Best woodwind instrument stands according to redditors
We found 8 Reddit comments discussing the best woodwind instrument stands. We ranked the 7 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 8 Reddit comments discussing the best woodwind instrument stands. We ranked the 7 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Very easy to install.
String Swing Saxophone Hanger - Wall Mount Holder for Alto or Tenor Sax - Stand Accessories Home or Band Room Studio Wall - Musical Instruments Safe without Hard Cases - Made in USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BAYRLBG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_m7b4DbCTTZEXD
I've used a hercules in the past and the thing is SOLID.
Your sax stands are all pretty similar though. This is probably one of the situations where brand, make and model matter least. If you double with other instruments maybe consider a stand that has a place to add on.
No. It will wobble on the smaller peg and fall within the hour. I have and recommend this stand for portability:
https://www.amazon.com/15290B-Soprano-Sax-Stand/dp/B0002F7JGG
OR if you need an alto/soprano doubling stand, I also have and recommend the Hercules Alto/Sop stand: https://www.amazon.com/Hercules-DS533BB-Alto-Tenor-Sax/dp/B0019ABOO6
The latter is a good stand, but certain weights can unbalance it for short times. I'd recommend buying some small bag weights or something like that to keep on the legs to ensure that moving the instrument on and off doesn't make it tip. Really I'd recommend that with any instrument stand.
I have one. It’s handy. Link
I've used this one for years, it works great.
https://www.amazon.com/K-M-15222-000-55-Clarinet-Stand/dp/B000NTEVKS
The biggest problem with Eb is that it's out of tune! After you've played on it a bit, play a full chromatic scale with your tuner. You'll probably notice that some registers are much more in tune than others; for me, my throat tones are super flat, my clarion register is sharp, and my altissimo register is a bit flat. Within those registers, certain notes are flat or sharp, too.
You'll be able to adjust a bit by pulling the barrel, but that'll only make one register in tune, or it'll be a compromise so that all registers are equally out of tune. You'll have to learn to tune with your embouchure! Make sure you don't bite down on the mouthpiece or you'll end up with a really bright tone quality. It's a small mouthpiece, but don't be afraid to put a decent amount in your mouth.
To raise the pitch, bring the back of your tongue up like you're saying "eeee" and pull the corners of your mouth back a tiny bit, just like on Bb. To lower the pitch, lower your tongue and push the corners of your mouth around the mouthpiece, more like an "oooo" feel.
You can also adjust the pitch by moving the clarinet towards or away from your body, which changes the angle of the mouthpiece in your mouth. Pulling the clarinet towards you so it's more vertical will make the pitch a bit higher, and pushing the clarinet away from you will make the pitch a bit lower.
When you're practicing at home, always practice with a tuner!
Personally, I'm fine with actual Eb reeds instead of Bb, but it's all up to you. It's too much work for me to cut the Bb reeds, and I manage just fine with Eb reeds.
Does the clarinet come with a nice mouthpiece? A decent mouthpiece will make a huge difference! It'll help with getting a darker tone, will make the altissimo register easier, and will play more in tune. If the mouthpiece is bad, you can ask your teacher if he'll buy a good mouthpiece for the clarinet, or better yet, you can test out a ton of Eb mouthpieces and buy one with your own money that you can use in the future whenever you have to play Eb (if you keep playing clarinet, it'll come up again, I promise).
If you'll have to switch between Bb and Eb in the band concert, invest in a clarinet stand like this one. It's more expensive than the K&M stand on Amazon, but it fits into the bell of your Bb in the case; the K&M one doesn't fit in the bell. Practice switching between Bb and Eb at home! Going from a big instrument to a small instrument is tricky at first, but you'll get used to it easily if you practice it a few times.
Like others have said, the fingerings for Eb are the same as for Bb. If you see a D on the page, play the Bb fingering for D. It'll sound higher, but it's the note that you should be playing. if you see an F#, play the Bb fingering for F#. The music is transposed so that you don't have to transpose it!
Tonguing: the tip of the tongue should be at the tip of the reed or just below the tip of the reed. Your tongue position should be "eee" or "shhhh" or whatever syllable you like as long as it's high in your mouth. I like "dee dee dee" for my tonguing; it's less harsh than "tee tee tee." Never use "tah/dah" or "too/doo". Those are both low tongue positions that will give you a bad tone quality and intonation issues. Practice legato tonguing sixteenths at a slow tempo (don't do staccato), and slowly bring the tempo up over the course of weeks or months. Make sure it always feels easy; if it starts to feel frustrating or difficult, bring the tempo back down!
Sorry that was so long! I've been playing Eb for the past few months at my university. It's not my cup of tea, but I've learned to work with it!
Here to second this as well!!!! It's a super stable stand, fits inside the bell nicely (my clarinet case even has a little indentation for the stand for the bit that sticks up through the top of the bell), and will last forever. I've had mine for nearly 6 years now and it's just as good as the day I bought it. I feel like you could probably stand on one of these things and they wouldn't break.
Edit: I have this one, not the one linked below. Not that there's much difference.
Is it this one?
https://www.amazon.com/Hercules-DS530BB-Alto-Tenor-Stand/dp/B000XNNVO6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501465609&sr=8-1&keywords=saxophone+stand+hercules
And does it come with a bag so it does not scratch the inside of the bell?