 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: LonDear
Date: 2008-06-06 01:13
I have always used just a bit smaller tip m/p on my A compared to by my Bb (13 as opposed to 14), with the same reed strength, just to accentuate the "darkness" that the A is supposed to impart. I must have been doing some experimentation and left a really big tip m/p (21) on my A by accident. I've played a couple of jazz gigs on it and it rocks (sorry, jazzes). I know that many of you use huge mouthpieces on Bb's, but do any of you use really big m/p's on an A for jazz?
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Author: Roger Aldridge
Date: 2008-06-06 02:31
Lon,
I don't play an A clarinet; so I cannot address your specific question. However, I wanted to share with you that the question of large tip opening (or jazz model mouthpieces) versus smaller tip pieces often comes up on the Sax On The Web Forum where many of us are jazz players and doublers.
It comes down to what works best for us as individual players. Some jazz clarinetists use open tip mouthpieces and some don't. It's very individual.
In my case, I used a 1.28 mm mouthpiece for quite some time; however, in recent years I moved progressively downward. Now, my performance mouthpiece is a Grabner K14 (1.09 mm). It's been my experience that I get a bigger, more ringing sound and a greater level of projection with a Grabner Kaspar-style mouthpiece than I ever did with a large tip mouthpiece.
There are a many factors in matching a mouthpiece to a particular clarinet (Bb or A). Sometimes its a matter of trial & error until you find the match that hits the ball out of the park.
It sounds like you stumbled upon a good match for your A. Enjoy it by all means and don't be concerned about what others use.
Good luck!
PS, a thought that I wanted to add.... While I've never played an A clarinet, it seems logical to me that a somewhat larger tip opening would be a better match than using the same mouthpiece on both Bb and A. Certainly, the idea of using a smaller tip opening on A than Bb sounds counter-intuitive to me. I played a C clarinet for a number of years and after considerable experimentation used a smaller tip opening on it than my Bb. Thus, it sounds like when you tried a larger tip opening on your A clarinet you discovered that it really opened up the instrument. Ta-da!
Roger
Post Edited (2008-06-06 11:54)
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