 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: starlight
Date: 2004-10-07 07:54
i am a senior in highschool, and i've been asked to play the eflat soprano clarinet in band. The school gave me a selmer bundy eflat (the one made in plastic). Any recommendations on how i should improve on the setup? I got a BG ligature (super revealation; red cord) and vandroen reeds #3. Just curious, are vandroen reeds #3 okay, or do i need a harder or softer reed? I currently have a Vandoren 2.5 and i have to use so much air to get to altimisso g.
thanks, and any help on techinque would be greatly appreciated.
(oh right, i forgot to mention, i've been playing bflat clarinet for 6 years)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-10-07 12:29
starlight wrote:
> Just curious, are
> vandroen reeds #3 okay, or do i need a harder or softer reed?
The reed strength depends on the mouthpiece you are using.
For Eb clarinet you want to have a set up with enough resistance to support the higher register.
Have you though about cutting down regular Bb clarinet reeds? Many of today's Eb mouthpieces will accept Bb reeds trimmed at the butt end.
You can also try to modify Vandoren Black Master or White Master reeds. These can also produce excellent results on Eb clarinet.
One word of caution - whenever using cut-down reeds for the Eb clarinet mouthpiece, the width of the tip and the length of the vamp must match the mouthpiece ...GBK
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Author: William
Date: 2004-10-07 14:24
To further help with your reed/mouthpiece choice, I use V12 #3.5 reeds, with the butt trimmed for length, on my Selmer HS* Eb mouthpiece. To shorten the butt, I use an electical wire crimper--one snip and its done! And, because the (vintage) Selmer effer mpc that I use has a bigger circumfrence, I use a Bb Rovner lig, which may also help produce a darker, less "Holloween-like" sound.
Unlike GBK, I do not worry if the tip of the Bb reed does not exactly match the width of the mouthpiece. For me, a little overhang on either side is OK. I think it may give the sound more character. At the very least, a little extra reed at the tip doesn't seem to do any harm.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-10-07 15:16
starlight -
The Bundy Eb is playable, but you will get a tremendous improvement with a decent mouthpiece. Buy the best you can afford -- Fobes, Lomax, Grabner, etc. -- since you'll have it forever and will always be able to double on Eb when necessary. If he makes one for Eb the Fobes Debut, at around $40, will make a dramatic difference. I know that Roger Garrett (rgarrett@titan.iwu.edu) makes Eb mouthpieces, and his prices are usually fairly low.
If you can afford it, consider a custom barrel, too.
Eb barrels are often too short. I once played a Leblanc Eb that had to be pulled out at both ends of the barrel until the cork almost showed. I got some washers for a garden hose and filed them down to fit in the top and bottom sockets, adding maybe 6 mm.
You will be tempted to use harder reeds than on Bb, but you should go at most one strength up. The rest is embouchure and support.
Since the Eb is on top of the texture, your intonation has to be really precise, and Eb often needs special fingerings. Pete Hadcock, the Boston Symphony Eb player, wrote an invaluable book on Eb, and another on orchestral playing (which you can get from Gary van Cott), with many hints. In the end, though, you need to sit in a practice room with a tuner, finding how to play in tune.
Finally, you're not a soloist when you play Eb. The concertmaster is still the 1st chair Bb player. It's very easy to shriek and squeal on Eb. Instead, you have to play softer than you think. You're there to add some sparkle to the basic clarinet section sound. Listen hard to the 1st clarinets and blend in with them.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: starlight
Date: 2004-10-08 13:54
thank you for all your advice
i should have mentioned I live in Hong Kong and go to an international school. The music stuff they have there in the music shops are very limited, for one thing, they don't even have vandoren #3 reeds, only 2.5, AND they don't stock any eb mouthpieces at all.
most pieces i play in band don't have eflat parts, and the rest of the time i usually take first chair clarinet.
the eefer can drive me nuts. so hard to play in tune.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2004-10-08 15:48
starlight wrote:
> i should have mentioned I live in Hong Kong and go to an
> international school.
Then you're lucky Get hold of Andy Simon in the HK Philharmonic and ask him where to go/what to do. Andy's a monster player along with being very personable and approachable. If you can't find his email drop me a line & I'll put you in contact with him.
Mark C.
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