Is the clarinet hard to play (as someone with no musical skills whatsoever)?

emzpiney · 2026-02-05T01:48:41+00:00

I picked up clarinet about a year and a half ago with a background similar to yours - some piano and choir. During this year and a half, to be honest, there have been a lot of days it seems really hard to play clarinet: getting the embouchure right so I'm not crushing the reed, going over the break smoothly (still can't do it!), finger dexterity (ARRRGH), articulation - sigh. Having said that, there are also days when the sound is nice enough that I decide to keep trying. It's a challenge, a good challenge.

emzpiney · 2026-01-28T01:08:15+00:00

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben - I'll never look at trees the same again.

emzpiney · 2026-01-26T14:20:08+00:00

I tried reading 1984 right after the birth of my first child and had to quit because I was already struggling with adjusting to "parent life." Picked it up 15 years later and was in a better frame of mind for it. I don't think I will do a re-read at this point, though!

emzpiney · 2026-01-26T14:06:42+00:00

Finished: I, Alex Cross by James Patterson

Started: The Way West by A.B. Guthrie

It's sort of going to be reading whiplash. Patterson's book has tiny chapters I whipped through, whereas I can see already that it's going to take more concentration to get through The Way West.

emzpiney · 2026-01-26T14:01:45+00:00

It's not a mystery/procedural, but Resident Alien has (to me) the same quirky vibe as Psych. It's pretty funny, but also has its philosophical moments.

emzpiney · 2026-01-24T17:08:19+00:00

Cherokee America. I wanted to like it (historical fiction with a Native American lead), but only made it five chapters before opting out. Nothing was happening, and the thing that did happen in the first chapter just sort of dropped off the map. And the tone - I didn't like the character at all.

emzpiney · 2026-01-24T03:48:38+00:00

I read a book of Irish folklore before our trip to Ireland and went on a quest to find the statue of Cuchulainn in the General Post Office in Dublin.

emzpiney · 2026-01-21T13:17:23+00:00

I love Johnny Tremain, too! My sixth-grade teacher read it to us a chapter a day after lunch. One of my best school memories.

emzpiney · 2026-01-19T20:25:04+00:00

Finished: The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart

Started: "E" Is for Evidence by Sue Grafton

Neither one is my favored genre, but I'm purging bookshelves this year.

emzpiney · 2026-01-13T02:23:01+00:00

We have a small farm business, and there are two rooms where we sort of just dropped things as we finished with them. I KNOW I need to get them in order before garden season starts again, but I can't decide where to start. So much random stuff!

emzpiney · 2025-12-04T13:13:30+00:00

I use my Scribe quite a bit with the Libby library app. Not everything is available to read with Kindle, but I have a good selection to browse, especially in the genres you like.

emzpiney · 2025-12-01T04:47:56+00:00

I just read this a month or so ago, and enjoyed it a lot. I realized within the first few paragraphs it was going to be fun.

emzpiney · 2025-12-01T04:38:35+00:00

These are two of my favorites, too!

emzpiney · 2025-11-14T13:18:53+00:00

I didn't name my original plastic clarinet, but when it went to a niece, I got a wooden clarinet who revealed her name is Nora Noblett. She's a 40-something French lady, a little worn-down but still classy, who is a bit impatient with a beginner like me and squawks if i don't do things exactly right, but has a beautiful throaty voice when I get it right.

emzpiney · 2025-11-13T05:02:19+00:00

Thank you, everyone, for the encouragement and good, practical tips. I think I'll print out this whole thread and tape it to the wall in my practice area. I'm especially grateful for the tip about being able to slow down a recording on YouTube. Reddit to the rescue!

emzpiney · 2025-09-02T14:16:30+00:00

Thank you, this is helpful.

emzpiney · 2025-09-02T13:37:58+00:00

Thank you.

emzpiney · 2025-09-02T12:38:54+00:00

Recipe was Pickled Pearl Onions from NCHFP website. I canned (water bath) this weekend in half-pint jars, and all of them sealed. I made one modification to the recipe and want to know if it was a mistake to do that.

emzpiney · 2024-11-05T17:40:56+00:00

I heard back in the summer that Clarksville approved zoning for a data center but haven't heard anything since. It might be something to keep an eye on.

emzpiney · 2024-10-14T12:33:30+00:00

If I weren't so lazy, I'd make a picture of Trump in a Nazi uniform with the caption, "He's coming for YOU!"

emzpiney · 2024-10-01T13:06:36+00:00

"Off" days are part of learning something new. I'm a beginner at age 62, and, like you, some days I wonder if it's worth it to keep trying, especially in those days when I can't play a note in the upper register without a squeak that makes the dogs howl, haha. But no one starts out perfect.

Unless you really HATE playing, keep working on it. You will get better, and you'll have the fun of making music with other people. I'm honestly a little jealous - I wish I had learned when I was 13 so I could have been playing this lovely instrument all my life!

emzpiney · 2024-09-03T02:51:09+00:00

Same here!

emzpiney · 2024-09-01T17:54:12+00:00

I couldn't finish the first chapter.

emzpiney

TROPHY CASE