How to play the carinet?

[dora96]

Helllo guys,

I bought a carinet last week? I don't know how to play the carinet, and no knowlege about this instrument. I play the piano, and know music right. I have downloaded the figering chart from the website. I can blow the C major scale. I thought if I could find the scale I may play some simple music. So I did. I blow Mary has a little lamb, that was easy. My question is how to find the key lower octove. I Old McDonld has a farm. There is lower G and high G. How do I do it. Could someone give me some advice? Even though, I have the fingering chart, some of the keys I am confused. I thought I tried to do what I could  first before taking carinet lesson. Do someone have some material that can help me started? Many thanks

[allthumbs]

Sorry, this is Piano Street with the emphasis on first word.

No questions are allowed about other instruments. Go sit in the corner!

[slobone]

... How do you know a carinet isn't a piano? 

[thalberg]

Hi Dora!

Good for you for wanting to learn the clarinet.  Here is what you do.  Open the bathroom door and stand about ten feet from the toilet.  Then try to toss the clarinet into the toilet without hitting the rim.  That is the real challenge!

[allthumbs]

... How do you know a carinet isn't a piano? 

For the same reason that I know a silk purse is different from a sow's ear.

[Bob]

There are six main tone holes on every woodwind instrument.  In general.  

Left hand on top (the top three tone holes with index, middle, ring), right hand on bottom (index, middle, ring again).

There's how to breath, how to put the reed on, posture, etc. too.

Maybe someone else who knows clarinet better will reply.

Tonguing too, embouchure....

Open is middle G.  It's a Bb clarinet though (I'm assuming), so it will sound a whole tone higher than it reads.

left hand thumb covers the tone hole in the back.  It should be positioned so it can operate the other key too though.  

thumb = F

then index, middle, ring.... E, D, C.  And that's what they read as middle C.

Adding keys each time.  Then add RH middle for B natural.  It breaks the pattern.  Index RH would be Bb.  Then 1 and 2 on RH, that's A.  Then, 123 on TH, that's G.  Low G.  So thumb, LH123, RH123 is low G.  

Hand position is important too.  Curved fingers.  Reed choice and placements on the mouthpiece.

Start with putting your hand over the six main tone holes though.  RH thumb goes under the thumb rest and can hold some of the weight of the isntrument.  They have little neck straps for clarinets now too.  The weight can really make your RH thumb sore.  The fingers also hold the instrument a little, but if it's a G, there's not much holding the instrument, just RH thumb and your mouth.

A above second line G is the little nub key over the the LH index.  You should be able to tilt your LH index finger to hit that.  They's why you need curved fingers.  Put your LH three inner fingers perpendicular to the clarinet.  Then tilt the second joint of your LH index finger toward the instrument, and the thick thumb muscle base part of your hand toward the body of the clarinet.  That can get that curve thing going.

On the fingering chart, they probably show the complete set of possible keys and holes.  The dark ones are the ones with fingers down.  You have to use other parts of the hand, like the RH part where the index finger connects to the hand, for some of the notes.

There's more to it, but that's the basic idea.  By the LH thumb, if you press that key down and close the thumb hole, it will send the pitch up a P12.  Saxes are nice -- It's an octave key.  Clarinets have a register key though.  So that low G becomes four line D.  That jumps over the register.  Going from few fingers down, like up by G, A, Bb on the upper joint, to many fingers, like the LH/RH123123 and thumb plus register -- That's called crossing the break.  It can be a challenge.

You play piano.  You could trade some lessons with a clarinet player.  Get someone to demonstrate in person.

[dora96]

This is piano street. Thank you for reminding me. I must be blind in one eye, and can't see of the other.

Thank you Bob, you are kind and generous with knowledge of this instrument to share with me. My clarinet is Yamaha 4C, I don't know it is Bb or C clarinet. I haven't got the time to read through your post yet Bob. I will study it. My daughter is in the band, she plays the keyboard in the band, but she doesn't feel very excited playing the keyboard while other peopld blow the instrumental away. Besides, the conductor seems to give more attention to the people of clarient. I am sort of trying to help to understand the clarinet. I hope more people will take pity on me, and give me some basic tip thanks

[dorfmouse]

Do visit the woodwind forum at the ABRSM music forums. it's friendly and helpful.

http://forums.abrsm.org/index.php?act=SF&s=&f=16

The other music forums are nice too and not just for people doing the exams ...  there's also a diploma forum which you might find helpful.

[timothy42b]

There are six main tone holes on every woodwind instrument.  In general.  

Ah..............well sort of but not really.

In order to play a woodwind instrument chromatically and get all the notes, you would have to have many more fingers, much longer.  Our physiology does not match the acoustical requirements.

Along came Herr Boehm who figured out a mechanical way of connecting our few short fingers to lots of tone holes all over the place.  A clarinet is a monstrously complicated machine. 

Add to that the difficulty of a beginner getting the reed just right, or learning to play across the break (even learning where the break is!), etc., I would say the clarinet is just about the last instrument you would want to teach yourself. 

The flute with all those keys is still simpler in tone production.  The piano is dead easy to self learn compared to clarinet. 

Take a lesson.  Even a beginner on clarinet will show you more in ten minutes than you'll figure out in six months. 

[keypeg]

Clarinet discussion group like Pianostreet.  I saw a post "Getting a new clarinet - help"
http://moncom.net/moncomclarinet.asp
Googling "clarinet - forum" gives lots of hits.