Plastic or wood; Student
clarinets are made out of a plastic/rubber composite material (ABS
resin) that is formulated to offer similar qualities to a wood clarinet
while being more durable. This is the biggest advantage of a plastic
clarinet over wood. Students and intermediate players will want
plastic clarinets, especially if they are involved in a marching band.
Wood clarinets cost more, are more fragile, and can be damaged by the
weather. However, the sound of a wood clarinet is better. Most professional clarinets are made from Grenadilla wood, but all are made of wood; and all aspiring students will eventually switch to a wood clarinet.
Case; Allclarinets come with a case included as a protection for the instrument.
Reeds; One reed will come with a new clarinet, usually a 2 ˝ size. The clarinet
player will need more reeds within a few days. A reed can last up to a
month (regularly played) if taken care of. The best way to extend the
life of your reeds is to use several at one time and rotate among all
of them. Don’t use one until it is dead, and then move to the next
one. The most common size to start with is 2 ˝. This number refers to
the hardness of the reed with higher numbers being the firmest. As a
player advances, harder reeds are used.
Colored clarinets; Colored
clarinets are usually for beginning clarinetists. They are plastic
composite instruments with the color mixed into the material of the body. The color will not affect the sound of the clarinet or its playability, and it will be very similar to other student level plastic clarinets.
If buying for a beginning student
Recommended clarinets for students who are “not-yet-personally-committed” to play for years:
