Hello everyone.

I recently decided I would pick up the Clarinet. Now besides the Clarinet I play the Cello and Violin, so it's pretty different for me.

I purchased one from a friend of mine, and went to my local music store to pick up some supplies. I got a basic cleaning kit, cork grease, a beginners book, and some reeds.

The brand I bought is called Vandoren Paris, and they are 2 1/2. Is this a good brand to be starting with?

I appreciate all comments, thank you.

-SlapSlapSlappy

Ah, welcome to the clarinet!
first up, you will find that most people are quite fond of vandoren reeds - they really are a good brand of reeds. You may find 2 1/2 a bit tough though, so, give it a go, but you may need to decrease the strength to 1 1/2 or 2.
Many people will suggest finding a teacher, and it will help, but, in the meantime, i would recommend focus on breath control, and to make sure that your fingers cover the holes properly when depressing the keys. If they are not covered properly, you may get squeeks, or no tone at all.
Try to relax as well.
Um, i would recommend starting slowly - with 10 mins a day, to 15, 20, 30, etc. to build your embouchure - your mouth will hurt for the beginning as you build strength in those muscles.
Next, be aware that reeds are very sensitive - they need to be set up correctly for best tone and ease of playing - and even when done correctly, a reed may perform very differently one day to another - so dont be too disheartened if your having a bad day - may just try a different reed
Finally, have fun
hope this helped
~Kato~

Thank you very much for your reply. I'm going to try it out tomorrow with the 2 1/2 reeds. If they don't work I'll return them for a different size.

I got a method book, cork grease, cleaning kit and a reed case. Is that all a beginner really needs? Thanks again.

ya that sounds good to start out with, the method book should explain how to start, how to hold it, how to form your emboucher and all that
so good luck!

Thanks for your reply.

I played the clarinet for the first time today. It was interesting, and I found a few things wrong with the instrument. When I tried to play open G, my tuner said it was an F. After inspecting the pads closely, I noticed 2 holes had damaged pads. This is probably an air leak, right?

I also found I needed a lot of pressure to force the air into the instrument. This might be the reed, so I'm returning the reeds for a smaller size. And while I'm at the music store I'll ask them about the pads.

Other than that I had a fun time trying to play it, and I did manage to make a pretty good sound at one time.

the tuner thing might be because concert F is a G on the clarinet, so you'll just have to transpose when doing that, also the lots of pressure partly because of the reed, a smaller size will make it easier, and its partly just how the clairent is played, takes some getting used to

So every note on a Clarinet is higher than it will be on a tuner?

although this is more helpful for learning brass instruments when a fingering will get you many notes, you can take a fingering chart and write the concert pitches on it. then as you learn fingerings, scales et cetera, you can sit in front of a tuner and be sure they're the right notes without excessive thought every time.

Wow...that doesn't sound too fun.

Well today I blew into it a little bit easier, but I think a smaller reed strength will help, which I will get on Wednesday. Thanks for your help everyone.

I just did notice something though. It is incredibly hard for me to produce a sound below an F, and almost impossible for me to play anything below a D. is this a problem with my mouth shape, or my instrument...?

nothing wrong with the instrument, again its jsut beacsue your just started, take it easy soon all the notes will come as you play more

Thanks Tia,

The reason I was asking is because D is on the second page of my Method book, and I can't play it.

I brought the instrument to my band teacher today, and she told me that the top half of the instrument (excuse my ignorance of forgetting what that's called ) needed new pads, and two of them were leaking air. I asked her if that was why I could not play anything under an F (a D, but inconsistently), and she said yes. She plays trumpet, but I would like to ask the people on the Clarinet for some feedback here.

I contacted the music store and they told me that I should get the whole top half re-padded. They said that at the most it will cost about $75.00, does this seem like an okay amount?

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate them.

I've used the exact same Vandoren 2 1/2 reeds for over 30 years. Most other pros use a much harder reed- a 3-4- even 5. But you probably would want to at least eventually work up to the 2 1/2. Mouthpiece choice also is a factor. I use a Vandoren 5RV with those 2 1/2s.