 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Igloo Bob
Date: 2004-05-26 05:09
My high school band director has a box in his office for all the mouthpieces and ligatures that he's collected over the years from various band members leaving things behind, and searching through it yesterday out of curiosity, I found a Clark Fobes San Francisco Clarinet ligature. The sad thing is, not only do none of the clarinet players (I'm mainly a Bass player, myself) have an idea of what a treasure they have sitting there, but odds are even after I told the band director and some of the higher chairs in the section about what a great find it was, it probably still won't be used. They'll keep playing their stock mouthpieces that came with the $500 clarinets, and never be the wiser because "well, this mouthpiece has worked fine for me so far!" Bah. I should just take the darned thing and no one would even care, and I'd be an excellent mouthpiece richer.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-05-26 05:20
If you really want it, why don't you offer to purchase it and have the money donated to the school band fund? ...GBK
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2004-05-26 05:22
I'm confused. Is it the lig, the mp, or both? It is troublesome when your section mates don't seem to care as much as you about the sound/ability/etc. of the section...sorry I don't have any good advice, but if nobody else really wants the item, why shouldn't you (who will appreciate it) keep it???
Unless, of course, someone knows to whom it initially belonged...
Katrina
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Author: Igloo Bob
Date: 2004-05-26 05:34
GBK - That's a good idea, and I had considered doing so. The school year is drawing to a close anyway, so perhaps now would be the best time.
Katrina - Whoops, a typo, or more or a brain lapse. It's the Fobes San Fran mouthpiece, not the ligature. He doesn't even -make- ligatures, as far as I know. And nope, no one has a clue as to who it belongs/belonged to. I really won't feel that bad, then, offering $30 for it, especially if whoever had it before didn't feel it was important enough to come looking for it after he/she lost it.
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Author: mkybrain
Date: 2004-05-26 05:35
i don't think tis sad thing that ur fellow students don't know much about that, obviously they just dont care, lol, their interests must be in other areas
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Author: Contra
Date: 2004-05-26 05:43
I'm wondering who left it behind. I can't say that mouthpieces are things one would just leave behind.
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2004-05-26 12:45
<<I can't say that mouthpieces are things one would just leave behind.>>
No, usually they just leave the whole instrument . . .
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2004-05-26 13:18
Have you tried it? Does it play well for you?
A mouthpiece that doesn't play well for you is about as useless as that "light/dark" knob on a toaster.o
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
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Author: hans
Date: 2004-05-26 14:16
Bob,
Since it doesn't belong to you, you should definitely not "just take the darned thing".
I think GBK's suggestion is excellent.
Hans
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-05-26 15:00
Offer the guy 20 bucks and don't mention how good you think it is!
David Dow
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Author: William
Date: 2004-05-26 15:17
"No, usually they just leave the whole instrument . . ." Students, yes....but here's a teacher.........
Last year, at a local high school, I discovered an old Selmer double clarinet case that contained a vintage Buffet A clarinet which the band director, new to the district and in his third year at the school, "no idea" where it came from. It was not on the official school instumental inventory and, according to him, has "always been there, but nobody uses it". I asked if I could take the clarinet home to "try out" and discovered that it had undergone professional work--cork pads, undercutting, etc--and played beautifully, just as a vintage R13 A should. What I think is that it belonged to a retired (and now deceased) city high school orchestra teacher who was also the principal clarinetist of our local symphony orchestra. After he retired from playing--"it just wasn't fun anymore"--I know (as a veteran of the school system) that he kept his set of R13s at school for orchestral clarinetists to use and, apparantly, when he retired from teaching twenty or so years ago, he forgot and left them behind. It could also be that he donated them to the school district, however no record supporting a gift exists. Never the less, over the years, the Bb has become "lost", but the A has appearantly survived and "traveled" to the high school where I discovered it in its dusty, broken case, missing barrel and unused (and unappreciated) condition.
Just so y'all know, I have made certain that the current band director--a sax player--is well aware of its history and of its value to his inventory. But, if he should ever decide to sell it, I have "first rights".
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