A little over two years ago I bought a nice flute and really have just noodled around with it. I did get 15 minutes of help from a professional instructor because I could not figure out how to hold the instrument when you have no keys depressed. Getting a sound out the instrument was very frustrating at first. And I don’t practice enough on the instrument. But now I can play some basic songs and enjoy having the instrument around. Since the flute is in the key of C, I can read over my wife’s shoulder as she plays piano.

 

About a year ago I started playing clarinet. That instrument, unlike the flute, has different fingerings than my primary instrument, the saxophone. And getting a sound on the clarinet was not easy either. It seemed like there was a lot more resistance on the clarinet and the mouthpiece is definitely much smaller. But imagine an instrument that has three different fingerings for the three G notes. Oh the frustration, oh the pain. Some players can play another octave up, making this instrument have over three octaves in range. 

 

But now I can play some basic songs and my embouchure is improving. I decided to take the plunge, since there are enough saxes for concert band and I’m playing the bass clarinet (Bb). Because the instrument is softer than a sax and has such a low range, it goes an octave and a half below the bari sax, I usually can get away with some flaws until I learn the part. But man do the low notes sound full and delightful. Now if I could only get the clarion (middle) range to speak consistently.

 

Starting a new instrument isn’t for everyone. Most of the players in our band are playing one instrument, trying to become of at least semi-pro status. It is inconceivable that they might play two instruments even if they are fingered the same like any of the saxes. But mostly it is about the costs associated with playing more than one instrument both in terms of dollars and in time.

 

My son, the sax player, picked up trumpet in the last few years. Now that is a direction I would not go. But he did quite well. I’d suggest he take piano lessons. But having just done that for two months, I know how hard and how much time that would take. And he already plays piano to a fashion. Are we having fun yet?