The Buffet Pocket Clarinet is now a reality. But who is it meant for? Watch while Katherine and Michael review this clever little curiosity from Buffet.
I have used a very similar instrument made by Jupiter with groups of kids. Jupiter call it a saxonett - it uses the same fingering system of a German system recorder and a regular clarinet MP. Jupiter's version (sold by many stores all over Europe, where Jupiter is a pretty big, and decent, budget brand for wind instruments - their instruments give Yamaha's entry models a run for their money) has the body in a single piece of (pretty thick) wood though. I've also seen the same instruments from other makers called chalumeau (yes, I know - this is not the historical instrument). So the Buffet clarinet is not something completely new.
Great video! I think this is a great step in the right direction from Buffet - shaking up the beginner instrument market and at a great price. Having the Bb mouthpiece is a genius move
Thanks for the review! I tried one of these out a couple months ago and was really disappointed at the constrained range, but you and Katherine offered a lot of good insights into why that was actually a good choice for its target audience.
I tried one of those, and I'm sure I could put $200 worth of my time/labor into *trying* to smooth out the bore enough for a semi-decent tone. The socket for the mouthpiece was also a (literal) weak point, but that's fixable with a hose clamp. :)
How fascinating! I'm glad you mentioned the size of the tone holes because that was my first thought. It also seems weird that it is made of wood... I'd be curious how the resistance and air support compare to a clarinet. Other than the price, I could see this being a good replacement for recorders in elementary school music. I have a hypothesis that beginning band students never use enough air support because their first wind instrument is almost always the recorder which pretty much punishes you for using strong air support. It is really nice to see the support for young learners! P.S. Super excited for clarinet Suzuki!
Yes, so glad to see you, Bro. Send me some of that pedagogical in chartreuse, it'll go with the drapes..Stockhausen! Man, you crack me up with your sense of humor. Stock-baby might have dug my Sitar with infinite micro-tones available. I am eternally grateful for your wisdom a few years ago when encountering the "Non Bonus" notes on the Bass Clarinet. No Banshee squeaks nowadays. Have been listening to Stockhausen's "Zeitmasse" again. William Ulyate did good as they say. Shalom from Texas.
A Buffet Reed? That's... Interesting! Didn't know they made mouthpieces or reeds! Seems pretty reasonable for teaching little people, as you said. I'm curious how popular it will get, both due to price and to its limited use case.
Buffet reeds are most likely Vandorens - their older Prestige reeds were just Vandorens with the Buffet logo printed on them (likewise with older Selmer reeds). Buffet usually supply a moulded plastic mouthpiece with all their clarinets to complete the outfit and as they normally get binned as most players use their own mouthpiece, unless they're an absolute beginner and need to get started.
@@chrisperyagh Interesting! I've never gotten a Buffet mouthpiece with any of my clarinets, and I've bought 2 B flats and one A from them. The reed makes sense; I'm curious which strength they use here.
@@amaypant Even my Prestige bass was supplied with a cheap plastic mouthpiece and Prestige basset horns come supplied with an ebonite Vandoren B40 alto clarinet mouthpiece as standard. Buffet used to supply their clarinets with an ebonite Buffet mouthpiece, but that's a bit of a waste of their money as chances are most people wouldn't use the stock mouthpiece supplied with most clarinets, even if it's a hand finished ebonite one. It makes more sense to put in a £20 plastic mouthpiece to complete the outfit rather than one costing anything from £90 upwards if it's not going to get used. I think Selmer still supply their clarinets with an ebonite Selmer mouthpiece - some even came supplied with the more expensive C85 mouthpiece. Similarly, Yamaha usually supply their clarinets with a 4C mouthpiece and an ebonite 4CM Custom mouthpiece with their Custom series clarinets.
Thank for this review. I agree with you when you tell that holes are to wide for (very) young childrens. I've tried this instrument but i was disappointed not to be able to play a chromatic scale. Also half-holes or fork fingerings are impossible. And why the key of D ? I think it would be great to start developping something based on a chalumeau.
As a recorder and clarinet player, I think that a recorder is actually a very challenging instrument to play well and not at all suited to little beginners. In my experience musical skills are highly transferable from one instrument to the next (pitch, rhythm, intonation, reading music). I would either start a young learner on pitched percussion or wait. Just my 2¢.
I have a very similar instrument, a Kunath pocket clarineau. The main differences are it uses recorder fingerings and it is in C. It is around 100 euro and made of pearwood. That is including a softcase, accesories and a decent Bb mouthpiece! It sounds very much like a clarinet (more so than the Buffet pocket clarinet I'd say but that might be due to comparing audio recording vs. real life sound). I like it because it's small and lightweight so I can carry and play it easily without pain (I have chronic back issues and even the weight of my Eb clarinet is becoming too much some days sadly). And a nice perk is I can play along with many other instruments without transposing because it is in C 😊 Kunath also have other clarineau options in harder woods and/or with 2 or 3 keys, but those are more expensive of course. I am saving up for one with keys because I do sort of miss the throat tones (never thought I'd be saying that…) The pocket clarineau has an awkward gap between the lower and upper register that you have to creatively play around 😅 I assume the Buffet pocket clarinet also does? The Buffet pocket clarinet does look very nice and sleek, but why is it in D? That seems impractical and would stop me from buying one, knowing similar instruments in C also exist… I guess for a child playing by ear it doesn't matter much. But I hope they would also consider adult players who want a simpler, smaller, lightweight instrument due to age or disability. Only marketing this for children seems like a missed opportunity.
Jared de Leon just made a high Bb with just a few keys, or there are Albert Ab that need some love back. The Nuovo or Lyons C- clarinets also exist with plateau keys and full chromatic range. All the above are better than this for very young beginners.
With Buffet being the large instrument company they are, I am surprised they did not just make a proper Chalumeau in C and F. 🤔 Would have been a real instrument with significantly more use. 😶 For $25, I was easily able to pay somebody to 3D print a keyless Chalumeau in C, with dual tone holes to play C/C# and D/D#. 🎵 And also uses a Bb clarinet mouth piece and reed. 😉 At $200, this is a major no-no in my books. 🚫 If I personally wanted to get a young child interested in reed instruments, I would get them either get them a Thomann or Jupiter Chalumeau, or a 3D-printed one. 🛒 Even adults use those, so there would be continual use and benefits of such instruments.
Based upon your review of this instrument, I think Buffet needs to start to people like Catherine and get this instrument connected to a method book of some kind as soon as possible. At the price point of the instrument, it is really not all that bad and I can see it in elementary school music classes with a decent early method book. It would be great if it could, with a little creativity on Buffet's part be adapted to use an Eb mouthpiece. In some ways, these instrument seems half cooked. As far as any use after entry level clarinet, I think more people need to play around with it. Buffet surely has not thought through this instrument completely. Someone will though and then the possibilities will become fully evident. Personally, I think Buffet should ether create their own method book or partner with Suzuki and at least have an addendum listing the best tunes of that method to use with the "Pocket" clarinet. I hate the name, by the way. If Buffet is not calling Catherine about the method book soon, shame on them. Prior to your review, I thought this was gimmick at best. The pedagogical uses here are not fully known. Buffet is onto something very useful and innovative here. It is, in my opinion, not fully thought out, yet. Thank you for this video. I am now fully intrigued by this as a music educator. This is not a gimmick. Thank you both again for this video. Buffet: LISTEN TO THEM ON THIS!!
Hang on a minute, you have kids playing on an Eb clarinet before the Bb?? In my experience playing both, the Eb is a far harder instrument to play. It's difficult to tune as well as needing a much different embouchure from the Bb clarinet. Smaller doesn't always mean easier.
I think that "used Bb clarinets" not for 4 year children. But about wooden, i agree. For children no need to make wooden instrument. Yes its need rich sound, and a lot durable.
greetings from Finland! I had to work in Tempo (Finnish version of el Sistema) group music playing with those Nuevos or what they were, plastic "clarinets" in C. Awful, just awful. No feeling, leaking problems, mechanism not stable... anything else is better.
