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Upgrading From Plastic to Wood Clarinets: A Guide for Band Parents
Clarinet parents have to put up with a lot – unrelenting squeaks, endless requests for more reeds, and seemingly never-ending equipment upgrades. The biggest and most daunting upgrade is when and how you should switch from a plastic to a wood clarinet. Unless you have previously gone through this process, upgrading from a plastic to wood clarinet can be stressful and confusing. You want the best for your child, but it’s tricky when there are so many brands, models, price ranges, retailers, and other factors to consider. Let’s start with the basics. Plastic clarinets vs. wood clarinets Plastic clarinets are great for beginners. Plastic is a resilient and durable material,…
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How to Winter-Proof Your Clarinet
Blustery cold, wind-tangled hair, dry hands, chapped lips…winter isn’t for the faint of heart! If you’re dreaming of warmer days, you’re not alone – your clarinet is also eagerly awaiting the sun and humidity of summer. Harsh winter conditions can wreak havoc on your clarinet. From the bomb cyclone to other arctic conditions, winter weather is unforgiving to clarinets, causing tuning issues, unpredictable reeds, and cracks. Here are a few preventative steps to protect your wooden clarinet this winter: Avoid drastic temperature changes. Cold winter air outside + overactive heating inside = a recipe for disaster. Try to keep your clarinet as stable as possible, in regards to temperature. Warm…
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Quick Fix Friday: Ligature Before Reed
If you’re a clarinet player, I’m sure you know the agonizing pain of breaking a reed (especially a good one!). RIP to the hundreds of reeds I’ve unintentionally killed. May you all join the ranks of loyal and noble reeds from yesteryear who have met an untimely demise. One easy way to prevent premature reed deaths? When you’re assembling your clarinet, always put your ligature on before the reed. This avoids the risk of chipping or breaking your reed with the edge of your ligature. Simply loosen the ligature so that you can maneuver the reed to the position you want, then tighten the ligature and voilà – no chipped reed!
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All About the A-Flat Clarinet
Most clarinetists are familiar with the core members of the clarinet family, from the unwieldy contrabass clarinet to the tiny E-flat clarinet, but there is one “black sheep” of the clarinet family – the A-flat clarinet. If you think the E-flat is small and shrill, you’re in for a rude awakening when you hear the A-flat clarinet. Not only have I have performed and recorded on the A-flat clarinet with a clarinet choir, but I have lived to tell the tale! Many people share my fascination and curiosity of this unusual instrument, so I’d like to share some information and my personal experience with this beast. Let’s start with the…
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Items to Have in Your Emergency Clarinet Kit
In addition to the daily necessities, I also carry an “emergency” clarinet kit in my bag. Not only is this a great excuse to shop for cute makeup/toiletry bags and small clutches (which work very well to corral clarinet accessories!), this is also practical for long practice sessions, back-to-back performances, or worst case scenarios (broken mouthpieces, ligatures with stripped screws, etc.). Here are some items I have in my clarinet emergency kit: Clarinet accessories & repair Jeweler’s screwdriver set Backup mouthpiece and ligature (make sure to store in protective cushions or cases) EZO, floral tape, or other cushion for your teeth and lips Cigarette paper Q-tips, paintbrushes, makeup brushes,…
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Quick Fix Friday: Swab Your Instrument
This week’s Quick Fix Friday is a public service announcement reminding you to swab your instrument regularly! I’m sure that by now, many of you have seen the report circulating on social media of the man who died from “bagpipe lung.” If you haven’t, you can read the story here. Basically, doctors were unable to determine why an otherwise healthy man was plagued by breathing and lung problems. After his death, they discovered that the bagpipe he played as a hobby contained fungus and bacteria. This isn’t an isolated case – another man with “saxophone lung” didn’t clean his clarinet for over 30 years. Luckily, doctors were able to isolate…
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Buying Your Child’s First Clarinet: A Guide for New Band Parents
Congratulations! Your child has decided to join a school or community band program and has chosen to play the clarinet! Clarinets are obviously the best instrument (although I am a little biased), but it can be overwhelming to purchase a clarinet if you are a first-time band parent. With reeds, mouthpieces, ligatures, mouthpiece caps, swabs, and cork grease, the clarinet has more than its fair share of equipment, which is why I’m here to help. Your main concern is probably the cost of a clarinet, which can range anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Band is an investment, and your goal is to find the best…
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Spring Cleaning: Clarinet Edition
It’s that time of year again, when you trade in your peppermint mochas for iced coffee, bid adieu to your winter jacket, shamelessly post pictures of blooming flowers on social media…..and reluctantly realize you should really start your spring cleaning. If the idea of spring cleaning is foreign to you, I’m here to help. I’m a lifelong professional neat-freak and organizer. I don’t let seasons dictate my cleaning habits, although there’s something satisfying about marking the end of winter with a clean space. I am a firm believer in the power of an organized room. If you are surrounded by visual clutter, it is transferred into mental clutter (aka stress!). If…
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Gross Habits Every Musician Should Break
Let’s get real for a second. Being a musician can be gross sometimes. Using the same mouthpieces and equipment for hours every day is germ-a-palooza, and let’s not even get started on spit valves. Here are a few suggestions to make 2016 a cleaner and more sterilized year for musicians. Wash your hands. Not only will this keep you from getting sick, but it’s also a good way to protect the spread of grime from your hands to your instrument. Brush your teeth. You know what’s worse than dirty hands? Blowing half-eaten food particles from your mouth into your horn. Clean your swab. When was the last time you laundered…
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Ways to Upcycle Your Plastic Reed Cases
If you’re a single reed player (here’s looking at you clarinets and saxophones), you’ve probably hoarded enough plastic reed cases to build a small house for your cat. These plastic sleeves are useful in safely delivering reeds straight from the factory to your awaiting mouthpieces, but after you move the reeds from their sleeves to your reed cases (or other preferred method of storage), what can you do with the plastic sleeves? What’s the difference between recycling and upcycling? Basically, recycling is when an object changes forms. For example, a recycled Coke can might become a bicycle or parts for an airplane. This is a great website on recycling and discovering…