Klarinet Archive - Posting 000364.txt from 2005/01

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Ligatures--Important?
Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 00:06:05 -0500

At 07:41 AM 1/22/2005 -0800, Jane Hur wrote:
>...I got a chance to call Sam Ash---they have regular
>Selmer metal ligatures, like the kind that I have, and
>Vandoren Rovners. How, exactly, do the Rovners affect
>sound (I think that they're leather ligatures; I know
>some people on this thread mentioned them)?
>Someone said that plastic ligatures create a "live,
>bright sound", while leather ones give a "dark" one
>(while metal ones are neutral). Does this mean that
>the upper register will be unpleasantly thin or shrill
>with a plastic ligature, and low notes will be
>dampened with a leather one?
>I'd like a more resonant tone, especially on the
>higher notes... if this is something that a mere
>ligature can help me achieve.
>Thanks for all the advice!

One person's "dark" is another person's "stuffy and dampened." One
person's "live, bright sound" is another's "unpleasantly thin or
shrill." It is all in the ear of the beholder. There ARE differences
among broad types of ligatures, if not individual brands. I have one
mouthpiece, for example, that strikes me as shrill unless I use a fabric
(Rovner) ligature on it. Still, ligatures are only a relatively SMALL part
of the complete picture, and the overall sound must be what YOU want to
produce.

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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