Klarinet Archive - Posting 000849.txt from 2002/07

From: Gil Guerrero <gilster@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Sax/Clarinet Doublers? Reed Strength?
Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002 16:37:17 -0400

I'm curious as to whether others have had a similar experience:

I've been taking clarinet for the last several years and this year
decided that I wanted to try my hand at the saxophone.

On the clarinet, I was typically playing "V12" 3-1/2 reeds. My
teacher was seriously encouraging me to play the sax with a softer
reed and I'm now very comfortable on the alto with a 2-1/2 (Vandoren
traditional.) What I've found is that I dropped an entire strength in
my clarinet reed to a 2-1/2. Previously, I had never been able to
play such a soft reed as my embouchure was too firm (probably read "I
was biting.")

Somewhat counterintuitive to the conventional wisdom I've read here
and elsewhere, my sax mouthpiece is a fairly close faced Vandoren A17
with these soft reeds. My clarinet mouthpiece is more "medium" (I
think) an Iggy Gennusa GE*.

I realize that there is no prestige in playing a soft or hard reed,
but I'm curious as to whether others have had similar experiences and
do the doublers find that their embouchures seem to draw their reed
strengths closer together.

Overall, I think it was a good thing that this seems to have softened
my embouchure, and has kept me aware of keeping a focused sound
(without too much "firmness" applied.)

Best to all on the list!

--
Gil Guerrero
gilster@-----.com

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