Do you know what you need to sound and play your best?
To answer this first question, you need to first know the answers to the following questions:
Q1: Do I need an instrument with a darker shape of sound?
A: If you naturally tend to have a brighter shape of sound you would.
Q2: Do I need an instrument with a slightly brighter shape of sound?
A: You would, if you tended to have a darker, covered, or unfocused sound.
Q3: What if I am in the middle? I have neither too dark or too bright of a sound?
A: Well, then you can select an instrument that is neither too dark or too bright but what we called color-balanced.
Our OscurO and ClarO clarinet models represent two fundamentally different tonal base colors of sound for you to choose from.
Choosing The Rest of Your Color Palette
Now that you have determined which model of instrument is likely best for you, it’s time to choose the rest of what you need – in terms of both color and shape of sound- in a new instrument with our Color-Ring™ System.
Our Color-Ring™️ System Will Help You Select The Perfect Instrument
About The Rings
Each SeriO instrument we ship comes with small color-rings (see image below) hanging from a string with the serial number of the instrument(s). Once our instruments have been fully professionally set up, we identify its distinguishing color and shape of sound and match them to your playing needs. Our process helps musicians rapidly improve- often before our very eyes, and surprisingly equally on zoom or the telephone. It is that noticeable!
How to Use Our Color-Ring™ System
1. Foundation of Sound:
Bright (red) and/or Dark (brown)
Select Your Foundation Color of Sound
Every clarinetist has a fundamental shape of sound that is either dark, bright or somewhere in the middle. Every instrument also has a fundamental shape of sound that is either dark, bright or somewhere in the middle.
Most of the time we are attracted to selecting an instrument that is the most like our fundamental coloring but it’s actually better to select something that balances your natural tendencies.
Dark (Brown) works best if you have a brighter sound, and Bright (Red) works best if you have a darker sound. If you sound neither bright or dark, you should request models that have both brown and red color-rings.
2. Shape of Sound:
Big (purple) and/or Smooth (green)
Select Your Shape of Sound
If you find you struggle with interval leaps and in general playing evenly, trying instruments with green color-rings will help you achieve a smoother creamy shape of sound. Instruments with green color-rings tend to have less color in their shape of sound.
If you use a lot of air and feel that your current instrument lacks color because you over blow it, an instrument with a purple color-ring will help. These instruments produce the biggest shape of sound possible. While it might seem enticing to try instruments with purple color-rings because they are bigger sounding instruments, if you don’t naturally play with a lot of air, it will feel difficult to control this kind of instrument and equally be less flexible and colorful because you naturally don’t use a lot of air.
3. Color of Sound:
Sweet (pink) and/or Ringy (orange)
Select your Color of Sound
When we listen to old recordings of Robert Marcellus, Harold Wright, Ralph McLane, Anthony Gigliotti we hear sweet singing resonant clarinet playing. If you don’t naturally have a lot of color in your sound selecting instruments that offer it to you, will help you tremendously.
If you want more ring in your sound, request an instrument with plenty of ping which will come with an orange color-ring.
If you want more beauty in your sound, sweeter sounding instruments will be smaller in shape, more compact in feel and come with a pink color-ring.
Remember our color-ring system is a matching system to compliment your natural tendencies to enhance your playing. When you don’t achieve a complimentary match, you will find it difficult to play evenly and in tune.