I really want to play clarinet. Has anyone here heard of or played this instrument? It sounds fantastic. Especially for me, 'cause I have a very small frame and hands X_X

Lyons C Clarinet Website (http://www.firstclarinet.com/)

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Hmm... I don't know much about clarinets - maybe ran tan or one of the others could give you a recommendation. It sounds like a suitable beginners instrument but most clarinets are found in Bb and therefore you may find it difficult to get sheet music for a clarinet in concert C, as most sheets are written for Bb players. Also if you further your studies you may find that an intermediate/advanced level C clarinet proves much more expensive than a standard Bb one...

But I ain't a clarinettist so I wouldn't have a clue :P

Thanks anyhow :)

I'm almost certain I'm going to get one of these - I've been going bonkers not being able to play music. @_@
With the guitar I can't get the range or technique that I need; I was beginning to think that being able to play the stuff in my head was hopeless. But maybe not yet ^_^

have fun transposing everything a semitone up on the fly all the time. i know trumpet players have to do that all the time.

C is the same key as piano Sinbios :) Trumpets (well...those in my band anyway) are in B flat, like most clarinets.

Personally, I think that the normal clarinets are better, but I'm biased, I guess. It is of course your choice, and this does look like a pretty good instrument for a beginner.

I would say that a B flat clarinet would give greater range for improvement since there is a much greater range of instruments (and probably music) available, and if the C one if smaller then it presumably needs specialised reeds which may cost more than normal ones (roughly $2 Au). However it is probably a decent idea to begin off on the 'easier' one, and if you find problems then perhaps be able to move on to a regulare B flat.

Of course, feel free to completely ignore this. But you DID ask what we thought, and I AM a clarinet player. I believe the Lyons C Clarinet may me the same as the 'mini-clarinet' that some of the primary schools here use for beginners. I haven't ever heard anything bad about them, although I have never known anyone to want to continue playing one for our band. Most either move onto a regular B flat clarinet, or alternatively to Sax. But as my school doesn't own any of the mini-clarinets, it is not really a choice unless someone already owns one, which may have something to to with it. But I have noticed that those who have started off on them vertainly have more skill in producing sound of a better quality than those who have never played any instrument.

Errrrrm, I'll stop going on now :heh: sorry!

Thanks for the advice ran tan. ^^

This instrument uses Eb sized reeds, so finding new reeds shouldn't be much of a problem. As for the limited amount of music available for C clarinets as opposed to Bb and Eb clarinets (and all other instruments in those categories), I'm not worried about that either. Transposing isn't too tough, and I will be able to read all other music for C instruments without having to transpose. And should I want to try sax or a traditional clarinet, the fingerings are basically the same.

Originally posted by random_tangent@Dec 31 2004, 07:56 AM
C is the same key as piano Sinbios :) Trumpets (well...those in my band anyway) are in B flat, like most clarinets.
i know that, but i'm assuming he will be reading b flat music most of the time. and once trumpet players reach a high enough level, they will have to be able to play both the b flat and c trumpets.

Aside: Because the Lyons C doesn't have duplicate keys, it's impossible to do fast trills between C#/F#, B/E, C/F and Eb/Ab.

In general, what kind of musical figures are technically difficult/impossible to perform on a clarinet?