The Clarinet is part of the woodwind family of instruments. Full information on the instrument and how it works is available, but this hub is about which clarinet to choose and how to decide between the various clarinet choices on the market. The main four brands you will come across when browsing are Buffet, Leblanc, Selmer and Yamaha.  These are safe bets when considering which clarinet to buy.  Other brands, particularly chinese imports are to be treated with caution, although excellent examples do exist amongst these clarinets.

Look for quality

The first recommendation is that you should always try to get the best instrument you can afford. This is just as much true for a beginner as for an experienced or even a professional musician. A beginner's progress and enjoyment can be severely hampered by a substandard instrument. And ultimately, a child starting out who is frustrated by the limitations of the instrument will not have the insight to realise that it is the clarinet and not themsleves which is at fault. The result? Demotivated, demoralised, the child abandons the clarinet thinking 'i'm no good at music...

Having said that, think also:

Who is it for?

The most expensive instrument in the world will not turn a reluctant practiser into a diligent student. Nor will it make a cheerful school band participant into a concert soloist by itself. All it will do is make you stressed if they knock it over or drop it on the floor.

So, before you read the reviews below, think:

1. Who is it for and what level are they at? Beginner, intermediate or advanced. If you buy a decent quality instrument at the correct level it will hold a proportion of its value (particularly if you buy it second hand) and there will be a ready market for it when the student is ready to move on to an upgrade.
2. What are the practicalities of life of this musician? Is the instrument goign to travel to and fro being kicked around the back of the school bus? Left in a heap before and after band? If so consider - a very expensive clarinet may be inappropriate for this stage of the musician's life. A more robust and less expensive option may do well for now whilst the child has their minds on so many other things.
3. Think also about the case to protect your purchase. It needs to withstand rough treatment, not advertise the fact that there might be something worth pinching inside (particularly relevant if you have bought an expensive model) and not look so hideous that the child refuses to carry it, and stuffs it in the bottom of their school back unprotected (has been known!)
4. Finally, have you spoken to the student's music teacher? It is amazing how many very well intentioned parents set off on a voyage into the unknown and purchase an instrument which they know nothing about without speakign to the teacher. The teacher may have another student who is selling a good second hand instrument. Equally the teacher may have a recommended local retailer who offers discounts to her students. Above all the teacher can tell you what sort of instrument is likely to be suitable at this stage of the musicians development. It is very frustrating for everybody if the student arrives unexpectedly at the lesson with a new instrument, only for everyone to discover that it does not fit the bill.

There are four widely available brands in common use by professional clarinetists -In order of most common to least common, they are

• Buffet,
• Leblanc,
• Selmer, and
• Yamaha.

Of course other brands are also in use - Howarth in the UK make beautiful instruments, and there are numerous other smaller makers, but for the purposes of this hub we will look at the 'Big Four' and their ranges from student models right up to the top range professional clarinets.

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The Buffet B12 is the regular music teacher entry-level recommendation, and with good reason. They area reliable, robust plastic instrument and will see students through the early grades until a passion or otherwise for the clarinet is readily apparent. It lacks the glorious tonal richness of its professional wooden siblings, but as an economical young pretender it is a great place to start - especially if you can find a well maintained second hand model.

Other beginner plastic models from Buffet are also available and might be of interest at good second hand prices if you are confident of the quality of the seller:

Buffet B10 - a lightweight beginner model, entirely plastic apart from the keys

Buffet Evette (no longer in production, succeeded by B12 but still available second hand)

Whilst Buffet is the most common and popular choice, Yamaha also make a good entry level clarinet. The YCL250 is the student model and is reliable and if you are dead set on buying new then can be a more economical option than the Buffet, unless you manage to strike a deal.

Selmer also make an entry level instrument - the Prelude. It is less widely recommended by instrument teachers than the Buffet and Yamaha, the general consensus being that althoguh it is a cheaper intial option, you can go further on the other two without having to upgrade.  In addition the second hand value of the Buffet and Yamaha are likely yo hold up better shoudl you come to resell.  However, if moey is tight and you need to get something, you coudl do far worse than buy a Selmer.

For very young beginners with small hands and weaker fingers, consider the Lyons C Clarinet. It is primarily designed for young children, being considerably lighter than a standard B flat clarinet. It has the same Boehm system of keys but without some of the keys for alternative fingerings. As most beginners are unlikely to need these for some time this does not present too much of a difficulty - they can learn the alternative fingerings later when they move on to a larger B flat clarinet.

Besides the advantage to them of the lightness of the instrument, the right hand tone holes are considerably smaller and the pinky keys are nearer, which is a considerable advantage for small hands.

Despite claims that they are virtually indestructible, all the Lyons C Clarinets I have come across have had a shelf life of 4 or 5 years of robust playing, at which point the keys start to bend a little and things start to go awry. This is fine if you are buying new, because your little darling will have long since moved on by then, but something to be aware of when buying second hand.

As with the entry level clarinets, you by and large get what you pay for.Intermediate clarinets are more ususally wooden. Do not be deceived into assuming that a wooden clarinet is automatically a better choice than a plastic one. A good plastic clarinet by a reputable maker may serve you better than a low quality wooden one.

Second hand wooden clarinets are again often a good choice - the wood has had an opportunity to season, and any cracks which are going to develop (apart from those caused by your little musical darling dropping the thing on the floor) will have become apparent.

As before, Buffet are a regilar reliable recommendation. TheE11 - is the intermediate, entry-level wooden instrument. it is debatable whether the E11 actually offers the intermediate player anything more than a B12. Certainly it is a limited upgrade if an upgrade at all.

A better choice if looking to provide a better instrument for an improving player is the E13 - the next level up in the Buffet wooden range. (Some say E-13's are R-13's which have been rejected in assembly process for small cosmetic issues - not sure about this, but it is an interesting theory). It is an intermediate amateur clarinet and is priced as so. It is Grenadilla wood, and silver plated. Mechanically reliable, and nicely presented in a robust and attractive case, it both looks and feels good. It has a wonderful, bright tone, well suited to classical and contemporary music alike, and performs well even under the most extreme of circumstances.

The E13 offers excellent value for money - and is a great clarinet for those wishing to make the transition from a plastic to a wood clarinet. The build is considerably better than that of the E11 (the cheapest wood model) and the difference in price (around £200) is well worth it in the long run.

The other brands offer good intermediate options too, which with the right mouthpiece will see most musicians through to the higher grades. The Yamaha YCL450S or the Leblanc Sonata are both good choices.  The Yamaha has a lovely rich tone and a super dynamic range - even in the hands of my 8 year old.  Leblancs have their strong advocates too.  If at all possible if you are making this level of investment, try some out first - maybe borrow the one that a friend uses, and try it with your usual mouthpiece.  Some excellent clarinets simply don't suit some people.

Buffet

R13 - Buffet's most popular professional model, something of an institution in its own right. It is very widely used as a professional clarinet, and retails for somewhere int he region of $2000.

Buffets are famous for their full, dark, resonant tones. I have yet to hear another clarinet whose characteristic sound I liked more. However, that sound has always come at a price: intonation. Along with its famous tone, the R-13 suffers from uneven pitch. The most infamous difficulties are with the intervals thumb F to high C and low F to third-space C. When shopping for an R-13, always test these intervals with a tuner before you part with any money. Some instruments are worse than others - and it is uneven quality which is the biggest problem with these otherwise beautiful instruments. It has been said - 'Shopping for an R-13 is like trying to find a good reed in a box of ten'. Of course choosing a poor reed doesn't set you back two grand.

This presents a problem for the non-musical parent - you need to have a good player play-test a prospective new R-13 before buying it. So, take you budding concert clarinettist with you to choose the instrument - this is common sense since they will be using it. If for some reason you are buying an R13 for an 8 year old beginner, firstly 'Why?' and secondly take their music teacher with you instead.

Leblanc has several pro models, which are more alike than different. The most popular of these is the Concerto. I love Leblancs. They are extremely smooth, both in terms of mechanism and tone. These instruments come closer to perfect intonation and evenness of tone than any others I know. Even better Leblancs make you feel like a musician - they just feel great to play! However, unfortunately, Leblanc clarinets do not produce as big a sound as a good R-13, so if you are hoping to fill a huge auditorium with your glorious sound it may not be the solution. Of course it coudl just be me, but I seem to have found the same issue listening to other well-known clarinetists I have heard perform on them. Another thing to be aware of is price - Leblancs are somewhat more expensive than R-13s, perhaps running around $2200-$3000, but you will love it so much, that it will feel like money well spent!

Selmer Signature series clarinets are smooth both mechanically and tonally. The mechanism is somewhat different to the other two. The left-hand third finger tone hole is raised so that it matches the height of the adjoining tone holes; there is a left-hand A-flat/E-flat key; and the various pivots and attachment points for keywork seem very thoughtfully placed. These instruments merit serious consideration and you shoudl certainly try them at a good music retailer, as idiosyncracies in clarinets can match idiosyncratic players and make clarinet-perfection.

Yamaha makes two professional models, the CX-72 and CS-72. They sell for slightly less than the R-13. However, by the time you are spending several thousand on an instrument, the odd £50 here and there is frankly spit in the eye in my opinion. I know lots of people love Yamahas. They are very reliable. They do what they should. They are good value... but I can't really get passionate about them, and nor can I get past the fact that they make motorbikes. That doesn't mean you shouldn't buy one - it just means I don't want to - so shoot me... having said that, I have just spotted a bargain Yamaha 650 on Ebay, so I may be ablout to revise my opinion. Watch this space...

Whatever instrument you choose - love your horn, it lets you speak. Practise hard, or you'll never know how good you could have been, and have fun. Remember an instrument is for life, not just for Christmas!

Enjoy your music making!