Klarinet Archive - Posting 000116.txt from 1994/10

From: Lorne G Buick - Music TA <lgbuick@-----.CA>
Subj: Re: Ligatures
Date: Wed, 12 Oct 1994 19:04:04 -0400

On Mon, 10 Oct 1994, Gerry Gramozis wrote:

> I have a couple questions about ligatures: the first is what makes a ligature
> better than another;

Here's my 2c. worth: The differences between ligatures are much smaller
than those between mouthpieces, and are even more subjective. They have an
effect on tone colour, reed response, and articulation: the best ligature
for you is the one that helps you achieve the sound you have in your head,
without making too many compromises in other areas.

>the second is what materials are better than others in
> terms of composition of the ligature;

Doesn't matter a damn. The ligatures I've used for years are Rovner- made
of cloth, rubber- coated so they don't rot- I've tried others that sounded
marginally better but were more trouble. Some I have liked include the
Harrison Gold (not solid, but really gold plated); a Bonade inverted with
the middle of the bar sawed out, and silver plated; the Winslow, which
IMHO is the *best* in terms of performance, especially in terms of making
more reeds work their best (I don't use it because it's enormous, heavy,
ugly, and inconvenient); and a shoelace.

>and finally, what would be the best way
> of testing out ligatures?

Try them out when you have a mouthpiece you like and several slightly
different reeds that work well; trade with friends so you can have few
days to play on them; and don't get hung up on it because
_it really doesn't make that much difference_ (every minute you spend
fiddling with ligatures is a minute you could have spent working on Daphnis!
;-] )