The clarinet as an instrument has roots dating all the way back to Ancient Greece, Egypt, the Middle East, and Europe since the Middle Ages. Back then, they were more single-reed instruments and hornpipes than clarinets. The modern clarinet as we know it today has come a long way since then, and Yamaha’s newest release only hopes to expand upon and further the progression of the instrument.
At the Yamaha 2015 NAMM Clarinet Celebration on January 25th, 2015, Yamaha launched their CSVR clarinets. “The new CSVR was developed over the course of actually about four years, those four years are a culmination of 40+ years of custom clarinet work for Yamaha,” said Brian Petterson, marketing manager, Yamaha Winds, Band & Orchestral Division, Yamaha Corporation of America.
According to Petterson, there were three major goals behind the development of the CSVR clarinets. The first goal was consistency. “What Yamaha is able to provide is the greatest consistency… largely due to the great ability of the Japanese style production process,” said Petterson. “We wanted to come to market with a clarinet that was the most consistent option that we could provide at this level… We wanted to provide an instrument that if you play it you have a good idea of how they’re all going to play.” The second goal was to create an instrument that could suit any player’s needs. “We also wanted to provide an instrument that is very expressive… We used to hear that our clarinet was too bright or brighter than the consumer preferred them to be,” said Petterson. “We wanted to provide a clarinet that is warm, and expressive, and the player can color their performance to any way that they see fit – an instrument that can be used in many different genres.” The third and final goal was quality. “At this particular price point and for this particular customer the options available are very inconsistent. It’s hard to find a ‘good one,’” said Petterson.
The result was the Yamaha CSVR Custom Clarinet, which features thick silver plating, durable leather pads, a 65 mm traditional barrel shape, an adjustable thumb-rest with strap ring, and a new more ergonomically designed C#/G# key. Numerous product evaluations were held in major cities across the country, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Boston. The Custom CSVR clarinets were designed with the input of several clarinet educators in mind. “We really wanted to develop an instrument with a focus on educators,” said Petterson. “What we did is tweak our approach – we still went to artists for feedback, but what we also did is specifically cater to educators to participate and give feedback during the process.” The quest for educator input brought the CSVR to the Midwest Band Clinic, in addition to some contact with the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA). “Texas is such an important state as far as music education in the United States,” said Petterson. “It was a great place to focus on to get a whole bunch of feedback in a short amount of time… We actually took the clarinet to TMEA twice. We took it to the Midwest Band Clinic twice. We reached out to high school-, middle school- band teachers, we reached out to clarinet lesson teachers… Long story short, the clarinet was developed with the focus on appealing to the needs of clarinet educators along with artists, and the reason for that is the market this clarinet appeals to is a broad range of players: everyone from dedicated middle school players who are looking for their first step up instrument to orchestral professionals. We wanted to come to market with a clarinet that really fit the needs of that player and specifically their teachers. The CSVR model clarinet really is a great option for those players.”
Since the clarinet’s release, the dealer reaction has been nothing but positive. “To say the reaction has been above and beyond expectation would be selling it short,” said Petterson. “We’re excited about the great introduction we had during NAMM week. We’ve gotten all kinds of dealers who are excited to be able to offer this clarinet for their customers. There is demand for a consistent high performing clarinet at a great price.” And Yamaha feels they’ve really provided something the market is craving. “We have the instrument now and the dealer network and support, and the customer demand is there to be able to succeed with the CSVR clarinet,” said Petterson. The Yamaha YCL-CSVR Custom B-flat clarinet has an MSRP of $4,200 and will ship in March, while the YCL-CSVRA Custom A clarinet has an MSRP of $5,200 and will ship in May of this year.
After a few days exhibiting at NAMM and a successful NAMM week launch event, Yamaha is gearing up to ship out the CSVR, but don’t think that doesn’t mean there isn’t work left to be done. “We have lots of plans in place and some things in motion now to provide the dealers with all the tools they need to subsequently introduce their customers with the clarinet when they receive it,” said Petterson. “We’re working to prepare for the summer, and the summer is really important for educators because that’s when a lot of the professional development conferences take place. We’ll be going to the international clarinet conventions over the summer. We’ll be appearing at some regional clarinet conventions with the clarinet as well.”
Petterson and the Yamaha team only hope to build off of their NAMM show momentum. “We kickstarted a great week at NAMM,” he said, “but that was only the beginning.”
