Klarinet Archive - Posting 000271.txt from 2001/03

From: "Karl Krelove" <karlkrelove@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] mouthpiece trouble/questions
Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 19:57:53 -0500

> -----Original Message-----
> From: joe redr [mailto:red13531@-----.com]
> I recently started using a Vandoren M13 Lyre with #4
> V-12's and am having some odd issues with it. I seem
> to get a buzzing on the throat D, F#,Bb, the middle
> line C# and above the staff on G, G# and A. The notes
> always speak, but seem unstable. I can't seem to
> pinpoint what the trouble might be. I've switched
> clarinets and get the same results on both my A and
> Bb, so horn trouble is not the culprit. My old
> mouthpiece was a B4013 and I did not experience these
> problems while using it.

According to Vandoren's facing chart, the B40 is almost .18 mm more open
than the M13L. You don't mention what reed you were using with the B40, but
the M13L will be much less resistant. If you were using the same reeds, it
could just be a matter of getting used to a new response.

> Finding a reed that plays
> well on the on the M13L seems more difficult also.
> I'm very confused. Sometimes I get a centered, dark,
> focused sound on the M13L, sometimes I don't. I get
> more squeaks on this mouthpiece compared to the B4013.

At this point in your post, it's hard to see why you're still fooling with
the M13L at all.

> Even though I like the evenness and quality of sound
> with the M13L, ...

Now _I'm_ confused. The description you opened with didn't make it seem as
if evenness was something you were getting with the M13L. Without meaning to
be in any way critical, I'm not certain from your post what you find
attractive about the M13L that is driving you to try to play it.

That said, I like the M13L very much, almost as much as I like the newer
M15. But I've been playing on mouthpieces with practically identical facing
measurements to these for over 30 years. I find it easier to produce the
results I'm after on either of these facings than on a facing as open as the
B4x series. I use both #4 and #4.5 VD V12 reeds on them. I don't find
anything like the "buzzing" you describe. If I choose my reed badly, I do
get some stuffiness in the throat notes. That's always a sign that I need to
check the reed's tip balance and make sure it doesn't have a heavy (stiff)
spot. I also find both the M13L and the M15 as reed-friendly as anything
else I've ever used.

If you still want to play on the M13L, you may need to experiment a little
with the amount of reed you take into your mouth. Also, be sure the reed tip
is responsive. An old test for this is to put the mouthpiece (on the
clarinet with the reed set up on it) into your mouth the normal amount and
blow lightly without exerting any embouchure pressure - just enough lip
formation to direct the air into the mouthpiece. The reed should speak
slightly - not a focused sound, just a light tone somewhere near open "G" in
pitch. If nothing but a whoosh of air goes through, the tip (or some part of
it) is probably too stiff. Daniel Bonade describes this in an article that
Avram Galper quoted for the list some time ago - it's probably somewhere in
the archives.

Good luck. Adjusting from a 1.19 mm to a 1.02 mm opening is not a trivial
leap. But the M13L _can_ produce very attractive results.

Karl Krelove

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