Klarinet Archive - Posting 000055.txt from 1996/10

From: Roger Shilcock
Subj: Re: odd comment (acoustics) (fwd)
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 14:01:30 -0400

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 09:09:06 PDT
From: Fogle, Bill <bill.fogle%ASPENPUBL.COM@-----.UK>
Subject: Re: odd comment (acoustics) (fwd)

Roger---

I thought alot about J. Cohler's posting and came to
the conclusion that my reeds are not *that* firm and
my mouthpiece not too closed. My first reading of what
he wrote brought me to the (erroneous) conclusion
that he was advocating a truly "soft" reed and a very "open"
mouthpiece. Really, I think anyone who inspected my
set-up would describe it as "moderate' even though I
use a #4 reed and a tip opening of about 1.05 mm with a
long facing. I think J. Cohler's message was about
concertists using an extremely firm reed to achieve what
has been described many times as the sound that goes
to the "Back Of The Hall". ----Bill Fogle.

Bill:
Are we really talking about the same #4? If I give people reeds in an
emergency, the usual response is that they're "too hard", and these are
usually *threes*. What make do you use, and are they labelled the same
for strength on the 2 (or more?) sides of the Atlantic?
(Yes another boring reed controversy ensues oh dear oh dear .....)
The "sound that goes to the back of the hall" surely arises also from
a particular range of mouthpiece & bore dimensions. (Possibly Jonathan C.
has made assumptions which not everyone reading his message has taken on
board).
Another possibility: if bores are wider in the U.S., then "hard" reeds by
our standards may seem not so hard over there.
Roger Shilcock