I'll be a clarinet performer soon ;-)

[david johnson]

It's the one delivered with the clarinet. The only information I can find on a middle clarinet part is "Hans Kreul, Tübingen".
We've got an additional glas mouthpiece which my wife bought but rarely used ("too cold"). "Vandoren, Paris. A2".
EDIT: Expensive hobby http://www.kreul.de/klarinette/preisliste/Alle/

since you already have it, better get used to the crystal vandoren, that's good stuff    your 2.5 should sound best on it.

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

Now back to Wurstwasser's clarinet,

I'm Mr. Tapio now, Jezetha, or only Tapio. (Hmm, I must have married again )

I managed everything about the course today. First round will now start from 2011-01-13 -weekly- over 4 months and usually be 30 minutes for the technical practising. I've got some time to prepare until 13th. Maybe learning notes. I can read them, but rather like deciphering hieroglyphs.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I'm Mr. Tapio now, Jezetha, or only Tapio. (Hmm, I must have married again )

Aha! You're the forest god from the Kalevala now... 

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

Aha! You're the forest god from the Kalevala now... 

Exactly. I'm very busy and can choose between being a forest god and the clarinet virtuosos world career now
I'll change my avatar picture one day. I have a very beautiful nutcracker which looks accordingly. Long beard, a walking stick, ... Just need to take a picture.

[(poco) Sforzando]

I'm Mr. Tapio now, Jezetha, or only Tapio.

More appealing than "sausage water."

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

More appealing than "sausage water."

Indeed.   In Dutch, 'worstwater' might even be seen as a rather unsavoury but funny neologism for 'urine'...

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

First "lesson" today.
So I met my clarinet teacher for the first time today. A lot of talking about the instrument and handling; he showed me how to put the pieces together, all this, I'm a bloody beginner. He carefully examined my (wife's) Kreul Clarinet and was very satisfied with it and it's sound. Indeed he was able to produce some really nice playing with it Some of the clarinets holes don't close properly due to the Clarinet being 20 yrs old: He'll fix everything until next week.
Positive: A very positive and nice person. This is very important. And besides education, he plays in classical orchestras, so probably shares my interest (he's not a Jazz guy e.g.).
The show can begin
And he told me about the importance of practising. AT LEAST 30 minutes at 4 days a week. Discipline.
Also I'm hopeful that I'll learn to read music better than I do now. I read classical music literature and it's frustrating not to find out which passages of a known piece of music are actually written down.

[karlhenning]

. . . Some of the clarinets holes don't close properly due to the Clarinet being 20 yrs old . . . .

Yes, the instrument will want occasional upkeep.

Good luck! Practice well!

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

1st lesson. At first, played on the mouth piece only. After a couple of tries it went fine and I repeated some tones after the teacher. Then 3 tones with the clarinet. A lot of putting away the mouth piece and re-attaching (I mean "absetzen/neu ansetzen") in order to get practise to find the right position. Everything worked pretty well.

Bad news: He wasn't able to remove most of the screws and couldn't fix the keys which do not close well: The clarinet will need a general overhaul; he recommended to do it. I'll not have it for 1 or 2 weeks then. But when it returns, it will be like new he says. I'll send it to an instrument maker in the south of germany; price will probably be 300-400 EUR. Still better than buying a cheap, new one.

BTW. I was just searching for a specific clarinet website (there's a good german site which explains the instrument in detail), entered "dieklarinette.de" - it was not the page I was searching for but however: a pleasure. Good marketing - Karl, do you look that good?

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

BTW. I was just searching for a specific clarinet website (there's a good german site which explains the instrument in detail), entered "dieklarinette.de" - it was not the page I was searching for but however: a pleasure. Good marketing - Karl, do you look that good?

"Auf Nachfrage können wir Ihnen die Fotos auch in noch höherer Auflösung zukommen lassen!"

("At your request we can also furnish you with the pictures in an even higher resolution!")

* thinking *

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

My clarinet returned last week from Leitner & Kraus - it's like a new one now . First 2 lessons and since last Thursday I'm excercising ~20 Minutes per day: and I'm suffering from stronger difficulties in blowing the tones. There's a strong resistance, it seems as if I tend to press lower lip too hard against the wood. Not sure if it's normal that it's soo difficult. I'm trying hard. I'm using a 2,5 Vandoren reed. What annoys me is, beside the wanted tone I also often hear some remarkable "blowing noise". Well, I'll have to practise more.

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

Next lesson. Learned how to make staccato like tones. Haven't got the english word for this ("Anschlag") - stopping the air flow with the tongue. Difficult. Very demanding.

[david johnson]

if the tone is too airy, raise the reed closer to the tip of the mouthpiece, perhaps even a slight bit above.  the bottom lip must be firm without pushing up on the reed. push the mouthpiece up harder against the top teeth.

[karlhenning]

Next lesson. Learned how to make staccato like tones. Haven't got the english word for this ("Anschlag") - stopping the air flow with the tongue. Difficult. Very demanding.

I am guessing the term in English is tonguing.

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

if the tone is too airy, raise the reed closer to the tip of the mouthpiece, perhaps even a slight bit above.  the bottom lip must be firm without pushing up on the reed. push the mouthpiece up harder against the top teeth.

Well it worked better today. Tried a different reed and my glas mouthpiece - mouthpiece isn't the point, it's rather the technique. I tended to press too much with my bottom lip, making it hard to create a sound. The "push harder against top teeth" part worked. Less problems today. Ran out of breath! Yesterday: Terrible. Maybe due to a reed which is out of order. Also, it was too dry.

I am guessing the term in English is tonguing.

Tonguing, OK. The german word BTW is "Anstossen". I learnt it's like when you say "taa" oder "daa". This is what I was exercising today, it's my homework until Thursday. Progress. A bit uncoordinated, but at least it works. Well, only there's soon spit between reed and mouthpiece!?! I had to clean it up every couple of minutes, otherwise it sounded like a shower -wet.

A good day. I'm about to rename the thread title to "Tapio - A shining star in clarinet heaven"

[david johnson]

great progress!!  soak the reed before you use it, and draw the new one's backs across some fine grain sandpaper prior to using them.
tighten the top ligature screw less than the bottom one.

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

From what I experienced, heard and read[1] so far, a clarinet seems to be a pretty capricious instrument, and it's owner always tuning the instrument and reed here and there... And always searching for the best tone... "Die Klarinette" indicates, the clarinet is a woman

[1] Good web site on the instrument: http://www.the-clarinets.net/index.html

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

Todays lesson: Breathing.
I'm breathing almost since 40 years - quite successfully. But the clarinet teacher told me about the abdominal breathing and we made some strange excercises. He told me some things that I can do in order to feel about the advantages of this. Currently, I'm not breathing like that and it is somewhat strange for me. Talked about the importance of feeling it, more important than intellectually get the idea.
Breathing, tonguing, holding tones and making goooood long tones; enough stuff for the next weeks.

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

Last week (2011-03-03):
Went pretty good. Good tones. "Bruder Jakob" - "Frère Jaque", that was the homework as well.

Then: Learning at home this Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: I'm at war against my clarinet. I emmited noise, not music. Tried thousand reeds. Everything got emitted, a few better tones, 90% air tones, beeps here, beeps there, I don't know what's wrong. Some difficulties in really closing all holes, also I tend to press a lever accidentally with my left ring finger. But that's not all. So terrible noises - something is wrong. Couldn't really concentrate on the melodies (also "Happy Birthday") which I intended to play.
I'll met my teacher today.

[Opus106]

Last week (2011-03-03):
Went pretty good. Good tones. "Bruder Jakob" - "Frère Jaque", that was the homework as well.

Congrats.

Then: Learning at home this Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: I'm at war against my clarinet. I emmited noise, not music.

If you're lucky, you might accidentally play a Xenakis transcription.

*runs*