Klarinet Archive - Posting 000119.txt from 2006/02

From: kurtheisig@-----.net
Subj: Re: [kl] Value of Good Equipment (long)
Date: Thu, 09 Feb 2006 10:12:31 -0500


--
>Subject: [kl] Value of Good Equipment ----(long)

Tom

The "unfriendly buyout period" was 1975-6. (wholesale dropped from $375 to =
$210!--I remember one day I sold 18. Another day I sold several to Leon Rus=
sianoff. I brought a number into New England Conservatory and the students =
and prof [Peter Hadcock] were shocked that all 14 I brought were really sup=
erior after "set-up". They were confused as to which ones to get since they=
were ALL above expectation and Peter Hadcock just pointed to some under a =
window and said "Take those 3". Hadcock had told me he had wanted me to bri=
ng "a lot to try from" not believing me that "any 3 I set-up will be fine.=
" He admitted that ANY of the 14 were exceptional and acceptable after set-=
up. "Did you hand pick them? They're ALL good!" he said.)

Does anybody know what happened to Marty Tolchin, owner of Buffet, after th=
ose creeps tried (and succeeded ) in breaking him?=20

During that period I purchased 270 first line Buffet instruments in a 14 mo=
nth period. I sold clarinets from that lot to members of the Boston and San=
Francisco Symphonies, top professors etc. This "green wood" produced some =
of the finest clarinets I have ever played or worked on. I just re-built an=
A from that batch and it makes me jealous! I have never figured out whethe=
r the one I kept or that one is the best I have ever played.

My Eb, C, 150th Anniv Model--given to me by Buffet, S1, Bb R13's, E13, & R1=
3A are all still wonderful clarinets in great shape. (The S1 I sold to a st=
udent and he reports it is still quite nice--I will re-build that this summ=
er for him).

Serial numbers from that period run about 149,000-156,+++---the E13 is K559=
1.

Tom, you and I have discussed reeds and instruments some. Your point about =
equipment is right---more than you think. We will get an occassional custom=
er that will "get-it" and after the good mouthpiece, or over-haul he/she wi=
ll start handing me their other instruments and say " do this one", and jus=
t keep them coming. A comment I hear all of the time is: "I just DIDN'T KNO=
W!!!" We also show students and customers simple things about playing that =
make them feel like a whole new player- a la your first experience playing =
an R13. Doublers especially will bring in horn after horn, mouthpiece after=
mouthpiece, sometimes DOZENS until their equipment "stable" is awesome. Th=
e freedom to grow after your equipment works well REALLY SHOCKS players. On=
ce the equipment is working well concepts of "tongue level", which is under=
stood well by students of the late Dr Claude Gordon, allow one to learn so =
much faster and better.

Tongue level understanding, that I got from Claude, Lennie Pickett, and Le=
nnie's old teacher Bert Wilson, Ray Pizzi, my clarinet prof Clement Hutchin=
son, was not always CALLED that, but is a huge secret of playing. (see Ride=
nauers book) In designing our current lines of saxophones, I have taken ton=
gue level into consideration and it is producing instruments that do things=
even the finest Mark VI's in our Large Selmer collection don't do.=20

Physiological understanding --- the interaction between the player and equi=
pment, is usually pooh-poohed by players. This, unfortunately, is only an e=
xpression of ignorance, for there is a HUGE interaction, and this is what y=
ou have been coming to realize.=20

I have been teaching 42 years and have become frustrated many times by limi=
tations my students, and customers, have had in their equipment. I must THA=
NK my students for the many times they have come to me expressing frustrati=
on with equipment, and DEMANDING that I design something better for them. F=
rom piccolo on down to the low brasses we have shown time and again how a l=
ittle tiny adjustment here or there can FREEEEEEEE a player up to learn or =
perform MUCH BETTER!!! It is so much fun to watch "the light come on" as t=
hey can suddenly do things they never dreamed of doing.=20

In the last few weeks I have heard students of mine on the radio or on CD's=
that LISTENED, and those that did not listen, about equipment. My current =
students get to listen to the recordings and I point out "This one listened=
-what do you think? This other one did not! Stinks, doesn't he?" or "This g=
uy sounds so good when he plays his good horns, but listen to him here when=
he plays the horn given him by BIG company---pretty bad sound -no?"

Tom, these last few months I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the las=
t 42 years of teaching and, Lord willing, the EXCITING 30 to come. Now that=
I am so much more convinced that equipment ---and REED ADJUSTING---counts,=
I can say a few words, or gesture with my hand, and students grow. It is l=
ike magic, but it is equipment and an understanding of tongue-level, and bl=
owing. My students have always excelled and taken honors, from my first stu=
dent in 1963, but now it is different. With the mouthpieces and horns and o=
ver-hauls, it is much faster and more thorough.

Now that we have the HEISIG SAX on the market, I have several students play=
ing them. IT IS A PARADIGM SHIFT. My students have always done well, and se=
veral are very exciting pro players today, but TOM, what I was getting to t=
he other day, when I was interrupted by a customer, is that it is so differ=
ent now!!!! I don't even KNOW yet where it is going! With the new horns tha=
t I designed with tongue-level understanding (I worked for 25 years with th=
e great brass teacher Claude Gordon), I can do so much more---and so can th=
e students! It is a whole new game to disign with tongue-level in mind and =
have the tongue-level come back and make the horn work better! A DELIGHTFUL=
vicious circle! Before, even my students on Mark VI Selmers had problems g=
etting some concepts quickly. Even when I rebuilt the horn to MY critical s=
tandards, and made them a mouthpiece of rigid standards, it got better, muc=
h better, but it wasn't LIKE THIS. Now my students get it so RIGHT! They no=
t only learn quickly, but the gain is STABLE. Over the next couple of years=
my teaching is going to change. This equipment is so MUCH better that I wi=
ll be able to teach better and faster. The improvement in the last few mont=
hs with the new horns in learning speed and quality is really amazing. You =
are RIGHT! Equipment makes a difference!

We saw this so dramatically about 1983 when Dr Gordon brought out the Claud=
e Gordon Selmer Trumpet and some time after 1985 when he FINALLY found some=
one that could make Clarkes mouthpiece again. It is so EASY to teach trumpe=
t to someone on this good equipment, since they learn so much faster and be=
tter.=20

Larry Souza has made mouthpieces for Flugelhorn and Kuhlo horn players that=
have done similar dramatic things.

Steve Adelstein (great oboist and reed designer that worked with Kalman Opp=
erman designing the reed tools Kal made for oboists), has shown us in clini=
cs in our stores for years how reed adjusting can literally CHANGE a player=
. He has also helped many of us play more correctly. 2 five minute sessions=
with Steve changed my playing completely, but it could NOT have worked if =
he had not first shown me how to improve my reeds!

In getting to know you I have sensed a reluctance in you to say how much yo=
u realize equipment is important, but you ARE right. Sure there are plenty =
of naysayers out there that will jump down your throat when you say somethi=
ng like that. My town is FULL of them, and few of them can play. What I hav=
e found as I have grown into my youthful late 50's, is that most people, ev=
en world-class pros, have opinions based mostly on emotion or their experie=
nce, but if we can have an opportunity to put something BETTER in their han=
ds, the LIGHT DOES GO ON!

Tom, you are RIGHT! Keep saying it. Don't worry about the often well-intend=
ed that have HUGE opinions about things they haven't experienced yet. When =
you can, send the rare one that listens by the shop, we will change his thi=
nking and playing. At least we will TRY to get his light to come on!

I think you will find that the bulk of the people will blow off or even bel=
ittle your polemics, but speak on ---YOU ARE RIGHT!

Kurt

Kurt Heisig Music
1045 Water street
Santa Cruz, Ca 95062
(831) 425-5658
kurtheisig@-----.net

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