Klarinet Archive - Posting 000029.txt from 2003/08

From: CBA <clarinet10001@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Mouthpiece Patches
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 2003 07:03:32 -0400

Jon,

A mouthpiece patch does quite a few things with your
playing...here's a few ideas.

1. A mouthpiece patch keeps the vibrations away from your teeth,
thus making you hear mostly the sound vibrations OUTSIDE your
head. While this may make it seem more dampened, it really is
just keeping you from hearing vibrations in and outside your
mouth, which can be deceiving about how vibrant the sound is
without the patch.

2. The patch DOES give a good grip for your teeth, if you play
single lip with the teeth on top. This, in turn, makes your
mouth not have to work as hard to keep the grip...i.e. less
biting, and a more open sound (not necessarily less vibrant, but
could lead to a less focused/compact sound.) I like the grip I
get from a patch, and change my airstream and tongue placement
accordingly to get a more focused sound, that I like in my
playing.

3. The patch will make your mouth open slightly more, since it
makes the mouthpiece thicker. I sometimes put 2 or 3 patches on
a mouthpiece if I find myself biting too much, and then alter
accordingly, as in #2 to get a more focused sound. The patch can
most definitely eliminate a pinched off sound.

I agree with Dee Flint in that to be really sure of the
difference, you have to know what it sounds like OUTSIDE your
body. Try taping yourself, maybe with 2 or 3 different tapes.
Mark which one is which. Play the same passages on the
mouthpiece without the patch, then one with a patch, and then
one with *2* patches. Mix them up, and play them a few times.
Find the one you like best without looking.

By the way, if you play double lip embouchure, a patch can
sometimes really mess things up more than helping things.

Hope this helps.

Kelly Abraham
Woodwinds - New York City
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--- "John J. O'Neill" <avodah@-----.com> wrote:
> When Walter recently talked about a B45 mouthpiece, I suddenly
>
> remembered that I had one of those animals in my mouthpiece
> drawer. I
> found it nestled amidst some 16 other mouthpieces. And what
> startled me
> was the fact that, even though each mouthpiece was a different
> make and
> model, all had one common feature. Each one was equipped with
> a
> mouthpiece patch. Everytime I try out a new mouthpiece, I
> install a
> patch to protect it from scratches. The seller always requires
> this for
> tryouts, but why would I need a patch after I own the
> mouthpiece? I
> guess I got conditioned to preserving the mouthpiece in
> pristine shape.
>
> The B45 had never played well or sounded good, and so I had
> relegated it
> to the dead mouthpiece drawer. Well, the first thing I did
> next was to
> remove the patch and play the B45. The result? It played
> superbly. It
> had amplitude, timbre, and other good features that I can not
> describe.
> With the patch on, the B45 had reduced vibrations or
> resonance; without
> the patch, the B45 had unrestricted vibrations or resonance.
> As a
> result, I am now using the B45 exclusively as my main
> mouthpiece. Oh
> yes, I successively removed the patches from all the other
> mouthpieces
> and tried each. All played better, but not one of them
> surpassed the B45
> -- not even the new Vandoren M30.
>
> I guess my lengthy letter is really asking the question: Does
> the patch
> muffle, or even alter, the sound from a mouthpiece? How many
> people on
> the list play using a patch, and why do they need a patch?
>
> All this leads me to a few more questions about mouthpieces.
> If you own
> the mouthpiece, if your teeth are even, and if your embouchure
> is
> secure, why would you use a patch? Don't tell me that you
> don't want to
> scratch it because you intend to sell it some day. Also, why
> do we have
> to try mouthpieces with patches? It's kind of like buying
> something in a
> bubble pack and never removing the object. Why don't the
> sellers let us
> test play used mouthpieces so that we can really evaluate them
> without
> any restrictions?
>
> Please be kind if you intend to flame me!
>
> JON
>
> P.S.: I believe that a mouthpiece itself does not vibrate, but
> rather
> the air column within it. Whatever it is, there is definitely
> a
> dampening effect with a patch, and the patch is on the
> outside, not
> inside the air column. Maybe someone can clarify this for me.

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