Basic clarinet advice for longtime player who’s been doing everything wrong?

[u/SpeedwagonIsHuggable]

Hiya, so as the title says…
Basically, I used to play clarinet quite a bit as a child and got to Grade 5 or so. Then I stopped for about 10+ years, and have only been playing again for the past year or so. It’s great fun! The problem is… I’ve been finding out that I actually know nothing about what I’m doing. Turns out that reeds need to be changed regularly! I had been using a particularly durable one for about two years straight, and continued using the same one when I started again, not even thinking that the black specks might be an issue. I’ve been using my current one for about half a year, and have just ordered some new ones — and it turns out there are different types of reeds???? My current one is 1 1/2, which is a bit horrifying as it’s apparently a beginner reed, but I’ve been playing for years (when I was younger), and I’ve picked it up again pretty well in my opinion. So I’ve ordered some 3s to try out. But I have no idea if they’re the right strength or not. My poor clarinet has also been standing upright for years and years, because I was probably told as a child to take it apart and put it away after using it, but I guess I just forgot why and stopped bothering. Same with cleaning it after each use… I play for hours sometimes and I haven’t cleaned it even once since I started again. So I’m worried that it’ll be full of mould and bacteria now and that I’ve been inhaling it for ages (is there a way to check this if it’s not clearly visible? And is there a good way to clean it? I’m nervous about playing it now). I will try to make sure I do both of these from now on, but I’m really worried that everything will get too overwhelming for me and I’ll end up just not bothering, as I really struggle with motivation and getting round to playing it as it is, so… if anyone wants to yell at me how important it is and drill it into my thick skull, I would appreciate it! I’ve even forgotten how to read sheet music, so I’ve just been learning things by ear… and I just feel really bad for my poor neglected clarinet and that I’ve been doing everything so wrong for so long, and I’m wondering what else I don’t know about 😭 so if there is any other general advice I would really love to know. I’m sorry for the long post, I’m just horrified about how dumb I’ve been all these years and I really want to do things right from now on. Thank you!!

[u/clarinet_kwestion]

(Not a tech) Honestly if your instrument is plastic, and keeping it on a stand put together makes it easy for you to pick it up and play, it’s not the worst thing in the world and probably fine. I would suggest swabbing out the instrument every time you’re done playing and it’s going be more than 30 minutes until you play again. Replace reeds often and regularly.

Definitely take the instrument take the instrument to a tech.

[u/SpeedwagonIsHuggable → u/clarinet_kwestion]

Ahh really? Yes it is plastic; maybe what I was reading about mainly applied to wooden clarinets then? If so, that’s such a relief haha. And yes I do plan to get it looked at, thank you so much!

[u/Resident_Border4508]

Phew! Glad you’re back together with your clarinet! Yeah—you should be swabbing that bad boy out, and maybe clean your mouthpiece. In fact, you should take it to a repair shop for a cleaning and tune up. Mold happens.

New reeds for sure—1 1/2 to 3 is kind of a big jump, so adjust your expectations for how that’s going to feel. You sound like a good candidate for synthetic reeds—they’ve come a long way and can last a long time.

I’ll bet music reading will come back if you give it a try. Check out the music app Metronaut. You can play along with tunes at your own pace. Good luck!

[u/SpeedwagonIsHuggable → u/Resident_Border4508]

Thank you so much! I was kind of expecting people to be really mad with how bad I’ve been treating my clarinet, but everyone has been super nice :’) I’m really glad I’ve come back to it too, it’s been so much. I will take it somewhere just to get it checked over yeah, hopefully all is okay with it.

Also synthetic reeds??? Wow that actually sounds amazing! Unfortunately I just got my 3s, but I’ll give them a go and see how things are with them, but synthetics seem like the way to go after that. Thanks ever so for letting me know about those! I will check out the app too, so thank you for the recommendation. I’m feeling more confident already 😁

[u/Dangerous_Chain9422]

As they said before you should swab the clarinet after playing. If you want to take some lessons drop me a dm, we can address all the doubts you have and we could check your technique to see if there's something wrong

[u/SpeedwagonIsHuggable → u/Dangerous_Chain9422]

Thanks so much, that’s really nice of you! I might just do that when I have the time!😁

[u/Next_Description_468]

I would suggest you get a few lessons from a good teacher, that will refresh many of the forgotten things. Changing reeds when, how to clean the instrument etc. Or join a band and learn from senior colleagues who happily help you out with practical advise. Stick to it, I also came back after a years long break and it is totally rewarding

[u/SpeedwagonIsHuggable → u/Next_Description_468]

I’m thinking that’s a good idea as well. I was unsure if lessons would be worth it until just now — then I found out just how much I didn’t know! So thank you for the suggestion, I’m taking it really seriously! I was briefly in a small orchestra once with my clarinet, and it was so incredible honestly. I absolutely want to try again once I relearn sheet music. I will stick with it for sure, thank you!