Klarinet Archive - Posting 001396.txt from 2000/06

From: Richard Bush <rbushidioglot@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] ligatures
Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 15:06:08 -0400

Dear Bill,

Please don't take me wrong, and I mean no disrespect, but I believe that
different ligatures do make a difference. (My belief is only an opinion and
I realize that opinions on this subject vary wildly.) I think that less than
a year of playing is too little time to appreciate the possible differences.
These differences are sometimes very subtle. If you can't tell any
difference, by all means just stick with the generic, stock ligature.
Nothing wrong with that, and you don't need to apologize to anyone for that
decision. Many people share your view, or a modified view, contending that
the small perceivable difference does not justify the sometimes big money
difference.

In time, a few years down the road, you might reconsider again trying
different ligatures. At that time, you might come to the same conclusion or
you might decide that that subtle difference justifies the substantial
expense.

Best wishes for a happy life on the clarinet.

William Wright wrote:

> <><> Jonathan King wrote:
> Does gold or silver plating dramatically affect your tone?
>
> I've been playing for 10-11 months now, Jonathan, and I've come
> full circle. In the beginning, I purchased a plastic student clarinet
> and then I proceeded to buy various mouthpieces, reeds and ligatures for
> the next 10-11 moths.
> There's no question that the reed makes a difference (I ended up
> most recently with V12 and I expect to stay there), and there's no
> question that the mouthpiece makes a difference (I ended up with B45),
> and there's no question that the reed must be appropriate for the
> mouthpiece.
> ....but where the ligature is concerned, I finally returned to the
> cheap and dirty 'hose clamp' metal ligature that came with my clarinet
> in the first place. I've been the full route of inverted vs upright,
> fabric vs. metal, rails vs. no rails, pressure plates vs. no plate,
> cocking the ligature vs. not cocking it, and so forth. All of these
> 'special' ligatures and adjustments just didn't make any difference that
> I could detect, and the ligature that came with my clarinet fits easily
> into the storage pocket in my case (the others don't0 and it doesn't
> slip and twist while I'm playing.
> So I have a drawer full of ligatures (and caps for each one) that,
> over a period of time, I will donate to kids with tight budgets at the
> studio where I take lessons.
>
> That's my opinion.
>
> Cheers,
> Bill

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