right sound. Next I added the barrel and tried again. A slightly lower sound emerged. I was on the JAZZ!. So I assembled the clarinet and a perfect A came out of the instrument I placed my finger on the first hole , G! second finger on second hole an F! Third finger  a E!  I was feeling so proud of myself.  now to play the scale further down in one breath I thought. AGFEDCBAG. YES! It works.  And now the other way.

I placed all my fingers on the holes planning to go upscale and…. Squeeeeeek!!!!!!. What the….. ! Again.. Squeeek!!!!!!. Again!!!! G!!!!!!! Huh????? It’s an octave to high. Something fishy was going on here. Again from top to bottom A…G..F…E…D…C…SQUEEEEAK!…… Again AGFEDCBA…. I was totally flabbergasted.   Again F..E..D..C..SQUEEEEK!!!, FEDCB….

Clarinet barrel

What the hell was going on here. Every-time I played a note on the second part of my clarinet it either squeaked was an octave to high or was on key.  Luckily  for me I am an excellent troubleshooter it’s part of my job.

So let me see what happens here. when I play a notes apart the lower register squeaks. When I play them top to bottom all is ok and when I play from button up it behaves as if I have closed the register key.  I disassembled my clarinet and there it was. the upper and lower piece only fit because there was a piece of tape closing the difference. This clarinet is made out of 2 different clarinets.  Well that was it. I owned a clarinet that was unplayable. built out of different clarinet parts from different vendors.  I tried some more But the only thing I could practice was blowing technique.  Bummer! How would I ever learn to play the clarinet again.

Luckily I am not born yesterday.  I know I would not be able to fund a new clarinet on my own. So I started searching the web for clarinets. They where all too bloody expensive. I phoned my brother, who works in a respectable music store. I asked if they had anything cheap laying about. After I told him what I thought was cheap I had to wait another  5 minutes before he stopped laughing and then he told me to forget about it.  As I hang up I realized I saw my ignominious defeat. I was back in my corner still down 3 to 1.

So I let it fare for a few days.  NO! I would not be defeated.  I would still learn to play the clarinet.  But what where my options. I could rent one.  Google again.  My amazement grew as I saw the ludicrous prices on the screen of my laptop.  I decided I would not be ripped of by the people that displayed these rentals. No Sir! No way!.  Maybe I could go and take ….. Gulp…. lessons and get a rental through a music school.  In a flash, memory was back.

My clarinet lessons,  I can still remember going to the local brass band with my dad. I could not go to regular music school because I never went to general music school ( read more on this on my previous post Blowing the reed) But I still wanted to play. So my dad used his connections and got me into lessons at the brass band.  They handed me a clarinet and told me when my lessons would start. I was very happy.  Then I met my tutor as I watched him and shook his hand he avoided eye contact.

Clarinet Construction

Trouble! I don’t trust people that are scared to look you in the eye. Never have never will.  Shivers went down my spine as an early warning system. What would happen next.  I was in class with one other student a girl of about my age. She had been playing for a while and we would practice together. At first all was fine and I played my notes. Practiced for at

least an hour each weeks and soon I was able to blow in the correct way and able to play some tunes. The I noticed it. At first I wasn’t really consciously aware of it but then I started paying attention a bit more.  Now Usually I would sit on the left then the other  girl and next to that the teacher.  I would play my notes and then would hear that it was of mediocre quality and then she would play. As she was playing I watched the teacher.  Did he just stare at her breasts?

Now I  started playing at age 13 and my fellow student was 14 the time a woman starts to look as a woman  if you catch my drift.  I played another time. I did not get any response and then she played.  Nooo! He is… that  bastard……  The next week I started to pay more attention and yes. He was constantly paying attention not to me or my play. Not to her or her play. But to her body.  Of course she did everything well. He did not want to lose his view of the landscape and me, well he did not really give a damn what I did. So I started to lose interest. It was of no concern to him. My mom got upset with me for lacking the interest to practice.  To avoid arguments I taped my practicing on my cassette deck and played it for half an hour.  Meanwhile I’d read a comic or play a video game.  Soon after I told my parents I wanted to stop.  I was glad to be rid of that pervert and life went on.

My new Clarinet

Lessons, lessons would be my last resort. They where to expensive anyway. Prices were rated based on income which placed me in the most expensive category.  So how would I go from here. I still wanted to play summertime and other cool Jazz licks or some mesmerizing classical piece.  I figured there was but one thing to do. Play on my crappy Clarinet practicing what I could and find sponsors for my clarinet.

So last January I started to tell all my family and friends of my plan and told them to give me money for my birthday instead of a regular gift. I told them this money would go into my clarinet fund.  Last month on the 20th Chantal and I gave our birthday party. We always celebrate together because our birthdays are only 10 days apart.  The next  morning I counted the winnings and phoned my brother. I told him my wishes and my new budget.  He wasn’t to pleased but he would try to arrange something. Not really satisfied I started looking for clarinets on the Internet.

I then phoned him I could get one for 1third of the prices he was talking about. Then last Tuesday I phoned him that I needed a decent proposition by Wednesday morning or else I would buy one from the web for ‘el cheapo’.  He phoned back. Now I don’t know what or how he did it but he really came through for me this time. He got me a wooden clarinet of reasonable quality for a great prize.  This morning we went to Nijmegen to get it.

I already studied my first hour. It’s a different system than I practiced on when I was a kid, making the fingering completely new and meaning that I have to start as an absolute beginner again.  After watching some Youtube lessons

I can play au claire de la lune and when the saints already. I also started practicing my scales. That definitely needs work after a basic C to C , I will go and play chromatic.

It’s a new beginning and it’s fun.

P.S.: Thanks all for making this possible and thanks Bro your the greatest!

Blowing the reed