I have been playing the clarinet for over ten years and I realize the advantages of owning a second clarinet in C, but I have two concerns: a) I am so used to my B-flat clarinet that I may not be able to manage the smaller spacing and the lack of duplicate keys, and b) if I do get used to it, it may spoil my B-flat clarinet playing.

a) Professional musicians, who play related instruments like the E-flat clarinet or saxophone and who often switch between them, adapt quickly to the Lyons C Clarinet. But pure clarinet players may indeed need to spend time on slow technical practice until they become familiar with the different feel of the keywork and its layout. Despite there being no duplicate keys you can still play smoothly and quickly by sliding the left little finger (pinky) across C#/F# and B/E; and the right little finger between C/F and Eb/Ab. However fast trills and tremolos between those pairs of notes are not possible - but you are unlikely to meet them. Most music you meet will be playable on the Lyons C Clarinet; and with a little ingenuity, for instance, changing the octave of a short passage, you can deal with the remainder.

b) If you do become thoroughly at ease with the Lyons C Clarinet there is no danger of your normal clarinet playing suffering. The difference in weight of the two instruments is so striking that your body immediately ?knows? which one it is playing. However, there may be a ?danger? that you start to prefer the Lyons C Clarinet!