 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: McDonalds Eater
Date: 2021-10-29 18:41
Hello,
I wanted to know what some of the effects of facing length are on the mouthpiece.
With all other factors being the same, what are characteristics of a short facing? Long facing? Other than resistance, how does facing length affect sound, intonation, response, color, etc.?
I have played a variety of mouthpieces in my career, ranging from M13 Lyre to B40 Lyre, but I have never paid attention to facing length and thus have only played long facings, coincidentally.
I mostly have played on M13L and M15, but recently I have been gaining interest in trying the out the 5RV and 5RV Lyre, which have shorter facings than the M models. What should I expect of a shorter facing mouthpiece aside from resistance?
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2021-10-29 19:06
Any good facing should do all that a good mouthpiece needs - play loud, soft, high, low, and articulate well. The facing length is more about feel. There is always a 'sweet spot' in a facing that makes it play the best. A long facing necessitates more mouthpiece inside the mouth and shorter, less. More open facing necessitates more jaw distance to get the reed playing property etc. Also, these differences might affect sound, tuning, color a little, but the insides of a mouthpiece affect those elements more than the facing.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-10-30 00:12
I do agree with the above, however.......
I have been told that to maintain optimum resonance, one should refrain from really short facings. This came from Brad Behn as he begged me not to insist on 15mm when he had a terrific mouthpiece down to 16mm. In the end I believe he was right. I stick with a 30 year old Hawkins that's about 16mm and open about 1.03mm. The shorter facing Brad made for me is too problematic and perhaps just not able to play with enough gusto.
Many apologies to Brad.......I should have listened to this master craftsman.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Ed
Date: 2021-10-31 01:16
On pieces I have played, the longer facings seem to make the sound slightly less focussed.
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Author: farabout
Date: 2021-10-31 01:16
McDonalds Eater wrote:
> Other than resistance, how does
> facing length affect sound, intonation, response, color, etc.?
Ceteris paribus: it does not (apart from facilitating the altissimo).
McDonalds Eater wrote:
> What should I expect of
> a shorter facing mouthpiece aside from resistance?
Nothing else.
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