Fancy

Today's milestone was choosing a high-quality clarinet for D, who's been playing on a cheap used plastic one for the last five years. We got three from a shop his teacher recommends that specializes in clarinets, and today his teacher had him play all three of them, then she tried them herself, and altogether they spent the whole 45-minute lesson focused on details that I myself couldn't begin to hear. At the end, she made her recommendation, and it turned out to be the one that D. had preferred when he'd tried them all at home.

Also I learned a new thing today – in the symphony, the clarinet players need both B-flat and A clarinets to play the full range of the repertoire. She says when he's in the Youth Symphony next year they'll supply a clarinet in A to both him and the other clarinet player. Always new things to learn!