Klarinet Archive - Posting 000204.txt from 1995/08

From: Timothy Zamora <tz@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Clarinet Reed Advice
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 1995 13:11:26 -0400

At 11:45 PM 8/11/95 EST, Larry Krantz (lwk@-----.com) wrote:

>I would like to hear the considered opinions of list members regarding
choice of reed strength for junior high school clarinet players. . . . What
would your recommendation be regarding reed strength for beginners through
the first three years of study in a band program?

A lot depends on the mouthpiece they are using. In general, I start them
with a #3. If that is too much for them, I back it down to A #2.5. As soon
as they are physically capable of handling a stiffer reed, we climb the
ladder a .5 step at a time. By the 8th grade (we start in the 6th), most of
them are firmly on a 3.5 V12 (which is similar to a #4 van doren -- correct
me if I'm wrong <g> !). Only a couple were on a #4 V12. My top players are
using either a 5RV-Lyre or a LC1.

Hope this helps. It will be interesting to see other opinions/experiences
as they come down the pipeline.

TZamora tz@-----.com
Houston, Texas USA tzamora@-----.edu