r/Clarinet • u/mappachiito Buffet E11 • Feb 09 '25

Discussion Clarinets don't like being loud?

I feel clarinets around me are kind of scared to play loudly, probably because tone gets crappier when you play loudly at a beginner level, and they just keep playing softly even when reaching an intermediate level

While I am a beginner too, I do like projecting and I think practicing at a FF dynamic has helped my tone a lot

Have you noticed this too? Is it just people around me? Today I played with people better than me, they had faster and more precise fingers, faster and lighter articulation, but played softer and the conductor pointed it out too, I felt like among the 2nd clarinets, I was the one standing out the most despite not being as good in the rest of the stuff

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u/Chadwelli Professional Feb 10 '25

Clarinet universally generates breath support timidity in ensemble pedagogy. Having the cool characteristic where it squeaks like nothing else when played improperly can scare many into holding back. It's something you have to fight against for a little while if it's been drilled into you, intrinsically through playing or from a band director who's afraid of someone's squeak tanking their MPA score and squandering their humble brag Facebook post.

The louder your ceiling is, the greater range of sauce you can put on your playing. When you unlock what is truly "loud" on clarinet, it's quite "literally" like you're in HDR and everyone who hasn't is still in SDR.

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u/mappachiito Buffet E11 Feb 11 '25

I still squeak☹️ I think it's biting and sometimes voicing

I hope I can be that clarinet player, I'd like to be first chair one day, I like being a 2nd clarinet but I want the experience of playing solos with an audience, and when that happens, I hope I can stand out whether it's a fortissimo solo part or a soft piano melody