Klarinet Archive - Posting 000022.txt from 1996/08

From: "Fogle, Bill" <bill.fogle@-----.COM>
Subj: baffle-ing language
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 20:26:25 -0400

Burch wrote about mouthpiece nomenclature:

> It is casual to the most obvious observer that most rocket scientists
>would have trouble understanding mouthpiece nomenclature, since each brand
>seems to have their own, unique, numbering system. Is there any good
reference
>works out there that explain lays, tip openings, chambers, bores, roofs, etc?
>And how they apply to orchestra, chamber music, ensemble, jazz, etc?
>And decodes the different makers numbering systems?
>Thanks...Burch Johnson Burchard@-----.com

Interesting, witty, refreshingly candid message about the meaning of
mouthpiece speak. I often wonder if other wind players focus upon
the work of the mouthpiece in the same way that clarinetists do (as a
group, *of course*). There is a lot to learn about different mouthpieces
and one's idea of his/her sound can change as the result of experimenting
with them. Why, for instance, does it seem the longer lay/smaller tip models
take numbers like "1" (rather than "2" or "C") or designations without the
funky * or + or **??? And does the big chart in the Woodwind and Brasswind
catalog *really* tll us anything? ----Bill.