Klarinet Archive - Posting 000352.txt from 1998/07

From: "Kevin Fay (LCA)" <kevinfay@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Larry Combs (LC1) for beginners?
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 19:58:29 -0400

I tend to agree w/ Bill here.

To the extent that Mr. Band Director insists that his students have a good
mouthpiece to start off, I applaud. Until recently, perhaps, most of the
mouthpieces that come with student horns were just not very good. It's
certainly true that different students, with different dental structures,
will require different mouthpieces at some point--there is no magic bullet
wonderful mouthpiece, after all--but getting a "good" one to start is a net
benefit. Arguing with a private teacher about which "good" mouthpiece to
insist on is stupid, however; especially if the band director is a trumpet
player.

Like anywhere else, good intentions taken too far lead to bad results. The
"hard reed" syndrome is usually the result of a brass player with flat
clarinets, who doesn't realize what's going on--thinks the harder reed is
the magic bullet that will fix the problem. Unfortunately, this approach
often works, albeit not well--in order to get a sound, the student has to
firm up the embouchure--but the student will (a) not sound good and (b) be
miserable during this "weight training."

As far as the trumpet thing, I may have to disagree a bit with Bill. I am
at best a mediocre trumpet player--but the sound I get on my 1-1/2C is far
superior than that which I get from the itty-bitty mouthpieces.

It's an open debate among my trumpet playing friends over what students
should use. It's true that the "standard" 7C is a easier for the student to
play--but a shallow screamer would be easier still, and I don't think anyone
would agree that that is appropriate. Once of my best friends is a superb
teacher of beginning students, and recommends the 3C to students who ask for
advice; he won't push hard from a 7C, though. (When Tom started his son,
however, it was with a 1-1/2C.) The other side of the debate is pretty
similar to what we clarinet players say--you won't ever get a good
orchestral tone on anything but a good orchestral mouthpiece, which for
trumpet means anything smaller than a 5C or so.

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Hausmann [mailto:bhausman@-----.com]
Subject: Re: [kl] Larry Combs (LC1) for beginners?

At 02:42 PM 7/11/98 EDT, Gary L. Smith wrote:
>I have a similar problem with a band director who just gets to a certain
>time of year and - *boom* - it's time for every clarinetist to be on a
>#3 reed. No consideration of progress with the embouchure, what
>mouthpiece they're using, or for that matter what brand of reed they're
>using. He's a sax player, so he should know better... I've gained a lot
>of experience with telling a student to follow my lead, not his/her band
>director's, but it's still a ticklish situation. You have to be
>diplomatic, but I find that if you don't, you'll be thrown off course on
>a regular basis.
>
This sort of ignorance appalls me, but unfortunately it does so on a
regular basis as I travel around to schools. The same sort of knuckleheads
insist upon huge brass mouthpieces that beginning students can't handle
with the same false expectations. I know of one who is specifying that we
provide beginners with rental trumpets equipped with Bach 1C mouthpieces,
more or less the equivalent of specifying Vandoren B45's and #4 reeds!
Frankly, I think if a student is taking private lessons, the matter should
be left in that teacher's hands. Everyone else should be started on
middle-of-the-road mouthpieces and conservatively chosen (fairly soft)
reeds and worked upwards, not at all quickly, in accordance with INDIVIDUAL
embouchure development. Of course, that's easy for ME to say. But the
general desire to push everyone to play on 2x4's under the misguided notion
that each 1/2 step up in reed strength will make them 1/2 step better
players has no doubt frustrated and discouraged many potential musicians.

For the record, I still generally play on Vandoren 2 1/2 or Mitchell
Lurie/Zonda 3, except on my O'Brien OB+, for which I have some ancient
Symmetricut 4's that seem to work best, proving that, even for one
individual, one strength is not the answer. It is just one component of
the whole setup.

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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