Klarinet Archive - Posting 000589.txt from 1999/02

From: Kenneth Wolman <kwolman@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Getting used to a bass clarinet
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 21:17:51 -0500

At 12:08 PM 2/15/99 -0500, you wrote:
>
>The reeds are even more important on bass clarinet than on soprano. Also, for
>some reason, bass clarinet and tenor sax reeds seem to run soft. I have
>students that play a 3 on soprano and a 4.5 or 5 on bass. In my experience,
>Vandoren bass clarinet reeds are not the best. I use Vandoren V-16 or JAVA
>tenor sax reeds. Hope this
>helps.

For what THIS is worth...kind of on autopilot, I bought what I usually use
on a soprano, "standard" Vandoren #3's. When we started talking about this
I got a box of Rico Royal #2's and the feel and sound were MUCH different:
it was just an easier reed for me to play at this stage in my development
on the horn. A number of people have told me that I can use tenor sax
reeds, of which there appear to be many more types...like reeds intended
for jazz playing, whatever the special characteristics might be...and they
also seem to cost noticeably less than bass clarinet reeds. Why I don't
know. When Ritter sold me the horn he said that for reasons HE does not
understand, the bass clarinet mouthpiece/reed/ligature setup seems to be
the most expensive woodwind combination around.

Well, then...would tenor sax ligatures also fit a standard bass clarinet
mouthpiece? Again, there are just more possibilities out there for tenor.

Ken

Kenneth Wolman http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Gallery/1649
When I stand upright in the wind
My bones turn to dark emeralds.
--James Wright, "The Jewel"

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