After recently changing my clarinet, I immediately noticed the issues with my old instrument, so I thought it might be useful to make a list of potential signs to look out for when your instrument is nearing the end of its life. Noticing changes in your instrument can be hard to spot as they happen over long periods of time and are often subtle. Whether it be the quality of sound it creates or other physical qualities, your ears and eyes adjust to these small changes so it can be difficult to pinpoint when exactly things start to happen. There is no definitive answer as to when a clarinet ‘blows out’ and ceases to be the instrument it once was. A working professional can generally expect their clarinet to last anywhere in the region of 7-8 years before they start to consider buying a new instrument, assuming they play it most days. After then you may start to see changes, such as the ones listed below - although this list isn't fully conclusive or definitive, it does provide the key signs to look out for.
TL;DR: If your clarinet is old and sounds bad, it might be time to buy a new one.
So what's the problem?
Assuming that you clean your clarinet by pulling a cleaning cloth through every time you use it, the quality of sound your instrument will produce will diminish over time and will eventually lack the body and richness it once had. This is because the bore of the instrument slowly expands, and as your clarinet nears its end of life, it will gradually lose its resistance, thus feeling very easy blowing and open while at the same time being difficult to control. Along with this comes a lack of projection and having to exert more energy to even get close to the dynamic you need. You may also find yourself squeaking, especially in the upper and altissimo registers, in which case it might be worth considering the following… (If you don’t clean your clarinet regularly you instead invite an increased possibility of your instrument getting a crack which is far worse and opens a whole different can of worms).
The first thing you may notice is your reeds are not performing as well as they used to, and may lack the fullness you desire. Your sound may be thinner than it used to be and you may find that fewer and fewer reeds work straight out the box, or may even appear to be unusable. You may consider changing the type of reeds by using a higher strength or a different brand, or you may even consider changing mouthpieces at this point and most of the time you would be right to do so, especially if you have a newer instrument. However, as this is generally the first giveaway that your instrument is dying, you will inevitably run into this issue again, so it is best to be aware that it may not be your setup which is the problem.
Another thing you might notice which may lead you to believe your mouthpiece or overall setup is the problem is having difficulties in legato playing, particularly over larger intervals – you may feel as though you are having to use much more air than you used to in order to sustain the quality of sound. You may also find producing articulations more difficult as time goes on – staccatos may lack some ping or resonance and may just be difficult to produce in general. Couple this with a thin sound and you might just conclude that you are making a horrible sound and action needs to be taken. Both these issues arise from the lack of resistance in the instrument, and an increased lack of control means you are probably trying harder than you need to in order to produce your desired sound.
The last thing I have yet to mention is changes in pitch around the instrument, and if you haven’t yet sussed out that your instrument is on its last legs, it should now be blindingly obvious if you have unknowingly reached this stage. Throat notes, low notes and the altissimo register are the main problem areas, but all registers on the clarinet are up for contention. You might notice yourself having to compensate for these changes by lipping up or down – the best thing to do is check with a tuner; no clarinet is perfect and you will internally adjust many notes already, but if the adjustments are quite drastic and noticeable then it may be time to take a step back and investigate further.
How can I test my instrument?
Alas, there are ways to check against these signs so don’t lose hope just yet. The first thing you should do is try playing a different instrument, preferably someone else’s as it can be difficult to compare to your own. Directly comparing the instruments next to each other should highlight the obvious issues with your instrument. Not only the sound, but the feel of a different instrument should ring some bells if you have suspicions about your clarinet. If you want to be really safe you can always do your comparison against a brand new one in a showroom/shop but trying your friend’s will suffice. You should do your utmost to try and always have another pair of ears on hand as they will be better suited to hearing differences and identifying problems, especially if you yourself are unsure. Even having someone else test your instrument may tell you all you need to know, especially if your clarinet has already blown out at this stage.
You may choose to change some of your setup, such as reeds/mouthpiece/barrel, which is perfectly logical path to go down. It might so be that you need to change some part of your setup, which is a whole topic in itself, however if it is actually your instrument showing signs of its age you should know that, as stated before, the problem will eventually return.
So is there a solution?
Yes but it might not be what you want to hear! All good things come to an end and the life of your clarinet is one of them. You could end up running yourself into a state of denial rather than accepting the fate of your instrument and prolonging the problem may hinder you not only as a musician, but also your future prospects in the industry. You could lose out on work, lose auditions, or end up wasting money needlessly trying to save the instrument, especially if you are not self-aware of the issues raised above. You could fall out of favour with fixers or alienate colleagues because of your inability to blend into the section or play in tune properly. Acting sooner rather than later is the only thing you can do, however there are a couple of options you have at your disposal.
Option 1: Buy a new clarinet
Sooner or later, you will have to purchase a new instrument, and they take a while to break in before they are ready to be used for performances etc. Although expensive, grinning and bearing the expense of an instrument now will save you the hassle of further problems down the line. Remember there are many fine second-hand instruments out there, you just need to look in the right place!
Option 2: Get an instrument restoration
Lohff and Pfeiffer offer a service which returns your clarinet's bore back to its original dimensions, which should make your clarinet sound like a new instrument again. This service might be ideal for you if you have a particular attachment to an instrument and it comes with a full overhaul and key replating service as well.
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