Klarinet Archive - Posting 000045.txt from 2000/01

From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] While I was waiting
Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 15:14:02 -0500

I indicated that I would send out my "Let's start on the first
FAQ" message after everyone is back at school (roughly Jan. 15) but
while I was waiting, I did a search on the KLARINET data base using
the word "mouthpiece" in the hopes of finding good material there.

It was not a successful approach. Maybe I'm doing it wrong and not
being precise enough in my search. I got a lot of stuff, a ton of
stuff actually, but not too much of it is useful.

The preponderance of the messages are simply too specific and with the
wrong base of specificity; i.e., "I am using a xxx mouthpiece with an
xxx reed and it is not working well. What might be the problem?"

To me this is not a mouthpiece issue and there is little data in
such inquiries that would illuminate the matter of "what mouthpiece?"
for a person searching for some answers.

Many other responses from the search of KLARINET dealt with reed/
mouthpiece combinations that produced (or failed to produce)
satisfactory results. In this kind of inquiry, there is such a
blend of questions about specific reeds matched with specific
mouthpieces that it once again missed the target.

Let me tell you what I would very much have enjoyed finding, if I
could have found it. And the following is purely imaginary:

"I have found that there are five measurements that are
critical to the creation of a good mouthpiece. They are
..."

"Mouthpieces made from xxx are inherently unstable because
xxx has the following unsatisfactory characteristics: xxx..."

"Glass mouthpieces are satisfactory with the following
caveats being especially critical ..."

"A mouthpiece that does not have a perfectly cylindrical
bore for the first .73" of entry will always produce
unsatisfactory throat tones..."

Get my point? No generalities about how this specific manufacturer's
mouthpiece does (or does not) work with that manufacturer's reeds.
Just specifics about those physical characteristics needed to obtain
optimal performance. Maybe that's not possible to do, and even that
would be valuable information.

But simply giving opinions on how this or that mouthpiece works well
or badly for you is not useful information unless you are able to be
very articulate about why it does or does not do so.

Perhaps I am going about this with the wrong assumption. I believe
that one can talk about the characteristics of a good mouthpiece
without any reference to any other part of the clarinet. A mouthpiece
is good or bad because of some inherent construction within it, not
because of something to do with the reed, the ligature, the clarinet,
or the velocity of Wall Street auto traffic.

This is not at all true with the other parts and pieces of a clarinet.
An excellent instrument coupled with a bad mouthpiece is valuable
information, but an excellent mouthpiece is excellent in and of itself
and should be able to be described in clear, unambiguous, and
articulate ways.

In theory, a mouthpiece maker with the right set of tools should be
able to craft a brilliant mouthpiece every time without ever trying
it out on a clarinet. It is the deficiencies of the tools used in
the creation of the mouthpiece (or perhaps the imprecision is a better
word) that requires them to be played to assure that what one has is
useful.

Another pile of data from KLARINET that is virtually useless are
statements such as "The xxx mouthpiece is the very best."

Mind you. It may be, but saying so, even in the most glorious of
terms is about as useful as saying "the Brahms clarinet sonata is
pretty."

Bottom line: there is a lot of pap out there on the list and very
little substantive material that is useful. At least that has been
my observation thus far.

--
Dan Leeson
leeson0@-----.net

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