Klarinet Archive - Posting 000908.txt from 2000/03

From: Notenispal@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] questions for everybody
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 20:54:59 -0500

Julia,

I may not have the right answer to your question but I will try to give some insight. I have been playing since my freshman year in high school and now I am finishing up my sophmore year in college going for my bachelors in music education. I have had to deal with the changing of my embouchure over these short few years of playing the clarinet and I think you know well what the problems are for you. As you said, when you change your embouchure it fixes the problem most of the time. That answers your question right there. But also as you said, the mouthpiece may be what is holding you back. I don't know much about the other two mouthpieces you mentioned but from what you are saying, it seems they are not as good as mouthpiece because of their tone quality. You want a mouthpiece that gives you a full, dark, rich tone. You need to look for mouthpieces that give you those qualities but also let you articulate clearly and efficiently and also is comfortable to play on. I am ri!
ght now playing on an M-13 (I think) Vandoren mouthpiece and it is awesome. That mouthpiece may be too advanced for you because I have no idea what level you are at in playing but it may also work for you. You may want to try it out and see for yourself. I suggest that when you do pick out a mouthpiece, you try out as many as you can. That way, you will be able to find the best one that suits you. Also, make sure that it plays well through all your registers because some don't play very good through registers such as the open ones (eg. open G,A,Bb) or the high notes (high C and above). As for the pads, you will know when they need to be replaced. They will start flaking on the sides of them (coming apart) and/or they will not seal. This can be evident by leaks and having problems producing sounds out of your clarinet by hitting keys with pads on them. A trick to finding out if one of your pads is leaking is to take one section (upper joint, lower joint) of your clarinet and co!
ver all the holes on it with one of your hands and then the other had holds the bottom hole of the joint while you blow air through the top hole. Make sure none of your fingers are pushing keys that open a padded key, just ones that close them. Just blow air through and if none is getting out and all you feel is pressure, then you have no leaks. If you lift up a finger off one of the keys or tone holes, you will hear a popping sound. That means there are no leaks. If you are still unsure, you can always ask a music teacher or someone you trust because usually pads last a long time as long as you take care of your instrument properly. It also depends on how much you play on your instrument also. Playing on it many hours a day can put wear and tear on it. I hope this helps. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask. As I said, this is only my opinion and what has worked for me.

Good Luck,
Holly

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