Klarinet Archive - Posting 000070.txt from 1994/10

From: ELAINE THOMPSON <eethomp@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Outgrowing mouthpieces
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 1994 10:54:40 -0400

Dan,
Of course a young clarinettist can "outgrow" a mouthpiece. I will use my
experiences as an example. As I posted earlier, I played on a Ridenour
through college. I tried the Selmer C85 that I am playing now then, and
I did not have enough control of my tone and wind to make it sound good.

Now I am older, and have more wind and much more control. The Ridenour
that gave me such a good sound through college cannot handle the amount
of air I put through a mouthpiece anymore. The sound gets brittle, and I
cannot get a good dark sound for, say, Brahms. I would say that I have
indeed "outgrown" that mouthpiece. I can now control the Selmer C85 and
enjoy the flexibility that I could not take advantage of earlier in my
development as a player.

In another vein, most of us young folks do indeed physically change. I
have grown an inch since I started graduate school, and put on a little
more weight (mostly in the right places). So I have physically changed.
It is not at all difficult to suppose that my oral cavity has changed as
well, thus altering my moughpiece preference. These changes are even
more dramatic in young students, causing them to outgrow instruments with
small bores, mouthpieces, clothing, etc.

Back at you from 2000 miles away! :-)

Elaine Thompson "Two roads diverged in a wood and I,
eethomp@-----.edu I took the one less travelled by,
Johns Hopkins Univ. And it has made all the difference."
--Robert Frost