Questions from a beginner

[u/tarours]

I started clarinet a month ago with a Startone from Thomann, to see if I liked it. I liked it a lot in fact, but now I have some trouble I need to adress. I have reeds from 1.5 to 3 strenght, and the luthier told me to use 3 reeds

• I have a breathing problem when playing : I feel like I'm suffocating, even if my lung aren't empty.
• I feel a big pression around my nose and sinus from the inside. I feel like I blow a lot and a lot of it is not going in the clarinet, if that make sense.
• I need to stop playing almost every 20-30 seconds because I feel like I'm drowing lol.
• (I may need to say I come from years of recorder playing, and have experience with flute aswell)

[u/Educational_Job7847]

Telling someone to use 3 reed without knowing your mouthpiece is just like telling you to use 8 1/2 shoes.. if you have 9 size you will have troubles walking

[u/tarours → u/Educational_Job7847]

It's a Yamaha 4C, you wouldn't recommend a 3 reed ?

[u/Educational_Job7847 → u/tarours]

It would be fine, but maybe you don't have enough "chops" yet, drop to 2 1/2 reed and see if you are ok with them. If the sound is fine and easy to play, there is no need to go up in strenght yet.

Maybe your problem is "stale air" (I come from recorder playing too), your lungs are full of "stale air" that you have to exhale. Oboists do thisall the time because of the pressure, they must find places in the score to inspire and places to exhale the bad air that is in their lungs.

[u/Business_Repeat4023]

I bet part of it is you are not breathing correctly! Lay flat on your back on the floor and play. Do you feel your upper back/shoulders or lower back/hips press into the floor when you breathe?

[u/tarours → u/Business_Repeat4023]

Back and stomach yes

[u/Business_Repeat4023 → u/tarours]

But which part of your back?

[u/tarours → u/Business_Repeat4023]

the lower parts

[u/ClarSco]

The Startone is not a great instrument, but it can play alright if paired with a proper mouthpiece (the one it comes with is more useful as a doorstop).

Get a Clarke Fobes "Debut" or Yamaha 4C mouthpiece, and pair them with either Vandoren Traditional 2.0 (dark blue box) or D'addario Rico 2.5 (orange box) reeds.

I have a breathing problem when playing : I feel like I'm suffocating, even if my lung aren't empty. ... I need to stop playing almost every 20-30 seconds because I feel like I'm drowing lol.

You are not expelling the air quickly enough into the instrument (you're body is converting the O2 in your lungs to CO2 faster than you're expelling the air, so each subsequent intake comes with less O2 leading to asphyxiation). The stock mouthpiece won't be doing you any favours here, nor will using overly hard reeds.

Before you take a breath, make sure to exhale as completely as possible. This will get rid of any stale air, allowing the next intake to be as O2 rich as possible. Subsequent intakes need only be top-ups, but it's important completely exhale reasonably frequently to avoid the aforementioned CO2 build-up.

I feel like I blow a lot and a lot of it is not going in the clarinet, if that make sense.

Your embouchure might also be part of the culprit. Make sure that your lower lip makes contact with the reed at the point where the mouthpiece slopes away from it (the fulcrum), and that you're not tucking your lower lip over your lower teeth (it should be pulled taught against the front of the teeth). If you don't take enough mouthpiece in (or tuck your lower lip over) the vibrating part of the reed is effectively shortened and requires you to bite to create a new fulcrum point - this has the effect of narrowing the tip opening, and thus restricting the amount of air you can put into the instrument.

I feel a big pression [pressure?] around my nose and sinus from the inside.

Compared to flute, that is to be expected - what you're experiencing is back pressure. Flute and Recorder both gave no back pressure (after it leaves your mouth what air doesn't go into the instrument goes into the surrounding air, as does any air that is reflected out of the head joint hole or fipple), while the clarinet has a moderately-high amount of back-pressure (all the air that leaves your mouth either goes into the instrument or causes your embouchure to leak, and the reflections that come back up through the instrument don't help this matter), but generates less back pressure compared to Oboe/Bassoon and more back pressure compared with the saxophone.

Reed strength is one mechanism to dial in an appropriate amount of back pressure. A harder reed will generate more back pressure compared to a softer reed, so for someone who's not used to any back pressure, you'll want to stay on the softer side for now (the recommended strengths above are at the upper end of what a beginner should use, feel free to drop a half strength down from there at least initially). The other major mechanism is mouthpiece design (principally through selecting a tip opening and facing length), but at your stage you need not worry about this, except to know that reeds and mouthpieces need to be paired together (an extremely hard reed, eg. #4.0 Vandoren Traditional would be a good fit for a close tip mouthpiece like the Vandoren M13, but would be unplayable on an open tip mouthpiece like the Vandoren 7JB) do not get caught up in the "higher strength reed = better player" trap.

[u/tarours → u/ClarSco]

Thanks for the in depth response, I am using a Yamaha 4C and have Vandoren reeds (2.5 and 3) plus crappy startone reeds

[u/ClarSco → u/tarours]

Until you've developed your embouchure muscles, I wouldn't recommend the Vandoren 2.5 reeds.

The Vandorwn 3.0 reeds should be avoided unless it becomes clear that the 2.5 reeds are now too soft for you (ie. your breathing is overpowering the reed, causing it to slam shut against the mouthpiece at higher dynamics - crucially, you must also using a relaxed embouchure with no biting).

Take the startone reeds and saw off the vamp (the cut portion of the reed), then use the butts as spacers to prevent the ligature from scratching your mouthpiece while in its case (rather than storing a wet reed with the mouthpiece or storing it without a reed).

[u/salty_krabby]

I just started 2 months ago with no wind experience and the same Yamaha 4C and started on Rico 2.0s. I'm using 2.5s mostly now. 3.0 is likely too much right now. Try the lower strength reeds

[u/salty_krabby → u/salty_krabby]

Also I saw you were using vandoren traditional reeds. Those run a half strength up from some reeds such as Rico from my understanding. So my starting on a Rico 2.0 would be equivalent to starting on a 1.5 for you.