Is the clarinet a good instrument?

Answer 1

The clarinet is a million times easier than the Saxophone in every aspect. First because clarinet is just like piano where the notes are very easy. But on saxophone there are extra flats and sharps, you have to study things that you don't have to on clarinet, you need more air for saxophone, and the saxophone is very heavy!

On clarinet you learn how to play all the notes in less than a month. If you play saxophone you learn the notes in more than 5 months! The saxophone is a lot harder! If you play saxophone, you need to layer your fingering more precisely too. Also they are tuned differently too. So if you play in a concert, the notes you play will be very confusing on the saxophone. Also the clarinet is very light. So it will be very easy to play clarinet than saxophone. So for my opinion clarinet is easier.

People out there who think sax is easier, you are wrong. Clarinet is a million times easier than the saxophone in every aspect.

Also for saxophone you need more air for blowing. You get tired more easily too. I admit clarinet squeaks a lot. But once you get used to it, you will stop squeaking. People out there who think sax is easier, you are wrong. Clarinet is much easier than the saxophone.

Also for saxophone you need more air for blowing. You get tired more easily too. I admit clarinet squeaks a lot. But once you get used to it, you will stop squeaking. I play clarinet and saxophone and I can't keep up with saxophone. So please when you consider on choosing your instrument between clarinet and saxophone, choose clarinet.

The previous answer has a point, with the fact that it's a very heavy instrument, depending on which one you play, and the tuning is very confusing as well. But in essence, the clarinet and the saxophone are very similar instruments. Both use a single reed mouthpiece, the same grip on the mouthpiece can be used, and the fingerings are actually very similar. The clarinet is much easier to start off with, but it is very hard to become a master of the clarinet. Especially when the vast majority of the Classical Music out there has the clarinet playing in it's highest register. The Saxophone however, is quite hard to start off with, but to become very good at the instrument, is very easy when compared to the clarinet.

The hardest thing with the saxophone are the harmonics. The harmonics of the instrument is the vibration of the reed creating the sound, and depending on the vibration of the reed, created a different tone. With the saxophone's harmonics, it is very hard to play lower than a G when first starting, because the harmonics of the instrument make it very hard to control the pitch. You tighten your grip on the mouthpiece, the note jumps an octave. To play a low C, for example, you must drop your jaw and blow very hard to sound the note. It is also very hard to tongue in this register; I find it easier to use the lower jaw to articulate in this register.

I play both Clarinet and Tenor Saxophone, which are both tuned in the of Bb, and Clarinet was my first instrument. Yes, it is very easy to squeak on the Clarinet, but it is not very easy to squeak on the Sax, even if you try. I started the Sax after two and a half years of Clarinet, and I got the hang of the clarinet within a month, playing all the way up the register and down. I got better on saxophone in about 5 months so man468 has a point about that.

My point is; it depends on the playing style. If you play alot of concert band material, switching from clarinet to sax is fairly easy. Playing Classical repertoire,

with the higher notes, sax will turn out to be very hard and frustrating at first. Plus, the weight isn't really a factor, the whole instrument's weight is held on the neck strap, and if you get a really good padded one, it's great playing the sax. Your lungs quickly get used to the amount of air needed for the sax. It's mostly the amount of pressure you force the air into the instrument, not how much air is needed. Hope this helped alot, and kudos to Man468 for a great answer as well. Cheers :) -KevinV97

They're similar and it's hard to say which is harder, because everyone has a hard time with certain areas where both the instruments demand. For example, the clarinet requires precise tone hole covering while the sax doesn't and the sax requires more air while the clarinet doesn't really need as much air. It's different for everyone, but the norm is that the sax is easier.

3rd Answer:

I play clarinet, soprano, alto, and tenor sax. Sax is much easier. The fingerings are the same or similar, but the clarinet has the dreaded bridge between the low and middle register. The sax is designed with a couple of extra keys to make the 'bridge' simple. The upper register of the clarinet uses different fingering: something that you don't need to memorize when playing sax. A beginner should start with the clarinet . . . moving on to sax is dead simple in comparison!

Answer 2

The Clarinet is a million times easier than the saxophone in every aspect. First because clarinet is just like piano where the notes are very easy. But on saxophone there are extra flats and sharps, you have to study things that you don't have to on clarinet, you need more air for saxophone, and the saxophone is very heavy!

On clarinet you learn how to play all the notes in less than a month. If you play saxophone you learn the notes in more than 5 months! The saxophone is a lot harder! If you play saxophone, you need to layer your fingering more precisely too. Also they are tuned differently too. So if you play in a concert, the notes you play will be very confusing on the saxophone. Also the clarinet is very light. So it will be very easy to play clarinet than saxophone. So for my opinion clarinet is easier.

People out there who think sax is easier, you are wrong. Clarinet is a million times easier than the saxophone in every aspect.

Also for saxophone you need more air for blowing. You get tired more easily too. I admit clarinet squeaks a lot. But once you get used to it, you will stop squeaking. People out there who think sax is easier, you are wrong. Clarinet is much easier than the saxophone.

Also for saxophone you need more air for blowing. You get tired more easily too. I admit clarinet squeaks a lot. But once you get used to it, you will stop squeaking. I play clarinet and saxophone and I can't keep up with saxophone. So please when you consider on choosing your instrument between clarinet and saxophone, choose clarinet.

The previous answer has a point, with the fact that it's a very heavy instrument, depending on which one you play, and the tuning is very confusing as well. But in essence, the clarinet and the saxophone are very similar instruments. Both use a single reed mouthpiece, the same grip on the mouthpiece can be used, and the fingerings are actually very similar. The clarinet is much easier to start off with, but it is very hard to become a master of the clarinet. Especially when the vast majority of the classical music out there has the clarinet playing in it's highest register. The Saxophone however, is quite hard to start off with, but to become very good at the instrument, is very easy when compared to the clarinet.

The hardest thing with the saxophone are the harmonics. The harmonics of the instrument is the vibration of the reed creating the sound, and depending on the vibration of the reed, created a different tone. With the saxophone's harmonics, it is very hard to play lower than a G when first starting, because the harmonics of the instrument make it very hard to control the pitch. You tighten your grip on the mouthpiece, the note jumps an octave. To play a low C, for example, you must drop your jaw and blow very hard to sound the note. It is also very hard to tongue in this register; I find it easier to use the lower jaw to articulate in this register.

I play both Clarinet and Tenor Saxophone, which are both tuned in the of Bb, and Clarinet was my first instrument. Yes, it is very easy to squeak on the Clarinet, but it is not very easy to squeak on the Sax, even if you try. I started the Sax after two and a half years of Clarinet, and I got the hang of the clarinet within a month, playing all the way up the register and down. I got better on saxophone in about 5 months so man468 has a point about that.

My point is; it depends on the playing style. If you play alot of concert band material, switching from clarinet to sax is fairly easy. Playing Classical repertoire,

with the higher notes, sax will turn out to be very hard and frustrating at first. Plus, the weight isn't really a factor, the whole instrument's weight is held on the neck strap, and if you get a really good padded one, it's great playing the sax. Your lungs quickly get used to the amount of air needed for the sax. It's mostly the amount of pressure you force the air into the instrument, not how much air is needed. Hope this helped alot, and kudos to Man468 for a great answer as well. Cheers :) -KevinV97

The saxophone and clarinet are very similar instruments. The weight of the instrument is not a factor of difficulty in this case. Though you need more air to play the saxophone, the clarinet has a higher air resistance level. The clarinet also has a larger written range than the saxophone. But one can not simply say which one is better...I play both instruments and they are equally easy and difficult in their own ways. -Alexyuwen

Answer 3

No it isn't because the clarinet has keys in harder to reach places
It depends which saxophone you are talking about - alto, tenor, baritone, soprano?

It all depends on what instrument you start learning with - I played the clarinet for several years, and then I started to play the tenor sax - I found it very difficult! However, it is only because I had learnt the techniques of playing the clarinet, so my ombature was different, the fingering is different, and it is overall quite different to play.

But now I would reckon I am equally good on both instruments, you just have to learn that as the clarinet is quite small, you dont have to put as much air through it, so you need to tighten your mouth, whereas playing the tenor, I need to slacken my mouth to get the deeper notes out.

Answer 4

If you are big enough and strong enough to handle the weight of the sax, it is substantially easier than the clarinet. However, if you later become serious about playing and want to play both (which is expected of professional and semi professional players) you'll be glad if you started on clarinet.

It is relatively easy for a pretty good clarinet player to add sax - usually a couple of weeks to a month to reach a reasonable level of proficiency. It's very hard for a sax player to transition to clarinet.

I always recommend that beginning players start on clarinet, for several reasons. 1. It's less expensive; 2. It's easier to lug around; 3. Beginning players don't actually realize that they are learning a more complicated instrument. They learn a note or two at a time and build up their embouchure as they go. 4, Finally, it's a better base from which to learn other instruments (not only sax, but Oboe, bassoon and Flute).

Answer 5

it depends on the person, they are both woodwinds but they have very different sounds and the saxophone is ofen louder but the clarinet often plays melodies. whatever you want

Answer 6

yes, it looks complicated because of how many keys it has, but if you are willing to practice the clarinet is a very good and enjoyable instrument.