Klarinet Archive - Posting 000767.txt from 2003/02

From: CBA <clarinet10001@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Quick query on the soprano sax
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 15:36:03 -0500

Bill,

Something I forgot to add to this discussion would have to do
with your mouthpiece.

I believe your particular problem in this scenario IS a leak,
but this can be compounded by mouthpiece choice.

On sax, square chamber and rectangular chamber mouthpieces favor
the upper partials, and make playing high very easy. They also
make playing low rather difficult without the HONK you were
describing.

Round and oval chamber mouthpieces make lower notes easier, and
more full bodied with less jaw dropping necessary, but make
altissimo playing (above F#) REALLY precarious, at best.

I suggest a hybrid mouthpiece, to get a little of both. An oval
chamber with slightly squared sides, or a rectangular chamber
with slightly rounded top and bottom would be a good option. I
am playing on mouthpieces not made anymore, so you would have to
go to the store and play around with the mouthpieces. I never
play a fully square or rectangular mouthpiece on sax, as I can
always work on altissimo notes to achieve them on a round
chamber mouthpiece and make them better, but I can't
consistently get non-honking notes in the low register with a
square chamber mouthpiece.

I do have a student using a Yanagasawa mouthpiece that is quite
nice, and these mouthpieces are still being made. Selmer makes
square and round chamber mouthpieces, so they might make a
hybrid worth looking into also.

Just my 2 cents...

Kelly Abraham
Woodwinds - New York City
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Bill Semple wrote:
>
> > I have played the clarinet, and only the clarinet, for
> forty-three years.
> > Recently, my dixieland band asked me to play the soprano sax
> on a few tunes,
> > using an instrument built in the 1920's and gifted to the
> band by its long
> > time reedman, who unfortunately succumbed to cancer last
> year.
> >
> > I've managed to get some decent sound out of this thing
> (it's a Conn), but
> > when I hit low G, it lets out a honk like a goose and jumps
> an octave. If I
> > am extra careful, and distend my embouchure just so, I can
> get that lower G.
> >
> > Is overblowing a soprano sax easily done, and is this the
> problem, or do I
> > have leaks? Of course I know I should check for leaks, but I
> am also
> > interested in the acoustical properties of this instrument
> and its penchant
> > for doing oddball things.
> >
> > William T. Semple
> > Office: 202-364-2466
> > Home: 540-364-4823
> > Cell: 540-903-6645
> >
> >
>
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