Klarinet Archive - Posting 000235.txt from 1996/11

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: buy new mouthpiece or horn first?
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996 14:07:26 -0500

On Sun, 10 Nov 1996, William D. Edinger wrote:

> of this is the question: can mouthpieces be switched from one horn
> to another, or is there potential for finding that a mpc+barrel that
> works on one horn is a disaster on another? Should I be on guard
> for things like internal diameter conflicts? Any suggestions and

My take on these questions:

The barrel is more likely to be matched to the instrument than to the
mouthpiece. This has less to do with potential problems of mis-matched
internal diameters at the tenons than with bore design.

If you have a mouthpiece that you really like and are accustomed to, it
should be possible to use it on just about any good-quality clarinet.
However, the mouthpiece you mention (Selmer B*) is not exactly a
middle-of-the-road choice.

I suggest that in the long run it will be less disrupting to just go ahead
and get a new clarinet and a new mouthpiece at the same time. Probably
the safest way to do this is to find a clarinet player/teacher whose sound
you admire and whose approach you know to be not too extreme in any
facet, and seek that person's advice and counsel. However, remember that
in the final analysis, the choice must be yours and not the teacher's. A
set-up which works well for a teacher might or might not be well-suited to
your own personal concept of sound or your own physical characteristics.

Ed Lacy
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Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722
el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
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