How to choose your first clarinet and its rods
If bemol, resin or wood, nozzle, clamp and rods: what your first clarinet needs to sound good and what to check before you pay, new or used.
To start with, the best thing to do is to have a soprano clarinet at Si bemol, Boehm system with resin body, a decent study nozzle and tougher rods 2 or 2 ½. It's a clarinet with bands and orchestras, and it holds climate changes and doesn't cut.
Then come the details that make a difference to a beginner's sound: his nozzle, his clamp, his rods and his shoes seal well. Let's get some parts.
To sum up
- The first clarinet is most often a soprane at Si bemol with Boehm system.
- The resin is resilient and stable and the wood sounds warmer but can be cut with sudden temperature changes.
- In a beginner, the nozzle influences the sound as much or more as the clarinet's body.
- To start with, tougher rods 2 or 2 ½, and number changes between manufacturers.
- A used clarinet should pass through a technician: slippers, corks and cracks are reviewed before they pay.
If bemol and system Boehm: the basics
The soprano clarinet at Si bemol is what's used to learn and what you'll find in school gangs, wind gangs and orchestras. There are others, but they come after and most often by an indication of his faith or his grouping.
| Clarinet | Uso | To get started? |
|---|---|---|
| Sopranus at Si bemol | Bandas, orchestras, popular music, jazz | That's the standard. |
| Soprano in Do | The initiation of young children and some scores | At times, for being shorter and lighter |
| At | Repertoire and chamber | No. He adds up as his student advances. |
| Retiro at Mi bemol | Bandas and orchestras, acute registration | No |
| Low Clarinet | Bandas, orchestras and assemblies | No, except for grouping |
The key system is also reviewed. In Colombia, as in most of the world, the Boehm system is used. The German system (Oehler) has another mechanics and other digitations and appears from time to time among those used and does not serve the usual methods.
Do you have an age for a bemol? It's usually feasible when your hands cover up the leaking holes and the right pinique reaches its keys, something that often happens about 8 or 9. Your teacher checks it out in a class.
Resin or wood
| Resina | Wood (pomegranate) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sonido | clear and stable, very right to learn | warmer, more dark and more nuanced |
| Fits risk | practically none | It exists, especially with sudden temperature and moisture changes |
| Clima | Ideal for parades, hot ground and trips | We have to get him high and hot before we get cold. |
| Mantenimiento | Sencillo | Initial and technical check-up |
| To whom | Beginners, children, school gangs | Students who advance and can care for him |
The wood cuts as the hot and moist air of the breath enters a cold tube. On a cold morning of Bogotá, or as we get from an air-conditioned car to the high and hot coast, that's a real shock. That's why the wooden claratorias get hot with their hands before they touch them and we explain them in [how to clear and care for a clarinet].](/blog/como-limpiar-y-cuidar-un-clarinete).
There are also claratoriums of composite materials, with wood and resin powder, that seek a warmer sound without the risk of cracks. They can be a good intermediate step later.
Nozzle and clamp: The sound starts here
The nozzle that comes with many studio claratoriums is the tightiest piece of the kit. Switching it to a good quality studio nozzle is often the greatest improvement a beginner can have. Ask your teacher to put you up to date with an opening.
What to check at the nozzle
- Rig and rails: Look at the edge of the tip and the side rails with good light. They should have no pits or rails.
- Bureau: The flat surface of the cane should be smooth and without marking.
- Opening: To start with, a closed medium or half opening usually works best with low hardness rods.
- Protective patch: A small rubber plate onto his nozzle protects his face from his teeth and prevents his slipping.
The clamp
It can be metal with one or two screws, or with fabric or leather. The important thing is that it tightens suit: a folding metal clamp leaves the stick loose and bad vibrates. Check that the screws turn without sweeping and tighten only what's necessary to keep the stick from moving.
Rods: how hard to use at first
The rods are numbered by hardness: 1 ½, 2, 2 ½, 3, 3 ½ and more. The higher the number, the longer the cane and more air and firma of lips you need.
| Dureza | When | How you feel |
|---|---|---|
| 1 ½ to 2 | First few weeks, children | Sounds with little air and the sound can be open and something low |
| 2 to 2 ½ | Most beginners | The balance between ease and monitoring |
| 3 or more | When the pursuit strengthens and the teacher indicates | Filling more full noise and demand more air support |
- Numbering isn't universal: A 2 ½ of a manufacturer can feel as a 3 of another. If you change a manufacturer, re-test.
- Cash purchase: Even inside the same box some rods come out better than others. Numerate them and rotate them 3 or 4.
- That's too bad: It's hard to get a sound, his mouth gets tiresome and sounds with air.
- He's a bad catcher: The sound buzzes, it closes at the sharp and remains low with tuning.
- They are not intended for saxophone: The clarinet rods at Si bemol are not interchangeable with those of high saxophone.
- Synthetic: They last longer and they are more pairs and some teachers use them with children. Ask if they will suit you.
What to check at the tent or a used clarinet
- Roof shoes: They have to be seen whole, without scratching or tightening parts. To try leaking, cover with the palm at the lower end of each body, close holes and keys and sucks at the other end: the vacuum should be maintained.
- Couples: complete and firm, and with no pits and so thick as to put together the clarinet.
- Fears: with wood, check above all the upper body, around the holes and the registration key. Also look at the inside of the tube with a flashlight.
- Bridge key: connect the upper body with the lower body. If it's folded, some notes do not work well.
- Mechanism: No key should have been set or stick with them and springs have to be returned quickly.
- Metal rings: The intermittent and the bell have to be firm.
- Sound Test: with a functioning cane, touch serious notes, throat notes and passing to acute registration. If several notes do not come out, there are leaks.
What brings the kit and what to buy apart
A studio clarinet usually comes with case, nozzle, clamp, hood, cork fat and one or two rods. Complete the equipment with:
- A box of hard rods that indicates your teacher and a flat carrier to save them.
- A tipple with a strap to dry the inside after touching.
- A atril and a tuner, you can use our [online tuner]](/herramientas/afinador).
- A better quality studio nozzle if the kit doesn't help.
If you're gonna play at a college or town band, ask if the grouping's been performing instruments and [with wind bands in Colombia]](/blog/bandas-de-viento-en-colombia-como-empezar) We tell you how they work and [clarinet classes]](/clases/clarinete) You'll work from the first week how to put his arm and put his cane and get a stable sound.
Frequently asked questions
Is a wooden clarinet better to start with?
The resin isn't necessary. The resin's more resilient, it doesn't cut and it's easier to maintain, which makes it ideal to learn. The wood makes sense as the student progresses, regularly practice and can care for the instrument.
How do I know if my cane's too hard or too soft?
If it's a bad thing to get some noise and get tired in a few minutes, low half a point. If it sounds open, buzzes and remains low with tuning, it goes up half a point. With time, as an embocture strengthens, tightness tends to rise.
How long does a clarinet cane last?
It depends on how to use and how to care. With daily practice and with several rotations, a cane can last a few weeks. Change it with a tipped end, a deformed or a bad sound if you smell it well.
Clarinet or naughty flute: what's easier at first?
They are challenges different: with the clarinet, with the paddle and with the passing to the acute register and with the flute, we get the sound leading the air. We compare it with [cross flute or clarinet]](/blog/flauta-traversa-o-clarinete).