Klarinet Archive - Posting 000282.txt from 1995/07

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re Daniella and her teacher's suggestion
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 18:31:02 -0400

Your teacher's request that you get a Borbeck mouthpiece and Van Doren
reeds is certainly not absurd by any stretch of the imagination. He or
she is undoubtedly trying to do the best for you that s/he can.

Still, I am invariably disturbed by any request for a mouthpiece by
brand name. Borbeck has always made a good mouthpiece but much depends
on the one you get. It would seem to me that what you want is a
good mouthpiece, and if that is the one that came free with a Bundy
resonite, so be it. Sometimes teachers suggest something simply
because it works well for them. So the theory is that it should work
well for you, too. That has some elements of truth to it, but it can
also be fraught with problems.

The bottom line here is that one should not be overwhelmed with brand
names, no matter how reliable that brand has always been.

I read on this board that someone just bought a Combs mouthpiece because
they were directed to do so and because Larry is such a magnificent player.
A Combs mouthpiece is not going to permit many people to sound like Larry
or to play like him. It may, but it is not likely.

A mouthpiece is a very personal thing. It is like a husband, wife, or
lover. Just because your teacher (assumed female for purposes of the
analogy) is enraptured by tall, dark men is no reason for her to suggest
that you get a tall, dark man. Maybe you want a short, light one.

But in the final analysis, your teacher's motivation is your best
interest. That is an assumption that we have to make. And the worst
that will happen is that you won't like the mouthpiece and you'll
buy another as soon as possible. A Borbeck m.p. is not ever going to
be so poor that it will hurt you.

====================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
(leeson@-----.edu)
====================================

   
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