Clarinet.

sic semper tyrannis:

oh and as far as my marching band issues, i found out that next year there will be either 2 or 3 tenors (without me) depending on if this one guy makes drum major. so i was talking to the director and i think he'll be more willing to put me on tenor now that we've realized it. plus, i've just been made marching band librarian, which is usually a senior, but i'll be a sophomore next year, and i'm awesome and the director is aware of my awesomeness. so is the lead drum major. and i took the tenor music, so now i can practice it and show them like "HA! i do know what i'm doing!!" it'll be great.

Sweet! Hope you have fun with that

I got into wind ensemble!! Yay!! I'm so proud of myself. And now, I've signed up for an audition to be assistant drum major. Auditions are on friday, and I'm already nervous. We have to conduct one of the songs for marching band twice, with different chunks of the band.

I played the clarinet in 6th through 8th grade but i quit after that because our teacher was a real butt-head. (no kidding) I have picked it up occasionally and played... but nothing for real. I almost miss playing it!!!

What kind of mouthpieces do you guys use?? I used to use the one that came with the clarinet, but now I just got a Vandoren B-45. It's really cool. It's bigger than factory mouthpieces (but uses the same reeds), and you get a MUCH better sound. At least in my experience. I've only had it for a couple days, but I love it.

sic semper tyrannis:

I got into wind ensemble!! Yay!! I'm so proud of myself. And now, I've signed up for an audition to be assistant drum major. Auditions are on friday, and I'm already nervous. We have to conduct one of the songs for marching band twice, with different chunks of the band.

Yay!

Good luck with the audition!

I just use the mouthpiece that came with my clarinet. My parents are a little on the cheap side.

How much did it cost?

^^^^^^A new Vandoren B45 mouthpiece is around $65-$70 (in American money), but my mom got mine cheaper on eBay.

My band teacher was telling me about reeds, and he said that when you open a new one, you should hold it up to the light and look at the fibers in it to see if they go all the way to the end. if they do, it's proabably a better reed than if they don't. the fibers make it stronger, and if it's stronger it vibrates better and gives you a better sound. he also said that when you open your new reed, wet it in your motuh for 2-3 minutes and then lay the tip of it against the flat part of the mouthpiece and brush your thumb along it towards the tip 3-4 times. this flattens and seals the fibers that expanded when you sucked it. you only have to do this when you first open it, though.

another thing he said was to rotate reeds. find about 3 or 4 good ones and keep them in your case. play a different one each day so you don't wear them out as fast. if you keep playing the same one everyday they wear out fast, your sound is less consistent, and you'll end up buying reeds more often. which sucks if you use good reeds because they're expensive.

just some bits of clarinet wisdom. hope at least someone is inspired to examine their reeds and become an expert in small pieces of wood involved in music.

i've been playing for five years as well (:

I play the clarinet! I started in 4th grade until now and I still do. I guess it's cool

Mmm,
Goin' on 7 years!
Yeah, a 3 clarinets, 2 plastic[1 antique; 1 brand new], 1 wooden[antique!]
But recently, I have switched to the Eb Soprano Clarinet.
Been playin' it for 3 years now.
Anyone played that before?
It's a bitch on the embouchure.

^^^^^^^ I've never tried the Eb, but i've heard they're hard to tune. How big is it?? Does it have a different mouthpiece??

sic semper tyrannis:

I got into wind ensemble!! Yay!! I'm so proud of myself. And now, I've signed up for an audition to be assistant drum major. Auditions are on friday, and I'm already nervous. We have to conduct one of the songs for marching band twice, with different chunks of the band.

I play bass clarinet
And whoo hoo - I'm in wind ensamble next year too -high five-

incineratingshadow:

@ megalolz: Wow. What kind of music do you guys play? What do you do for auditions? That really sucks. D:

We play jazz music.

And we hardly ever do auditions. If we do, I just have to play it all on my own.

Yeaya for clarinet! I've been playing for about..um...wow 9 years this year lol
Yes and explain an eb soprano clarinet...don't think i've heard about that one...

and a quick question i figured would be good to ask clarinets players, do you any of you own a buffet clarinet? if so have you ever had any problems with them?

I did, I bought it new and within like...6 months corks had fallen off. A friend of mines also had the metal on the clarinet discolour really badly..

incineratingshadow:

^ Oh my gosh, yes! My R13's A flat/G sharp key is badly discolored, and I've had it for about a year now. I love Buffets, really, but my plastic Buffet never had that problem, and I've had it ever since I started.

It depends on what the finish is. The most used keys will discolor the fastest. I've had my plastic Buffet for 7 years now and it only has mild discoloration, but it has the nickel finish. My R13 has silver finish and hasn't discolored, but I've only had it for about a year and a half so it probably hasn't had enough time to actually do anything.

quintessa14:

Yes and explain an eb soprano clarinet...don't think i've heard about that one...

It's the most adorable clarinet ever.


B flat is third from the right, E flat is last on the right (C is in between them).

^aww mini clarinet! lol

quintessa14:

and a quick question i figured would be good to ask clarinets players, do you any of you own a buffet clarinet? if so have you ever had any problems with them?

I had a buffet for the first few years that I learnt to play. After about half a year of playing, the register key got stuck and sometimes the notes wouldn't come out because of it.

quintessa14:

^aww mini clarinet! lol

My friends and I usually call it Small Clarinet or Baby Clarinet. XD