If you’re looking at learning a woodwind instrument, you might be wondering which one to choose. You might also have concerns with whether or not the instrument might be hard for you to lift. If you’re quite small, some instruments might look like they’d be a struggle for you and sometimes you might be put off playing the instrument you really want because you think it might be too heavy.
In general, most adults will be able to lift any of the standard woodwinds instruments easily. Some, for example, the baritone sax could be more difficult, but you can buy harnesses to help you with that. Young children might be more restricted with what they can play and might need to start on a smaller version of the instrument they want.
The weights of woodwind instruments can vary between brands etc. Some instruments can be made of more than one material, for example, some clarinets are wooden and some are plastic. This leads to variation in their weight. For most people, a flute or a clarinet will be an easily manageable weight.
How much does a flute weigh?
A flute can be a good instrument for young children, typically weighing only 400-600g for a metal one. Flutes can sometimes be too long for children and if this is the case, you can buy a flute with a curved head joint. If a metal flute is still on the heavy side, you could buy a plastic flute. These usually weigh about 250g. The flute supported by both of the player’s hands. This helps to spread the weight around, although the fact that it points to the side can cause aching in the arms at first.
It’s worth knowing that the material the flute is made from affects its weight. Most flutes are made of silver-plated brass – one of the lighter options. Even lighter can be nickel flutes – these are in the beginner range because the sound quality is less good. A solid silver flute will be heavier than silver plated and solid gold even heavier. If you wanted a better quality flute but the weight was a problem you could have a silver plated flute body with a solid silver or gold head joint. My own flute is silver plated with a solid silver head and gold lip.
An even smaller instrument that is similar to the flute is the piccolo. This is a bit harder to play than the flute, and a lot harder to choose, but if you really struggle with lifting weight it might be a good one to try. These can weigh as little as 0.3kg so are very unlikely to be too heavy for even a very small person.
How much does a clarinet weigh?
The clarinet is also one of the most popular instruments for young children to start with. This is heavier than the flute and weighs around 800g. You can also get a children’s plastic clarinet if a full-size one is too big or too heavy. These will usually weigh around 300g. Another less common option is to choose the Eb clarinet to learn instead. This is smaller and therefore lighter but as it’s rather it will likely be more expensive.
As with the flute, the clarinet can be made of different materials. It will usually be made of either plastic, grenadilla wood or occasionally hard rubber. A plastic clarinet will be lighter than a wooden one. There will sometimes also be a variation in the thickness of the wood or plastic between clarinet manufacturers, so it might be that one clarinet is too heavy but another is fine.
It’s worth noting here that the clarinet is supported only by the thumb on your right hand. This can be quite difficult to support for young children. It can be helpful to get a thumb rest – there are loads of different ones so you can try them out and see which puts the least strain on your thumb.
How much does a bass clarinet weigh?
The bass clarinet is one of the heaviest of the standard woodwind instruments and typically weighs between 5 and 7kg. Similarly to the Bb clarinet, its weight will depend on whether it is made of wood or plastic, and how thick the material is. The amount of keywork is also a big factor, as metal is heavier than wood so will contribute more to the weight.
The bass clarinet is too big for most children, due to the spacing of the holes as well as the weight. Weight-wise, the bass clarinet has a stop that rests on the floor, supporting the vast majority of the weight. This means it actually isn’t too difficult to hold while playing, despite it being of the heaviest woodwind instruments.
How much does a saxophone weigh?
Unlike the others, saxophones will always be made of metal and there is often very little weight difference between brands. Solid silver saxes are pretty uncommon and solid gold saxes almost non-existent due to the huge cost of the metal, however, as with flutes, these would be heavier than the gold and silver plated saxes.
The easiest way to reduce the weight of the sax is to change which sax you play. There are four standard sizes of sax – soprano, alto, tenor and baritone, in order of ascending size (and descending pitch). Their respective weights are approximately 1kg, 2.2kg, 3kg and 5.1kg. The sax sling helps with holding the weight and you can buy a harness sling if you still need more support.
How much does an oboe weigh?
Oboes are a similar weight to the clarinet – about 800g. Plastic oboes exist which are more like 300-400g. There are also different types of wood that the oboe can be made from. They would usually be blackwood and this is one of the heavier materials the oboe can be made from. An oboe could be made of other types of wood that are lighter than blackwood, for example, kingwood, however, these are usually more expensive.
Another factor that influences the weight of the oboe is the number of extra keys it has. Some advanced oboes have more keys than the more beginner ones, meaning a larger quantity of metal and therefore more weight. Like the clarinet, the oboe is supported only by the thumb of the right hand, meaning you should carefully choose a thumb support that is comfortable, to ease the strain on the thumb.
How much does a bassoon weigh?
The bassoon is a much larger instrument than the oboe and therefore naturally weighs a lot more. Typically a bassoon will weigh approximately 3.5kg, and is 1.34m long, so is unlikely to be suitable for young children or even small adults. The amount of keywork can vary between bassoons and this can influence the weight quite significantly as the metal weighs a lot more than the wood.
Although the bassoon is heavy, it has a support strap to hold some of the weight. The strap goes around the player’s neck and under the bottom of the bassoon. This helps with weight but not size, and most children wouldn’t have big enough hands to play the bassoon. There is a mini bassoon for children from the age of about 7 which only weighs about 1kg. This could be an option for young children for a while, but it isn’t the same pitch as the bassoon.
Are instrument cases different weights?
As well as playing the instrument, you’ll probably have to be able to move it around for rehearsals and concerts. The case the instrument comes in can be pretty heavy – quite often heavier than the instrument itself. The case an instrument comes with is unlikely to be the lightest option as specialist lightweight cases are usually available.
You can choose between hard and soft cases. Soft cases are much lighter and easier to transport so if you will always be transporting something yourself in your own car these can be a great option. They don’t give as much protection as a hard case, so if you’re going to take your instruments on buses or planes for example, where they won’t necessarily be well looked after, a hard case is probably the best option, although it will be heavier.
Quite a lot of instruments, particularly the larger ones, have cases available with backpack straps or a single shoulder strap. These can be really helpful for making the weight more manageable. Some really large instruments, particular the baritone sax, have the option of a case with wheels. This can be a really good option, however, it is usually the case that the wheels shouldn’t be used outside on uneven ground, as this causes too much vibration and can damage the instrument.