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Friday, February 25, 2011

Anthony McGill Appointed to Juilliard Faculty


Anthony McGill has been appointed to the Juilliard School Faculty. This news was received in the past couple weeks. Rumor is he will be hearing auditions this year to select students for his studio. What exciting news and best wishes to him on his future endeavors.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Humidifying Your Case

During these dry winter months it is very important to keep your clarinets from drying out. According to an article on LeBlanc's website, the ideal humidity for granadilla clarinets is between 45-55%. There are many ways to humidify your case and we are going to outline a few of the options here.

Dampit®     ☆ (2/5)
Price: $20

The Dampit is an effective and easy way to increase the humidity in your clarinet case. The product consists of a rubber rube with a sponge inside. You then wet the Dampit and place it within the case where it releases the moisture.

Pros: Effective, simple, comes with a card that can be placed within the case to determine humiditiy.

Cons: More expensive than alternatives, must be refilled often, needs to be checked daily for moisture, the spong deteriorates after a period of time. Will need at least two for double case.

WARNING: Don't put this product inside the bore of the clarinet under any circumstance. This will greatly increase the likelihood of cracking.

BUY NOW


Humistat ®®     ★ (5/5)     TOP CHOICE!
Price: $9

The Humistat is a cheap, convenient, and very simple product. It consists of a water reservoir, a spong, and a sleeve to adjust the amount of moisture released.

Pros: Cheap (includes free shipping), clear reservoir makes it easy to determine if there is still water in the unit (vs the Dampit), only needs refilling every few days, small enough to fit in a clarinet bell or an accessories pocket.

Cons: You will probably need to buy two for your case, but at this price, and for the product you are getting, it is a very small con.

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Orange Peels      (3/5)
Price: an orange

The peels of this readily available fruit make a great addition to a clarinet case. It provides moisture while added a great citrus scent.

Pros: Virtually free, effective, adds a pleasant smell to case.

Cons: Can be difficult to keep fresh peels in case if you don't eat oranges regularly, will turn moldy if not replaced every couple days.


Room Humidifier:     ☆ (4/5)
Price: $25+

Room humidifiers are a great way to humidify your instruments. As well as being good for the wood, it also provides moisture to the room and anything else stored in it. If you own multiple clarinets, or ever other wood instruments, this is the way to go.

Pros: Can humidify multiple instruments being stored in the room, being a better alternative than buying many small, individual humidifiers.

Cons: Room humidifiers can be expensive and are not very effective unless the clarinet is the the room a lot of the time.



Medicine Bottle     ☆ (4/5)
Price: >$5

Take an old, plastic medicine bottle. Drill some holes in the sides and put a cosmetic sponge inside. Wet the sponge when needed and leave in your case.

Pros: Very cheap and effective. Most people have a medicine bottle lying around and probably a cosmetic sponge as well. It is also a fun experience to make your own humidifier.

Cons: Some medicine bottles won't fit in certain cases, though most will. There is also a chance of leaking if you over-wet the sponge.



Hygrometer
Price: $8+

For any of these methods I would recommend buying a hygrometer. A humidor hygrometer will work great and is what I choose to use. This is a good way to monitor the humidity of your case and will keep you from over-drying as well as over-humidifying your clarinets. I prefer the look of the analog, but there are digital versions available as well.



Wednesday, February 9, 2011

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Metronomes


Price: ≈ $45

Tempo Range: 30 - 250 BPM

8 beat settings and  7 rhythm settings

This is my personal favorite. It is a nice size and shape, has a big, easy to read display, a large tempo range, plenty of beat patterns and rhythms, as well as simple and quick adjustment of tempo and volume. The volume is impressive on this small machine! It is the loudest metronome I have ever encountered, but it can be turned to any level you choose. The sounds is also pleasant, making a mellow beep. It can be used with sound and light or with just the small indicator light. It has a headphone jack and an AC plug, if you want to use an adaptor. It takes 9v batteries. Another plus of this metronome is that it has a built in pitch generator with a huge range, tunable by cents in either direction. It also allows you to save two tempos. This is really useful for rehearsing at a slower temp, then you just have to switch it to play it at real tempo.

Price: ≈ $25

Tempo Range: 40 - 208 BPM

13 rhythm variations 

This is another very good metronome. A huge plus is that is doubles as a tuner. These features can be used on their own or at the same time. The metronome displays an LCD needle as well as using two lights on the left and right side of the face to show time. These lights are also used for the tuner feature. The metronome saves all settings even when turned off. It also features the “tap” feature. This allows a user to press the tap button in any tempo and it will set the metronome to it. The sound is a pleasant beep, but it isn’t very loud. That might be the only real drawback to this tool. It also a built in pitch generator that plays one octave of chromatic pitches. A great buy!


Price: ≈ $180

Tempo Range: 35 - 250 BPM

Has 4 rhythm types and 3 different beat sounds.

Dr. Beat definitely has the most features out of the metronomes on this list, but I personally find this machine to be a waste of money. First it is huge when compared to other metronomes out there. Plus, it costs more than 7x as much money as the Korg and 4x as much as the Intelli. It has a lot of beat patterns and the stresses and accents can be controlled for every beat. It also has three sounds, one of them being the infamous counting voice. It also supports saving 8 different metronome settings. It has a pitch generator, but no tune. For this price, I would expect more. Unless you absolutely need 8 different settings in one machine, you should look at something else. 




Price: ≈ $18

Tempo Range: 40 - 208 BPM

This is a wonderful basic metronome. It has a good beat range, a nice sound, and a easy to use dial. It is not very loud, but it will work fine. It has a light for sound-free use as well as a built-in stand. It is also able to produce an A (440Hz) for tuning. A great metronome for a great price, though if you are willing to spend $7 more, I would go for the Korg.  

Copland Clarinet Concerto: Bernstein's Score

The New York Philharmonic is giving the public access to the scores of past conducts via their website. It is fascinating to look at the markings and notes of a legend such as Leonard Bernstein.


Check out the Copland Clarinet Concerto, as well as many other scores, here.

Riccardo Muti Injured


Last Thursday Chicago Symphony Orchestra conductor Riccardo Muti broke several facial bones, including his jaw. He fainted while on the podium, falling directly on his face. On Tuesday a Chicago Symphony spokeswoman said Muti had his broken jaw wired shut and is undergoing tests to find the underlying cause of his fainting.

He is scheduled to return in April.

Chicago Symphony Auditions

Once again the Chicago Symphony is holding auditions for principal clarinet. Maybe this time they will do something crazy, like actually choose someone.

http://cso.org/Page.aspx?id=10385
Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The Backun Ligature?

Rumors are floating about since the upload of the most recent Buckun Musical Services YouTube video. In the video, the "Backun Ligature" is mentioned.


Here is a picture taken from the video.



Could this ligature be the one in question?


Too early to tell, but it has us wondering. Is this the Backun Ligature, or are they trying to cover up someone else's logo with white tape? 



Monday, February 7, 2011

The MoBa Clarinet: An Overview



Integrated Low F Vent
Provides improved tuning.



BSM Modular Posting System

A patent pending design that makes key fittings precise and easy.

Titanium Tenon Sleeves

Titanium sleeves on the upper and lower joints give the ultimate fit between the pieces. (also patent pending)



Unique Trill Key Design

With enlarged finger buttons and an independent guide system, it is meant to help maintain alignment.



Three-Axis Thumb Rest

Is said to be fully adjustable by the player to help aid in correct hand position.






Precision Keywork

Made at their shop with a full-length rod system for long-term reliability and quick response.


Raised and Tapered Low E Tonehole

Helps with the tuning and voicing of this sketchy note.







More Features:

Loaded with adjustment screws for fine-tuning and adjusting the mechanism.

Special materials are used to keep the action as quiet as possible.

Ergonomic register key for fast movement.

An improved F to F# mechanism and crow's foot.

Pricing

Bb Silver - $7500
Bb Gold - $8000

A Silver - $8250
A Gold - $8750




(all photos credit to Backun Musical Services Facebook page)

The clarinets are basically the same from the specs provided on the website. The MoBa including the low F vent and a sexy gold post on silver key combination. (haven't seen that since the Yamaha Allegro clarinet) Morrie Backun also said that the MoBa is more resistant than the Backun instrument. Here's hoping I will get to try one of these beauties soon.  
Sunday, February 6, 2011

The Backun Clarinet: An Overview

BSM Modular Posting System

A patent pending design that makes key fittings precise and easy.

Titanium Tenon Sleeves


Titanium sleeves on the upper and lower joints give the ultimate fit between the pieces. (also patent pending)




Unique Trill Key Design


With enlarged finger buttons and an independent guide system, it is meant to help maintain alignment.



Three-Axis Thumb Rest


Is said to be fully adjustable by the player to help aid in correct hand position.






Precision Keywork


Made at their shop with a full-length rod system for long-term reliability and quick response.



Raised and Tapered Low E Tonehole


Helps with the tuning and voicing of this sketchy note.







More Features:


Loaded with adjustment screws for fine-tuning and adjusting the mechanism.

Special materials are used to keep the action as quiet as possible.

Ergonomic register key for fast movement.

An improved F to F# mechanism and crow's foot.

Pricing


Bb Silver - $7500
Bb Gold - $8000

A Silver - $8250
A Gold - $8750




(all photos credit to Backun Musical Services Facebook page)

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