Insight from someone who played saxophone and whose sister played clarinet: saxophone is less painful sound-wise. The first year or two of clarinet playing is especially brutal--if a finger hole isn't covered exactly right with enough pressure, big loud squeak. Saxophone is just push the buttons down. It the clarinet instrument parts aren't pushed together the exact spacing and amount, very off key. Saxophone, much less of a problem. Clarinet can and will play much higher notes. Alto Sax is more midrange, and easier to play quietly. Plus, if you have a recorder background and know the notes, its much easier to switch to alto sax because it is in the same key and has all the same fingerings--no painful learning what G is and messing up.
I wish I could afford to pay for your wonderful, entertaining content. However, I discovered you too late in life and we're trying to make it on Social Security. After spending $2-3K a year on books and subscriptions for most of my life, I'm now scrabbling to hang on to Kindle Unlimited and the Internet. (We've dropped all our subscriptions and the TV.) I love your penchant for buying from the "underdog" authors at book signings. I was too much of a genre snob to do that (grin), but I practice it at the local farmers market. I try to buy from the smaller, less showy vendors, from the young kids or the older folks whose booths don't seem to get much traffic. At least I can tell myself , "I've still got to eat, so it's a justifiable expense." (grin) /// The way the Internet and social media have given people license to be obnoxious is awful. I'm so sorry you're getting nasty emails. What's wrong with people just admitting something isn't to their taste and quietly leaving. I like the frequent rejoinder that says, "This isn't an airport. You don't have to announce your departure." lol //// Best wishes! Buy some good sound cancelling headphones!
I started out somehow stumbling on your cartoons and liking them. Then came the weekly newsletter, then the SubStack. I guess I went with the paid subscription because I wanted more. I'm glad I did.
😮 I was sampling your newsletters for a while until I decided I wanted to be a subscriber. I can see the thrill of getting something for free, I can see not all people can spare a few bucks for a paid subscription. But for the life of me, I can’t understand people who would bother to write an email to complain about their free newsletter! That’s beyond my imagination capabilities ( and let me tell you, my imagination is pretty wild).
I'm right there with you. I think it's great that so many people want the free samples. I just don't want them to complain if they never paid for it in the first place.
Thank you for sharing your experience with the haters who resent you demanding more free content. As a paid subscriber, I do appreciate the time and effort you put into entertaining me (and clearly it is for me, and only me 😉). I took your message to heart and ran through my subscription list and reviewed which substacks I read on the regular and joined them at a paid level. You all deserve at least a token of compensation for your time.
I don’t know who wized in your cereal but shame on them. The nasty people who hide behind a computer screen burns my butt. These are cowards. They’d never say to your face what they can say with the net. Yes, I’ve been there done that. I believe that if you don’t have anything nice to say, walk away Karen. I’m a paid, abet a small amount, because I’ve been following you since your first book. Plus I’m weirdly fond of your “I can’t draw, see?” cartoons. Lol. Once I find an author I enjoy I stay with them till there’s no more words from them. What I don’t understand is why your not more out there. I see your twitter, before I quit; I have you on face book, I come her for the longer stories. I DO think you could make a living writing books, etc. I’m going to guess that you kid series is going to become a young adult staple with several books then a movie. Anyway, shame on them, go you, and I had to take up the french horn because it was required way back then but didn’t stick to it because we couldn’t afford even a cheap instrument. Remember Eminem’s 8 mile road? I lived on that street. I did however go through the music stuff with my kids who, amazingly enough, hated playing an instrument so I didn’t have to suffer long.
Until you reach (mandatory) marching camp in high school and you have to get used to your muscles and tendons being undisciplined that first year. x_x (It got a lot easier when I didn't have to painfully crawl down the ladder from the top bunk the remaining three, either!)
DS I also traveled with the high school band with minimum chaperones but did not want to scare him. With 4 kids, he might want to encourage his oldest to pick an instrument that the school will provide like French horn or tuba or bass clarinet.
Especially with rent-to-own that will eventually become dust collectors! Back in my day, horns were still rentals, but I think the mellophones for marching season were lends from the school. As soon as I switched over at the end of sixth grade? Bye bye rental checks! (This was the 90s...no online autopay yet.) The only things that were mine were the mouthpiece (I bought one of my own at one point) and then I think I generally kept my own grease pot and oil and didn't leave it for the next person.
"I’m not sure if I’m rooting for them to be really good so they’ll be easier to listen to or really bad so they’ll give up and do something else."
Of course, there's the Apocalypse scenario, when your kids are so bad that they want to keep going in the faint hope that they, though lacking in ability, might become professional musicians someday... 😳
I am happy to be a paid subscriber! I saw your Twitter posts on FB as part of a “funny parent quotes” montage, then followed you in FB. I kept enjoying them, so subscribed to the newsletter. Enjoyed the newsletter, so bought two books (my fave is The Chosen Twelve) signed from your local Indy bookstore. When the paid substack offer came up, yeah, it was both pity money and support for a struggling artist, but also because I really enjoyed all the things I had seen for free over a long period of time, and I feel duty-bound to subsidize something and someone who brings me that much entertainment, especially a real person and not a mega-conglomerate industry. I don’t have kids, and never will, and frankly, reading & listening to your hilarious stories about them, I’m now sure I made the right choice. Even with that, I would miss hearing all about your family and your experiences if you quit writing. Thank you for continuing to share! I am sorry that there are free-sample folks who are so incredibly rude and entitled. Sincere thanks from a loyal subscriber who appreciates the effort you are making and your skill in storytelling…and I promise if I ever do have to leave, it will be with quiet grace & dignity.
That's really great to hear. I thought for a while only readers with kids would connect with me, but that's not been the case at all. Glad we could connect.
I'm in the same boat of never had any kids and never will. (Well, I'm 73 after all! LOL) Since my 20's I've been hearing/reading such stories and typically say/think something like: "Reason number 423 why I don't have kids!" Nice to know I'm not the only one.
You converted me. I don’t normally buy web content because I just don’t take the time but I’ve read your newsletter for ages. I don’t have kids and I’m one of 2 sorta 3 sibs but it hurts my soul to hear people fuss about free stuff like you owe them something. Take my $5 and I hope it brings you a mm closer to quitting your day job!
"Mae is leaning towards either the clarinet or saxophone. ... It’s not like you can jump back and forth between instruments." So the funny thing is, in this case, that statement is not entirely true. It is actually pretty easy and very common for professional players of either instrument to also play the other. (Myself included.) Learning either clarinet or saxophone will also give her a head start on any of the other woodwinds (flute, oboe, bassoon), although the switch there is not as easy. Saxophone is easier in the beginning, with more gigs later on, but also more competition. Clarinet gives her a better chance of scholarships in college should she make it that far, but not by much.
There's more unsolicited advice than you wanted. And speaking of solicitation, I will happily pay $5 a month for comedy that I can read to any of my varied audiences without censoring. Thank you for that!
My FIL was so disgustingly gifted in music that he could pick up any wind instrument and play it quite competently. In high school, he was the backup for the entire wind section.
I've heard that clarinets have better scholarships, but I doubt things will get that far. Please, send me all the band advice you've got. I'm a complete novice here.
Youngest got a college scholarship for viola. And over the top academic performance. 😉 She also has the first ever P.hD in the family. She's a tenured professor who teaches at the university level in Criminology and Sociology.
I’m happy to support you in my own small ways. So much so that I'm wanting to buy signed hard copies of your first three books even though I already bought digital versions. Partly because I believe in supporting authors I enjoy, partly because I’ve developed a collection of signed books and have two of yours signed so I need the full collection signed. Also, I always wanted to be an author. Sadly, my life hasn’t been as interesting nor have I found a story to tell. My oldest child is a far better writer, even in middle school, than I could ever be and I hope one day he publishes some of what he’s written. He’s a great storyteller, I ramble too much.
As for the music, I’m probably the only parent/grandparent that has actually encouraged a child/grandchild to be a drummer. My oldest was given a drum for his first Christmas at 7 1/2 months old. He later got a drum kit around 10 and played clarinet in middle school. He got that musical talent from his dad. The middle child has given us a grandson who loves music and drums are his thing. He loved to bang on pots and bowls and I never have minded the banging. He got a junior drum kit this Christmas, he’s 2 1/2, and he’s actually pretty good with technique. I’ll take drums over clarinet any day. The oldest and youngest both played clarinet and it hurts my head to hear it played poorly. Also, if there’s a chance of braces in her future, both instruments will be a mistake. Our youngest got braces after choosing clarinet and had issues practicing after every adjustment.
Thanks so much for your support! Buying a book is no small commitment. I've seen those sticker prices. As for the instruments, I didn't consider the braces angle. One more thing to worry about.
I just placed my order from Main Street Books and can’t wait to have signed copies of your entire collection. Well, I don’t have the journal, but did buy a copy for my cousin a couple years ago and it’s almost time to get one for her younger sister…
I saw that you have a children’s picture book coming out soon, so I’ll have to get that for the grandson. Thanks for making me laugh!
First, I am stealing "top-tier quitter." It made me guffaw.
Second, the clarinet is evil. Do not let Mae near it!
Third, there are people who are no more than cretins. Try not to let them get to you. I happily pay my $5/month, but even if I could not afford it, I would not begrudge you earning a living (how dare you!)
I very clearly remember the day my 12 year old said: "I play the trumpet now. You need to rent me a trumpet." It worked out better than I expected. She wound up first chair before she graduated from high school, and when she couldn't get the hang of playing the french horn, saying it was left-handed, her left-handed brother picked it up and played it easily. He wound up with scholarships.
Insight from someone who played saxophone and whose sister played clarinet: saxophone is less painful sound-wise. The first year or two of clarinet playing is especially brutal--if a finger hole isn't covered exactly right with enough pressure, big loud squeak. Saxophone is just push the buttons down. It the clarinet instrument parts aren't pushed together the exact spacing and amount, very off key. Saxophone, much less of a problem. Clarinet can and will play much higher notes. Alto Sax is more midrange, and easier to play quietly. Plus, if you have a recorder background and know the notes, its much easier to switch to alto sax because it is in the same key and has all the same fingerings--no painful learning what G is and messing up.
I'll have to keep that in mind. I can already hear that squeak in my dreams.
I wish I could afford to pay for your wonderful, entertaining content. However, I discovered you too late in life and we're trying to make it on Social Security. After spending $2-3K a year on books and subscriptions for most of my life, I'm now scrabbling to hang on to Kindle Unlimited and the Internet. (We've dropped all our subscriptions and the TV.) I love your penchant for buying from the "underdog" authors at book signings. I was too much of a genre snob to do that (grin), but I practice it at the local farmers market. I try to buy from the smaller, less showy vendors, from the young kids or the older folks whose booths don't seem to get much traffic. At least I can tell myself , "I've still got to eat, so it's a justifiable expense." (grin) /// The way the Internet and social media have given people license to be obnoxious is awful. I'm so sorry you're getting nasty emails. What's wrong with people just admitting something isn't to their taste and quietly leaving. I like the frequent rejoinder that says, "This isn't an airport. You don't have to announce your departure." lol //// Best wishes! Buy some good sound cancelling headphones!
I appreciate my free subscribers, too! All I ask is, if you get tired of me, be nice when you unsubscribe. Thanks for reading my stuff.
I started out somehow stumbling on your cartoons and liking them. Then came the weekly newsletter, then the SubStack. I guess I went with the paid subscription because I wanted more. I'm glad I did.
Glad to hear I grew on you over time! For most people, I have the opposite effect.
😮 I was sampling your newsletters for a while until I decided I wanted to be a subscriber. I can see the thrill of getting something for free, I can see not all people can spare a few bucks for a paid subscription. But for the life of me, I can’t understand people who would bother to write an email to complain about their free newsletter! That’s beyond my imagination capabilities ( and let me tell you, my imagination is pretty wild).
I'm right there with you. I think it's great that so many people want the free samples. I just don't want them to complain if they never paid for it in the first place.
Thank you for sharing your experience with the haters who resent you demanding more free content. As a paid subscriber, I do appreciate the time and effort you put into entertaining me (and clearly it is for me, and only me 😉). I took your message to heart and ran through my subscription list and reviewed which substacks I read on the regular and joined them at a paid level. You all deserve at least a token of compensation for your time.
Thanks for supporting writers! It makes a huge difference.
I don’t know who wized in your cereal but shame on them. The nasty people who hide behind a computer screen burns my butt. These are cowards. They’d never say to your face what they can say with the net. Yes, I’ve been there done that. I believe that if you don’t have anything nice to say, walk away Karen. I’m a paid, abet a small amount, because I’ve been following you since your first book. Plus I’m weirdly fond of your “I can’t draw, see?” cartoons. Lol. Once I find an author I enjoy I stay with them till there’s no more words from them. What I don’t understand is why your not more out there. I see your twitter, before I quit; I have you on face book, I come her for the longer stories. I DO think you could make a living writing books, etc. I’m going to guess that you kid series is going to become a young adult staple with several books then a movie. Anyway, shame on them, go you, and I had to take up the french horn because it was required way back then but didn’t stick to it because we couldn’t afford even a cheap instrument. Remember Eminem’s 8 mile road? I lived on that street. I did however go through the music stuff with my kids who, amazingly enough, hated playing an instrument so I didn’t have to suffer long.
I decided to be a paid subscriber because I want to see The Forbidden Cake (August 18, 2022) of your father-in-law. Worth it!
That cake was one of my biggest subscription days ever. It almost made it worth it to wait 18 years to finally get that cake.
I would suggest you look at band as a team sport without the injuries. It will make the squeaks and screeches a lot more bearable.
I love the perspective. Although knowing my kids, they'll still find a way to get injured.
Until you reach (mandatory) marching camp in high school and you have to get used to your muscles and tendons being undisciplined that first year. x_x (It got a lot easier when I didn't have to painfully crawl down the ladder from the top bunk the remaining three, either!)
DS I also traveled with the high school band with minimum chaperones but did not want to scare him. With 4 kids, he might want to encourage his oldest to pick an instrument that the school will provide like French horn or tuba or bass clarinet.
Especially with rent-to-own that will eventually become dust collectors! Back in my day, horns were still rentals, but I think the mellophones for marching season were lends from the school. As soon as I switched over at the end of sixth grade? Bye bye rental checks! (This was the 90s...no online autopay yet.) The only things that were mine were the mouthpiece (I bought one of my own at one point) and then I think I generally kept my own grease pot and oil and didn't leave it for the next person.
It’s amazing how we’ve become entitled and rude due to anonymity on social networks
"I’m not sure if I’m rooting for them to be really good so they’ll be easier to listen to or really bad so they’ll give up and do something else."
Of course, there's the Apocalypse scenario, when your kids are so bad that they want to keep going in the faint hope that they, though lacking in ability, might become professional musicians someday... 😳
I am happy to be a paid subscriber! I saw your Twitter posts on FB as part of a “funny parent quotes” montage, then followed you in FB. I kept enjoying them, so subscribed to the newsletter. Enjoyed the newsletter, so bought two books (my fave is The Chosen Twelve) signed from your local Indy bookstore. When the paid substack offer came up, yeah, it was both pity money and support for a struggling artist, but also because I really enjoyed all the things I had seen for free over a long period of time, and I feel duty-bound to subsidize something and someone who brings me that much entertainment, especially a real person and not a mega-conglomerate industry. I don’t have kids, and never will, and frankly, reading & listening to your hilarious stories about them, I’m now sure I made the right choice. Even with that, I would miss hearing all about your family and your experiences if you quit writing. Thank you for continuing to share! I am sorry that there are free-sample folks who are so incredibly rude and entitled. Sincere thanks from a loyal subscriber who appreciates the effort you are making and your skill in storytelling…and I promise if I ever do have to leave, it will be with quiet grace & dignity.
That's really great to hear. I thought for a while only readers with kids would connect with me, but that's not been the case at all. Glad we could connect.
I'm in the same boat of never had any kids and never will. (Well, I'm 73 after all! LOL) Since my 20's I've been hearing/reading such stories and typically say/think something like: "Reason number 423 why I don't have kids!" Nice to know I'm not the only one.
You converted me. I don’t normally buy web content because I just don’t take the time but I’ve read your newsletter for ages. I don’t have kids and I’m one of 2 sorta 3 sibs but it hurts my soul to hear people fuss about free stuff like you owe them something. Take my $5 and I hope it brings you a mm closer to quitting your day job!
Thanks! And $5 is more than a mm. A full cm, if not half an inch.
I’ll take the full cm since I’ve purchased a few of your books (sorry not from your table as IN over 19 hours from home)!
"Mae is leaning towards either the clarinet or saxophone. ... It’s not like you can jump back and forth between instruments." So the funny thing is, in this case, that statement is not entirely true. It is actually pretty easy and very common for professional players of either instrument to also play the other. (Myself included.) Learning either clarinet or saxophone will also give her a head start on any of the other woodwinds (flute, oboe, bassoon), although the switch there is not as easy. Saxophone is easier in the beginning, with more gigs later on, but also more competition. Clarinet gives her a better chance of scholarships in college should she make it that far, but not by much.
There's more unsolicited advice than you wanted. And speaking of solicitation, I will happily pay $5 a month for comedy that I can read to any of my varied audiences without censoring. Thank you for that!
My FIL was so disgustingly gifted in music that he could pick up any wind instrument and play it quite competently. In high school, he was the backup for the entire wind section.
Me? When I try to sing, I break styrofoam cups.
That last line made me wish Substack supported Laugh reactions!
LOL
My boyfriend claims that when he sings in the shower, the water runs backwards.
He is not far off; he is completely tone deaf!
My dad had perfect pitch and played the trumpet I can sing four notes and there’re all flat!
I've heard that clarinets have better scholarships, but I doubt things will get that far. Please, send me all the band advice you've got. I'm a complete novice here.
Youngest got a college scholarship for viola. And over the top academic performance. 😉 She also has the first ever P.hD in the family. She's a tenured professor who teaches at the university level in Criminology and Sociology.
I’m happy to support you in my own small ways. So much so that I'm wanting to buy signed hard copies of your first three books even though I already bought digital versions. Partly because I believe in supporting authors I enjoy, partly because I’ve developed a collection of signed books and have two of yours signed so I need the full collection signed. Also, I always wanted to be an author. Sadly, my life hasn’t been as interesting nor have I found a story to tell. My oldest child is a far better writer, even in middle school, than I could ever be and I hope one day he publishes some of what he’s written. He’s a great storyteller, I ramble too much.
As for the music, I’m probably the only parent/grandparent that has actually encouraged a child/grandchild to be a drummer. My oldest was given a drum for his first Christmas at 7 1/2 months old. He later got a drum kit around 10 and played clarinet in middle school. He got that musical talent from his dad. The middle child has given us a grandson who loves music and drums are his thing. He loved to bang on pots and bowls and I never have minded the banging. He got a junior drum kit this Christmas, he’s 2 1/2, and he’s actually pretty good with technique. I’ll take drums over clarinet any day. The oldest and youngest both played clarinet and it hurts my head to hear it played poorly. Also, if there’s a chance of braces in her future, both instruments will be a mistake. Our youngest got braces after choosing clarinet and had issues practicing after every adjustment.
Thanks so much for your support! Buying a book is no small commitment. I've seen those sticker prices. As for the instruments, I didn't consider the braces angle. One more thing to worry about.
I just placed my order from Main Street Books and can’t wait to have signed copies of your entire collection. Well, I don’t have the journal, but did buy a copy for my cousin a couple years ago and it’s almost time to get one for her younger sister…
I saw that you have a children’s picture book coming out soon, so I’ll have to get that for the grandson. Thanks for making me laugh!
First, I am stealing "top-tier quitter." It made me guffaw.
Second, the clarinet is evil. Do not let Mae near it!
Third, there are people who are no more than cretins. Try not to let them get to you. I happily pay my $5/month, but even if I could not afford it, I would not begrudge you earning a living (how dare you!)
Thanks! The angry emails are a mystery, but I should tune them out. For every one I get, there's a wonderful one like yours to cancel it out.
I very clearly remember the day my 12 year old said: "I play the trumpet now. You need to rent me a trumpet." It worked out better than I expected. She wound up first chair before she graduated from high school, and when she couldn't get the hang of playing the french horn, saying it was left-handed, her left-handed brother picked it up and played it easily. He wound up with scholarships.
That's impressive. You've got quite the musical family.