Klarinet Archive - Posting 000505.txt from 2001/07

From: "Hally Man" <afrohally@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Double Jointed fingers cont.
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 02:57:25 -0400

There's no question that stronger reeds suit many people, and I don't mean
to say that they're foolish for using them. Only, it disappoints me when
clarinetist, and especially those in early developement, strive for harder
reeds simply as a matter of course. I guess I'm not so much proud of using
#2s, just that I'm not ashamed of it. And nobody should be ashamed by their
reed size, or feel compelled to change reed size when their current setup
works well for them. I don't think anyone would disagree with that.
______
/o ,~~~>
HALLY /o /
_____ / O/
(_____) /Oo/
/ / O/
O \__/O /
\_O__O_/
http://afrohally.cjb.net

>From: "Stephen C. Moore" <stmoore@-----.edu>
>Reply-To: klarinet@-----.org
>To: <klarinet@-----.org>
>Subject: RE: [kl] Double Jointed fingers cont.
>Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 15:57:16 -0600
>
>
>I tend to be the "enigma" of these kinds of problems, but I've found
>that the reed strength issue has a lot more to do with the
>characteristics of the person and how they are taught rather than
>mouthpiece. It might be just me. My reasoning behind this is that I
>play on V12 4.5 reeds. My two other partners in crime one of them being
>Shouryu Nohe :) also play on 4.5's, but we have different setups. I had
>once decided to try out the Vandoren B45 Lyre after I heard how
>wonderful Jonathan Cohler sounded on it, he plays a 3 on this setup (at
>least according to his website). I found that a strength 3 reed made
>this mouthpiece nearly uncontrollable for me although that is Vandoren's
>recommended strength for that mouthpiece. I started using my 4.5's with
>this mouthpiece and had great results. I don't play on this particular
>mouthpiece (I use a Ridenour ZMT-36 now) but no matter what mouthpieces
>I try, I don't seem to get the results I want by drastically changing my
>reed strength. I can't explain why this is, that is my 2 cents however
>:)
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: emily worthington [mailto:emily.worthington@-----.com]
>Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2001 11:15 AM
>To: klarinet@-----.org
>Subject: Re: [kl] Double Jointed fingers cont.
>
>
>Michelle said:
> >For a
> > clarinet player of 7 years does this seem right that I have such a
>weak
> > strength of reed??
>
>Dirk said:
> > Why do people feel so inferior, and are so reticent about admitting to
>a
> > sub-#4 reed?
>
>I haven't noticed this attitude much in the UK - perhaps it's just never
>come up in conversation (and I don't know anyone who plays on heigher
>than a
>#3.5, including teachers and tutors) - but I was always taught that
>there
>was no 'correct' reed strength, or that 'stronger is better' but that
>certain mouthpieces suit different strength reeds. For instance, the
>standard beginner's B12 MP which I learnt on and which comes with the
>B12
>clarinet is suited to a strength 2. Though for my first few lessons I
>played
>a 1.5, I never tried to play higher than a 2 on it in the 3 years I
>played
>on it.
>
>I remember trying MPs once in a shop and finding that a reed (#2.5)
>which
>felt hard on a vandoren MP felt much softer on a Selmer (C85 I think).
>Am I
>right in saying that the mouthpiece can change the feel of a reed, or is
>this a false memory?
>
>I now play a 2.5 on my Weinberg M1, and have in fact been pulled up by
>my
>teacher when a reed is harder than normal because she can hear a
>difference
>in sound. The reed sounds too hard. Tony W also recently mentionned that
>the
>mouthpiece I play on is designed for softer reeds. I think it's
>important to
>remember that it isn't the number that counts, it's the sound you make.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Hally Man" <afrohally@-----.com>
>To: <klarinet@-----.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2001 1:21 PM
>Subject: Re: [kl] Double Jointed fingers cont.
>
>
>'The stronger the reed, the better the clarinetist' is one of
> > the biggest myths I've ever heard. I'll admit it. I play a #2 reed,
>and
> > I'm proud of it.
> >
> > I can remember in my beginning days, when we lined up to collect our
>horns,
> > we were all told to "go out and buy a couple of Rico Royal #1.5s, and
>I'll
> > show you how to put it together on Monday". It can't have been more
>than
>a
> > week or two before my first bandmate stuck out his chest with pride
>and
>said
> > "I'm already up to a #2, and my teacher says I'll be onto a #2.5 in a
> > month." And off we all raced...
> >
> > For some poeple this becomes a lifelong obsession. I'll never forget
>the
> > first horrified, then superior look on the face of a cross-town rival
>of
> > mine just a few weeks ago when I revealed the meagreness of my reed
>compared
> > to her *far more advanced* #4. But, others, myself included, come to
>their
> > senses sooner or later. Not to say that it's more sensible to have a
> > *weaker* reed, just that different reeds suit different mouthpieces /
> > people.
> >
> > My epiphany, as it were, came as I listened once to a recording of *I
>think*
> > the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and I was particularly struck by
>the,
> > well, largeness of the tone of it's Principal Clarinettist. A short
>time
> > later, I spoke to someone who had attended a master class with this
>man,
>and
> > he told me that this guy's sound was so huge, you wouldn't believe the
>way
> > it simply filled an enourmous amphitheatre, and yet, had the sweetest,
>most
> > supple piannissimo you'd ever want to hear. So, I did some research,
>and
> > was gobsmacked to discover he used a pathetic #1.5!!! But, this made
>me
> > reassess what was good for me, and what sort of setup I could use to
>get
>MY
> > desired sound.
> >
> > I suppose the sort of thinking that leads to reeds of outrageous
>strength
> > becoming the norm is something that will stay a part of reed playing,
> > especially in the beginning stages, forever. The new third
>clarinettist
>in
> > my school band was positively disappointed to discover that the guy on
>1st
> > chair, who's been playing for close to a decade, played a #2. I can
>only
> > hope that he hears something in my playing that he likes, and decides
> > against going for the 'strongest reed in the section' crown. But, I'm
>not
> > holding my breath...
> > ______
> > /o ,~~~>
> > HALLY /o /
> > _____ / O/
> > (_____) /Oo/
> > / / O/
> > O \__/O /
> > \_O__O_/
> > http://afrohally.cjb.net
> >
> >
> > ----Original Message Follows----
> > From: Dirk Kussin <dirk@-----.de>
> > Reply-To: klarinet@-----.org
> > To: klarinet@-----.org
> > CC: klarinet@-----.org
> > Subject: Re: [kl] Double Jointed fingers cont.
> > Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 10:41:15 +0200 (MET DST)
> >
> > Dear Michelle,
> >
> > do you really think that reed size 3 is too weak? (And what means TOO
> > weak? If you are satisfied with your sound, then it is ok.) I am a
> > leisure time player, starting for 3 and a half years, and I am using
> > V12 size 2,5 on my B40 or B45 lyre, or 2,5 - 3 on my 5RV; the clarinet
> > is a RC Prestige. Even some of the reeds of this strength are too hard
> > for me. I have to admit, that 1.) I do not know how open/closed your
> > mouthpiece is, and 2.) my embouchure (?) maybe a little weak since I
> > am playing only for 3,5 years, and also not too often. But I was often
> > confused to see people here on the list playing sizes 4,5 or 5. I
> > think I will never have the power to blow such a reed. My questions to
> > the list: It is possible that in the US the average reed size is much
> > higher than that in Europe? And what maybe the reason? Does the R-13
> > "need" a stronger reed? What is the secret of the ability to blow such
> > hard reeds?
> >
> > Greetings
> > Dirk
> >
> > Oh and I might add that when my teacher corrects my hand position,
>my
> > hands sometimes start to hurt. I have been trying some technical
> > exercises to strengthen my right hand. But, I am not sure it is
>helping.
> >
> > Here is some more random information:
> > I am playing a Buffet R-13. I have a Mitchell Lurie mouthpiece. I
>have
> > used Vandoren v-12s size 3 in the past. Now I am trying Zonda size
>3.
>It
> > seems that for reeds size 3 is too weak, but 3 1/2 is too much. >
>Michelle

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