In the 7th grade at Luck Public School, I remember being taken into the old auditorium for the first day of the Junior High band class. There were tables set up with various band instruments on them. I think I was talked into selecting the clarinet as my instrument of choice. I don’t remember giving the choice much thought. There were many more girls that chose to play the clarinet, than boys. It was considered a sissy instrument by my peers. My mother ended up buying me a new clarinet with an orange, cloth case. I liked the color because it was easy to identify which instrument was mine from within a pile.
Clarinet and flute players sit in the front rows of the concert band configuration because they do not play as loud as bass instruments and drums, which fill out the outer and back rows. If you’ve paid attention as a marching band passes you on the street, the sounds of clarinets and flutes are overwhelmed by the sound of trumpets, trombones, and drums.
What I hated most about playing the clarinet was spending 5 minutes in preparation before playing to wet the wood reed. You would take it out dry from the case and have to work your spit into it to make it vibrate properly. I always had about three reeds to pick from. As the wood would split or crack, the reed would no longer produce the sound desired and had to be thrown out.
Trying to get sounds out of the clarinet that were not squeaks took some practice. I got to be pretty good after awhile. I played in concert band, marching band, and pep band. I participated in solo and ensemble contests with other schools.
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