Klarinet Archive - Posting 000170.txt from 1999/10

From: GrabnerWG@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Flattening the Pitch
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 1999 12:22:02 -0400

I would like to comment on this thread once again, as I believe that there is
a very pervasive mis-conception which reappears over and over again on this
list.

The misconception centers around the hope that if one can find the correct,
BEST, brand/model/facing of mouthpiece that many problems can be eliminated
and that this particular brand/model/facing can be widely recommended and
used with common positive results.

I too, once believed this fantasy. Fantasies like this give hope that there
are simple answers to complex problems.

The problem in believing this particular fantasy is that the overall playing
characteristics, even QUALITY, in any batch of a particular
brand/model/facing can, and most often do, VARY CONSIDERABLY.

Simple playing tests, use of a tuner, and making measurements bear this out.
This is not my opinion, it is a varified fact.

It is true, that certain brand/model/facing will as a group have certain
tendencies. An individual mouthpiece, by itself, can be all over the map.

This is why I cringe when I see comments like the ones which are so
persuasive on this list. "I use XYZ Mouthpiece Model 123 and now my pitch is
lower (or higher). That is nice, but it does not contribute KNOWLEDGE.

It perpetuates the buy a different (choose one) mouthpiece, barrel, clarinet,
reed brand myth.

Sometimes buying new equipment can help considerably. But there are no GLOBAL
answers or remedies. It would be much better to consult an experienced
teacher and/or a skilled technician, to help arrive at answers to these types
of problems.

Walter Grabner

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