Klarinet Archive - Posting 000549.txt from 2000/12

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Mouthpiece design vs. projection
Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2000 07:41:44 -0500

At 03:28 AM 12/11/2000 -0800, Neil Leupold wrote:
>Which aspects of mouthpiece design are responsible for its ability to
>generate both volume and projection? I assume it is not merely the width
>of the tip opening, and that other internal factors are involved. Are they
>clearly identifiable?
>
>I ask because I play in innumerable chamber groups, and three different
>orchestras, and my good ol' Vandoren M13 Lyre just isn't cutting it when
>it comes to the need for volume and projection. Slapping a stiffer reed
>on it and blowing up a hurricane still doesn't bring me up to the level
>that some orchestral pieces require, and even in a chamber setting I some-
>times find myself at a loss for "presence" when a solo clarinet line needs
>to sing above the ensemble. Air support and focus are not at the root of
>the problem, just to head off suggestions in that direction. All in all,
>it's a little frustrating.
>
>I'm not in a position to experiment right now (financially strapped), but
>I assume (perhaps erroneously) that all of the well-known custom mouthpiece
>makers are producing mouthpieces capable of cutting through the thickest of
>textures on command. Is there something specific in the Vandoren that is
>inhibiting volume, or is there something specific in the other available
>mouthpieces (which the Vandoren would lack) which facilitates such volume
>production in them?

I'm not sure exactly which factors have the most effect, and I hope some of
our mouthpiece gurus can give you more detailed information but, clearly,
different mouthpieces DO project differently. I stopped using my O'Brien
crystal for a long time because it seemed to lack the projection I felt I
needed playing in the groups I was working with at the time, but I later
found it blended very well in a concert band setting where I was not
playing lead. Vandoren B-45's and my Selmer C85 115 I currently use for
jazz playing have very strong projection. My newest favorite, a Woodwind
K10M, falls in the middle and has become my current concert/pit mouthpiece.
Tip opening is a large part of it (my O'Brien OB* is VERY close), but I'm
sure chamber design is also a factor. In sax mouthpieces anyway, a SMALL
chamber seems to make a LARGE sound.

Bill Hausmann bhausmann1@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://homepages.go.com/~zoot14/zoot14.html
Essexville, MI 48732 ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org