Klarinet Archive - Posting 000560.txt from 1999/06
From: "Antoine Clark" <CLARIGUY@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Larry Combs Posts
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999 22:59:14 -0400
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I am going to say from the start the I apologize to all fellow
clarinetist for my part in the discussions regarding me and my choice of
getting a new clarinet. I am not mad at anyone surely not you Mr. Lesson. I
now respect your questions even though I feel that they did not pertain to
my initial post about Larry Combs. I will put up what I initially wrote
It reads:
I had a great honor to hear Larry Combs perform chamber music tonight.
He played Debussy's Premiere Rhapsodie and Brahms Trio in A minor with his
Daughter Jennifer Combs. I was really please with his sound. To hear it in
person was so awesome. I feel really inspired after hearing him. I could not
believe the control that he had when he played soft. And his technique was
awesome, he plays the clarinet so effortlessly. I never viewed myself as
being a Buffet guy but I can say now that the next time I buy a clarinet I
will consider looking at other lines of clarinets. I really enjoyed the
sound that Mr. Combs got from his Opus LeBlanc. It was very consistent. I
really don't know if it is the clarinet or his superb playing, but there
were many times in his playing that you could not hear any register breaks.
I really enjoyed this evening and I will never forget it. This guy was
amazing.
Then there was a big discussion about whether it was Larry Combs or the
clarinet that made him sound the way he does. I meant that I was please with
the Leblanc since I had never heard one in person.
Then I posted something else about Mr. Combs and It reads:
Something that I noticed about Mr. Combs' playing is that his legato
playing and backswing was consistent. Even in the most technical parts of
the Debussy and Brahms pieces he never jarred the horn. I got a chance to
talk to him and he was very nice. There is a summer workshop this summer at
DePaul, I wish I could go but circumstances will not allow. I think that all
those who will attend will find that it will be a great experience to work
with him.
About the clarinet, I know that it is the not the tool that makes you
sound great all the time. I remember my teacher telling me that in a lesson
with Mr. Robert Marcellus, Marcellus asked to play his horn. He was amazed
that Marcellus sounded like himself although it was not his horn. Last
night was the first time I heard an Opus LeBlanc. I notice some differences
in the instrument like tone and intonation after hearing Buffet horns all my
life. Yes I fully understand the Mr. Combs would sound amazing on anything
even a Kazoo as Mr. Charette put it. But I think the horn was a factor as
well. I have had my Bb Buffet for 5 years now and I would like to get a new
horn before going to Graduate School in 2000. I am just going to look at
other lines of clarinets, now that my Bias attitude has been destroyed.
In the latter part of the post I mentioned that I was not so biased
about clarinets anymore, recognizing that it is the player not so much the
clarinet. I wanted a new clarinet before going to graduate school. Here are
my reasons. 1. I did not get the chance to pick out my own horn in the
beginning.
2 I just want to start out grad school on a new horn. Never
did I say I wanted a different brand to make me play better or to get a new
one to make me play better. I just want a new horn.
3. I have very acidic hands and would like something silver
plated like my festival A. My clarinet feels uncomfortable because I have
worn down to the copper in some places.
4. There is really no problems with my horn. It had a crack,
but it was repaired by Brannen. The horn being sharp is not a problem since
I realized (and should have mentioned it in my post to Mr. Lesson) I have a
problem of sometimes pinching, something I have been working on since I was
a freshmen. My teacher played my clarinet one day with my setup. He took the
horn out of my hand and played it like it was in front of a tuner and it was
in tune more than I was when I played it in front of the tuner. So I should
have not said that it was sharp since I have always had a problem with
pinching. I used a Pyne Jk mouthpiece a Moennig Barrel (67) and my own home
made reeds.
This is the post Mr. Lesson sent After my second post. You see if his
questions are relevant to the second post.
It reads:
I must ask questions here because I don't understand
what you have
said. You say that you want to get a new horn before going to
graduate school.
Why? Exactly what is wrong with your 5 year old Buffet that causes you
to think you need a new one?
If you had said, "I'm unhappy with the intonation" or "The keywork is
clumsy" or "the instrument has a bad crack" I could understand your
attitude. But all you said was that you have had a Buffet for 5 years
and you want to get a new one.
This allows me to think that the main motivation you have has something
to do with a five year time limit; i.e, "after 5 years one must get a
new instrument because 5 years have passed."
If I am correct, your problem is one of social pressure, not your
5-year old Buffet. But I may have misunderstood you. Perhaps you
do have an objective reason for your decision. But, for the moment,
I'll bet against it. You may think that if you get another instrument,
you will play better, and that is yet to be established. The contrary
could happen. You might play worse.
To me Mr. Lesson read into my reasoning about getting a new clarinet
even though I did not post one then. I have said for years that I was going
to get a new Bb before going to Grad school and That NOw I Am Going To Look
At Other Brands now that my bias attitude had been destroyed. I did not mean
that a LeBlanc would make me sound better. But I use to think that Buffet
clarinets were the only clarinet that should be played.
I say we all move on now and forget this. I would be happy if we all
just forgot about this. No hard feeling to anyone and not you Mr. Lesson. I
have tried to explain what I meant and if any of you are still confused I am
sorry. Thank You and have a good day or night.
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