Klarinet Archive - Posting 000229.txt from 2010/08

From: hns692@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Spit leakage on mouthpiece
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:38:51 -0400

I'll get my two cents worth in here. Some recommendations:

The stiffness of the reed is determined by the distance (in millimeters)
between the reed and tip of the mouthpiece. The smaller the distance
between the reed and mouthpiece, the harder the reed; the larger the distance,
the softer the reed. Most professional mouthpieces for saxes and clarinets
follow that rule and there are charts available that tell you the millimeter
distance for almost all mouthpieces available (and try some American
mouthpieces, too -- mail order catalogs should work if you're not in the US) and
the charts are frequently in Weiner Music and Woodwind and Brasswind
catalogs. If nothing else, get a free catalog just for the information.

In other words, don't use a hard reed just to say you're playing on a
really hard reed. It puts too much pressure on attempting to get your sound
out and you're less able to control the horn otherwise. Your focus should be
on playing the music easily, and never have to "blow your guts out" when
playing.

Try using a sax embouchure when playing clarinet. There's less stress and
it works as well or better than the "bowing-up" of the mouth.

In the case of tendinitis, your instruments are too big for your hands.
The next time you're going to change horns, find something that has a
smaller reach. LeBlanc for clarinets fits better with small hands. Find a good
instrument technician who knows the problems of tendinitis and try working
with them to reposition the keys (although I think key bending is seriously
dangerous to the horn if done by someone who does not have a lot of
experience at repositioning keys for people with small hands).

Good luck!

Lee Ann Hansen
Principal Eb Clarinet
First John Philip Sousa
Memorial Band
hns692@-----.com

In a message dated 8/18/2010 4:28:02 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
gsurosey@-----.com writes:
> 2. Since I understand from your introduction that you are a
>multi-instrumentalist you must reckon
>
> that muliti-instrumentalism does not always go well with playing very
stiff
>reeds. One tends to
>
> have one major instrument.

Bb/A is my primary; I don't play the other stuff nearly as much. I always
thought that using harder reeds would help me not go through them as fast.
I use
Vandoren 56s, so it's not like I'm using student-quality reeds.

> 3.It also depends on how much you practise.

That's limited by hand/wrist problems. I wear a glove on my right hand and
wear
a neckstrap. When I play bass clarinet or (especially) alto sax, I have to
take
breaks more because the extra weight of them kills me. The tendinitis isn't
as
bad as it used to be; there were times when I could trace pain all the way
up to
my elbow! I played longer hours back then.

> 4.Another point is that clarinet embouchure is very different from sax
>embouchure. Just consider
>
> the angle of a sax mouthpiece compared to that of the clarinet.
> I have played the bass clarinet professionally for many years and have
>experienced that bass clar
>
> embouchure is closer to clarinet embouchure than sax embouchure.

I have a tough time relaxing to play bass; I have a real tight embouchere
usually.

> 5 German mouthpieces are not as big as french mouthpieces.

Suggestions? (Bb/A are Buffet R13s with a Moennig barrel).

Thank you

Rachel

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