 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: klim
Date: 2019-02-10 05:31
I began playing again after 50 years not playing at all since high school. It was quite a learning curve getting back into it. I tried several clarinets, mouthpieces, ligatures and, of course, myriad reeds. I settled on and am currently playing a Yamaha 450, M13 Lyre, Rovner Dark ligature, and Legere #3 Classic reed. I've been working 1 hour every day for the past 18 months on reestablishing fingering and tonguing techniques and recently began focusing more on phrasing and dynamics. I found it impossible to play clarion B,C and altissimo C to G (as high as I go for now ((and wonder why I would ever need to go higher))) pianissimo without a harmonic undertone. I could play them mf and louder with decent tone but when going softly there came a fuzzy buzz or undertone - not from leaking air around my embouchure. I tried several different reeds including a 3 1/4 Legere, 3 and 3 1/2 V12 cane, 4 and 4 1/2 Fibrocell and then tried them all on the other mouthpiece I have, an M30. All to no avail - same under buzz. Then I remembered I had an old simple metal ligature that I'd saved from one of the mps I had tried out early on in this adventure. I put it on, backwards, with the Legere 3 and was delighted that I could fade altissimo E and other high notes to near silence with a clear tone. I never though a ligature could make such a difference. I share this experience thinking it might benefit someone else out there in clarinet land.
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Author: fernie121
Date: 2019-02-10 07:15
I found the same problem as you when it comes to the rovner dark and the altissimo. I could play the notes but there just wasn’t a lot of clarity. I currently play a rovner versa and find it solves the problem. Although many metal ligatures work great to for clarity in the tone and better control.
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Author: derf5585
Date: 2019-02-10 07:35
$2 Shoelaces or a $70 Vandoren? The ultimate Ligature showdown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ghMCiV8hTg
fsbsde@yahoo.com
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2019-02-10 09:08
The Rovner Dark doesn't work for me, either. I do a lot of big-band playing at really high dynamics and use the Vandoren Optimum with the two-rail plate and the Bonade Inverted as a backup. I also have and occasionally use an especially well-made vintage Buffet two-screw ligature that performs nearly as well.
All seem to position the reed more precisely and securely than the Rovner Dark, and I get more consistent response using any of the three at any dynamic level.
If the basic two-screw ligature works well for you, just play it, enjoy, and relax.
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