Klarinet Archive - Posting 000439.txt from 1997/05

From: Karl Krelove <kkrelove@-----.com>
Subj: Re: How do you pick a mthpc.
Date: Wed, 14 May 1997 22:23:05 -0400

At 10:45 AM 5/13/97 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>I am trying to figure out which mouth piece to order. I have been looking at
>the charts in the Woodwind and Brasswind cat. and the Intl. Music. Supp. cat.
> How does one determine what facing to use etc. I am very confused! Is
>there a formula? (like reed strength etc.) I play a Leblanc Classic and use
>Mitchell Lurie Premium #2's. Thanks
>
>Thomas
>Reedman2@-----.com

Of course, you're confused. You can't do it this way. In the first place,
if you like your present setup, why change it? If you don't like it, you
haven't said what you'd like to improve.
You judge a mouthpiece by its sound and its response. If you know what
you want to sound like and what response you expect, you simply need
someone who knows the range of mouthpieces available in the major lines to
point you to a good starting point. Then you decide if that mouthpiece
satisfies you. If not, you can experiment with slight deviations from the
facing in one direction at a time (don't go longer and more open or shorter
and less open or any other combination all at once if you can help it). If
you are getting your concept of what you want to sound like by listening to
some well-known player or one who isn't famous but whose sound you like,
find out what that player uses. A lot of the major players these days have
mouthpieces out with their "personal" facings and internal construction
preferences. A local player will probably just tell you what he or she
uses. Start from your model's equipment style and again experiment.

Obviously, this is more easily done in a large store with a variety of
mouthpieces available to try on site. If you find one or two you think you
might like, it's even better if the management will let you take the
mouthpieces home "on approval" or perhaps with a credit card number as
security. But making the initial tests in a well stocked store is easier
that working with a mail order company unless you're already pretty certain
of what you want. (I have gotten very good service from Muncy Winds and
even some very helpful advice about, for example, reed strength equivalents
among different brands, but this is very different from"What mouthpiece
should I buy?")

The remaining possibility is that you really aren't sure what you want to
sound like or which response problems are equipment-related and which are
not. The only way to get a handle on it at that point is to arrange some
lessons with a clarinetist whose playing you respect. I don't know what
your level of playing is, but it seems like a reasonable course of action
for anyone who has serious doubts about the equipment he's playing on but
no clear idea of what he wants to be able to do differently. If you live
near a big city, finding someone to work with you for a lesson or two and
make recommendations to get you started in a firm direction shouldn't be
hard. If you live too far from anyone whose playing you respect and would
want to emulate, you might have to model on the famous player you like the
most. This is not a cop-out. All of us at one time learned the basic
concepts on which we have built our own playing styles by modeling on a
teacher or some other exemplar whose playing we highly respected. You don't
need to copy slavishly, just establish a starting point that seems
musically convincing to you.
You can't choose a mouthpiece from a manufacturer's advertising (as
reproduced in a catalog listing). You can't choose based on the advice of
someone whose playing you've never heard unless you both have an
understanding of the result you want to be able to produce. You can't
choose by reading the facing measurements and bore sizes unless you know
from experience (yours or that of a respected model) that a particular
range of measurements will make it easier for you to produce the sound and
musical effect that you want. You need to decide (and articulate) what
difference you want to produce with a change in equipment (any equipment -
reeds, instruments, barrels and bells, mouthpieces) before you can go
searching for it.

With only the best intentions, however long-winded,
Karl