Klarinet Archive - Posting 000818.txt from 1999/05

From: "Dodgshun family" <dodgshun@-----.nz>
Subj: Re: [kl]Understanding Moennig Adjusted Clarinets
Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 16:20:26 -0400

>Ok, everyone has convinced me that my R-13 is a piece of junk
>in need of serious surgery. So could someone put Mr. Brannen's
>address on the list (again) so that I can have it operated on and, perhaps,
>brought back to life.

I play a five year old R-13, and I never had any customisation done. It's
difficult to find people down under who do that kind of work, and frankly,
when I got it, I was completely happy with it. Apart from everyday wear and
tear fixes (recently I noticed my tonguing deteriorating rapidly. Tried
everything I could think of, but nothing worked. Then I had a spring die on
me, so sent my clarinet to be repaired and overhauled. Came back, properly
adjusted and with a few new pads, and miraculously I can tongue cleanly
again!) I've never felt the need to do anything to it. I've played other
people's R-13s (customised and non-customised), Selmers of various models,
and a couple of LeBlancs, and in my mind my unaltered R-13 measures up to
all of them. I certainly would not call it a piece of junk. Now that it's
back in adjustment, it plays really nicely.

>Somehow, I thought that I was supposed to listen to my clarinet, and
>make subtle adjustments to my embouchure, and provide a solid air
>flow, to insure that I had a quality sound, that was in tune with itself,
>and others around me. Apparently I have been wasting my time
>in front of tuners, and practicing scales slowly, and recording myself
>so that I can correct the flaws that I heard. Somehow, I thought that
>is how Clarinetist had done it in the past.

It's not only you who thought that.......I had a lesson the other day when I
did nothing but work on my embouchure for a solid hour. My sound has
cleaned up magically. And since my teacher is always on about support, that
department has improved as well.

>The only annoying thing that I have found is a stuffy B-flat, which I
>can fix with some inventive fingering (compliments of Tim Ridenour).

Ditto. But with the fingering of A key, 3rd side key, LH 3 and 4 and RH 2
and 3, I get a great Bb.

>Most of the problems I hear are caused when I forget to support the
>sound, or I begin to bite on the Mouthpiece, or I forget to make
adjustments
>with my tongue, or I just forget to listen to what I am doing because I'm
>too impressed with my fingering.
>
I only ever get impressed with my fingering on bass....I was playing an
arrangement of the Bach Double Violin Concerto for five-part clarinet choir
tonight (awesome!), and the bass part was flying all over the place. I
managed to get through the hardest bit (quick runs around low E, Eb, D, Db
and C - really evil!) without more than about five mistakes, then promptly
lost all tone and tonguing because I was too busy congratulating myself!
But the point as I see it is that the majority of problems are the player,
not the instrument. Have I got it right?

Anna

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