Klarinet Archive - Posting 000197.txt from 1995/08

From: bassethn@-----.ORG
Subj: Clarinet Reed Advice
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 1995 19:31:38 -0400

On 08-12-95, Larry Krantz wrote:

Il> I was recently in a discussion with a band director who was
Il> lementing the fact that her grade nine clarinet players insisted
Il> upon playing on #4 reeds.

I cannot imagine starting young players playing student instruments and
mouthpieces on # 4 reeds. Middle of the road mouthpieces (Vandoren B 45
and the like) call for a middle of the road reed like a Vandoren 3, at
least as a starting point. Sadly, there is a kind of macho thing attached
to harder reeds (maybe these Grade 9 kid got wind of this; I didn't until
univerity).

Hard reeds (more accurately, resistant setups) get in the way of
developing proper chops, pitch control, sound and colour development and
learning how to use the clarinet as an *instrument* to play *music*. I
started on Rico 2 1/2 in Grade 9 Music and I now play for a living, for
whatever that's worth.

=========================================
David Bourque
Bass Clarinet, Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Internet: bassethn@-----.org
=========================================

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