Klarinet Archive - Posting 000093.txt from 2006/10
From: "Bryan Crumpler" <crumpletox@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] RE: Wood mouthpieces
Date: Sun, 08 Oct 2006 18:37:42 -0400
Myrna,
The life expectancy of a wooden mouthpiece probably isn't very long (i.e. a
few years) unless you live somewhere with very stable and consistent
climate. They are easily prone to warping with changes in temperature,
leaving performance very unpredictable for the traveling clarinetist.
As for their tone... that's debatable. In all objectivity, the subjective
"darkness" of the sound has very little to do with the fact that the
mouthpiece is made of wood. Let's squash that idea up front. At some point,
people have to realize that they themselves are the largely responsible for
the sound that is produced. To make a point, I always say that tone is about
5% mouthpiece, 20% reed, and 75% you... I hear about so many clarinetists
wasting hundreds and hundreds on mouthpieces or gadgets or whatever
equipment to get "that sound", and it's honestly a waste of your time and
money. There is no magic bullet, and no one size fits all... For example,
people have been raving for decades about how special, "dark", and liquid
Karl Leister's sound is... but guess what... he plays on *plastic* ...yes...
PLASTIC... believe it or not. And most people condemn the use of plastic
mouthpieces because of the horrible sound. This is probably because they're
just too stubborn to acknowledge the fact that it's not the mouthpiece
that's responsible for making the bad sound... it's them.
But more scientifically speaking, I'm guessing that wooden material
fundamentally dampens more of the odd harmonics in the sound wave that other
materials. So, it may be "easier" to achieve a "darker" tone than you might
achieve with an identical mouthpiece made exactly the same, but in a
different material. But the fact of the matter is no mouthpiece is exactly
the same... and no clarinetist plays or blows exactly the same... so you
can't rely on that utopian theory at all.
I don't know the exact physical properties of the woods used for
mouthpieces ... but at least in terms of audio engineering, the subjective
idea of a "warm" sound (which is what I presume you mean in describing the
tone as "dark") is generally produced when there is a good balance of even
and odd harmonics in the sound wave. Many recording engineers and audio
mastering engineers exploit this fact when using aural exciters to "warm up"
the sound of a "cold" digital recording. If the sound is bright (i.e.
"cold"), then you dampen the odd harmonics or try to find a proper balance
through trial and error of adjusting the even and odd harmonics with an
harmonic or aural exciter. Mouthpiece makers do this by finding the right
combination of facing length, tip opening, window size and and baffle
height, while clarinetists do this by adjusting reeds, air speed, and
firmness of embouchure. Theoretically, thus, the more you strip the sound of
the odd harmonics, the "darker" or "warmer" the sound. BUT there is surely a
threshhold for when the sound just becomes thick or too muddy without any
life. This is the case with a mouthpiece with too high a baffle, too wide a
tip opening, or when you slap on a reed that is too thick... which, once
again, has nothing to do with the material of the mouthpiece.
So, it's probably easy to guess what my answer is to the third question
about whether wooden mouthpieces are better than ones made from zinner
blanks???
Bryan
www.whosthatguy.com
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Date: Sun, 8 Oct 2006 13:57:22 -0500
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
From: <myrnabs@-----.net>
Subject: Wood mouthpieces
Message-ID: <002a01c6eb0b$96a54920$071e0e4b@Marelda6409>
Does anyone know the life expectancy of a wood mouthpiece? Do they work
well? I hear that they project a darker tone, is that correct? Are they
really any better than the Zinner mouthpieces?
With Great Respect,
Myrna
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