I am a complete beginner to the clarinet and I'm very happy with this instrument. I couldn't get it to make a sound at first but a quick Google search showed me what I needed to do. I'm far from a teenager so I would imagine that learning an instrument is much easier when you are young but I'm very happy with my progress so far :-). When I can manage to blow it correctly, the instrument has a lovely deep rich tone and my step-mum actually thought it was made from wood it looks that good. I want to mount it on the wall for storage, it looks that pretty :-).